91˿Ƶ

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91˿Ƶ

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Student experience

91˿Ƶ sought to continue to listen to the experiences of Black students and respond to their needs, notably through regular engagement with the Black Students’ Network (BSN), the 91˿Ƶ African Students’ Society (MASS), and all Black student's associations. Through these efforts, we sought to address the challenges of anti-Black racism and build and strengthen campus resources to meet to the needs of racialized students.

Student demographic survey & analysisProgress bar indicating project is in progress
Ongoing

The 91˿Ƶ Student Census helps us understand the composition of our student body. Analyzing this demographic data helps us to better plan for and serve our student population. This data collection initiative began in Fall 2020 and is a continuous effort.As of 2023ѳҾ’s student census, 4.4% students self-identify as Black.

Recruitment of the BIPOC/Black Wellness Advisor Counselor
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Ongoing

The role of the Local Wellness Advisor in the Student Wellness Hub is to support the mental health and well-being of students through guided interventions and wellness plans, support resources, outreach, prevention, awareness, and other factors that may support student wellness either one-on-one or via mental health workshops, programs, or events. Visit the Wellness hub page: Support for Racialized Students.

Student Leadership Program: Pick your path!
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Ongoing

Camille Georges was appointed as Black Community Outreach Associate in Enrolment Services in April 2021. Her role focuses on the planning, execution, and continuous improvement of ѳҾ’s outreach and recruitment endeavors to Black youth, including the Student Leadership Program. Camille’s role is also focused on developing relationships with Black communities and on working with and delivering mentorship programming to secondary school and CEGEP students and other young adults to increase access to higher education for Black youth.

To learn more, contact: camille.georges [at] mcgill.ca

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A major success of 2022/2023 was the growth of . 26 students (with their parent’s involvement) were paired with 25 91˿Ƶ mentors. The program hosted five workshops for student participants and eight for their parents. As a result, five of eight eligible Black student participants were admitted to 91˿Ƶ. They all named PYP as instrumental to their decision to choose 91˿Ƶ for their university education.

Also, in the reference year, a team from 91˿Ƶ visited Black student unions at Dawson, John Abbott, and Marianopolis Colleges. Each visit involved a panel discussion, which gave prospective students the opportunity to ask questions about what it is like to be a Black student at 91˿Ƶ and general questions about admissions. These outreach efforts aim to foster excellent Black prospective students’ interest in studying at 91˿Ƶ and to let them know that 91˿Ƶ is a place where they belong and can succeed.

Online learning module on Systemic Racism (SROM)
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Ongoing

The Equity Team led consultations with student associations in 2020 to hear what students believed the module should address. Since spring 2021, ѳҾ’s Equity Team, Teaching and Learning Services, and Communications & External Relations units have collaborated to integrate the content into an online platform accessible to all members of the 91˿Ƶ community.

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The module is completed. Its rollout to the 91˿Ƶ community is anticipated in 2024.

Recruitment of Antoine Samuel Mauffete-Alavo, Black Student Affairs Liaison
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Completed

The role of Black Student Affairs Liaison (BSAL) was assigned in January 2021. More than 85 Black students have been advised on individual challenges and questions. Most importantly, ѳҾ’s BSAL role is becoming a trusted site for student advice and connections to opportunities for Black students.

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Research and knowledge

Through the Action Plan, 91˿Ƶ has undertaken its own research of its history in a manner that engages transparently with our institutional connections to the transatlantic slave trade and brings to light the contributions of ѳҾ’s Black community members over time. The importance of establishing sites and programs of research that will allow Black and African studies and Black scholars and students to flourish. 

Expanded 91˿Ƶ History Project
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Ongoing

Melissa N. Shaw and Joana Joachim have been appointed as Provostial Research Scholars pursuing postdoctoral fellowships funded by the Provost’s Office investigating ѳҾ’s connections to transatlantic slavery and colonialism. Plans for a wider 91˿Ƶ History Project have been developed in collaboration with the Dr Kenneth Melville 91˿Ƶ Black Faculty & Staff Caucus. Further discussions on a 91˿Ƶ institutional history project will resume following the appointment and installation of ѳҾ’s next Principal and Vice-Chancellor.

Universities Studying Slavery (USS) Membership
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Ongoing

ѳҾ’s application for membership was accepted in 2020. Participation in USS events provides an opportunity for working with and learning from academic institutions studying their respective institutional relationships to the transatlantic slave trade. Further, these networks promote the awareness and advancement of campus efforts across North America to enhance equity and inclusion for Black students.

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Karen Diop, Associate Director at 91˿Ƶ for Black Inclusion, Success, and Strategic Initiatives attended the 2022 USS Conference, At this place: History, Race, and a Way Forward, hosted by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The 2023 USS Conference will be held in Halifax, and 91˿Ƶ again will be represented.

Provostial Visiting Fellowship
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Ongoing

ѳҾ’s Visiting Fellows-in-Residence on Black Life and History Program was established in the reference year 2022/2023. Through fruitful collaborations with 91˿Ƶ academic colleagues, 91˿Ƶ recruited Dr. Dennis Perez (University of Havana) and Dr. Samaila Suleiman (Bayero University, Kano), two outstanding scholars, to join the University as inaugural Fellows. They will be welcomed in Winter 2024 within the Faculties of Medicine and Health Sciences and Education and will carry out and share their scholarship through lectures and workshops.

African and Black Canadian Studies Program
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Ongoing

Over the Fall of 2021, the African and Black Studies Working Group conducted outreach to faculty, notably through the Dr. Kenneth Melville 91˿Ƶ Black Faculty and Staff Caucus, staff, students, and other stakeholders, including alumni. The Working Group, led by Professors Khalid Medani and Debra Thompson, submitted a visionary report to the Provost & Vice-Principal (Academic) in the Winter 2022 term. A committee will be established to oversee the implementation of the recommendations in this report.

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The Black Student Affairs Liaison has been working with Professor Medani to help structure the African Studies student association’s activities and journal for 2022–23. With a view to strengthening and expanding the Program, feedback was gathered from the African Studies Students’ Association (ASSA), the new leadership of ѳҾ’s African Studies Students Society (ASSA), andProfessor Khalid Medani, Chair of the African Studies Program Committee. The expansion of this Program is enabled by the appointment of new scholars at 91˿Ƶ with expertise in the study of Africa and the African diaspora. These appointments have also permitted growth in course offerings in the program, which are cross-listed across units. The Program further convenes a popular speakers’ series co-sponsored with various departments. Going forward, initiatives will be implemented to devise ways to expand African Studies at 91˿Ƶ and to continue boosting awareness about and interest in the program. To this end, the Program’s was redesigned to represent the vibrancy and richness of this Program and its contributions to academic life at 91˿Ƶ.

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Outreach

Aligned with the Action Plan, concerted efforts are being made to connect actively with local communities, so that our campuses can better reflect the city’s strong demographic diversity. ѳҾ’s work in this area has also aimed to strengthen networking opportunities for ѳҾ’s Black alumni. 

Scholarships and student aid
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Ongoing

The efforts to expand student opportunities are still ongoing. Recently, the following opportunities have been offered.

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■ Shania Johnson (MA, Art History) was awarded the Charles R. Drew Graduate Fellowship, named in honor of 91˿Ƶ alumnus Dr. Charles R. Drew (MDCM ’33), the “Father of Blood Banking.” Over the year, two new excellent Drew Fellows were recruited and will join 91˿Ƶ as of Fall 2023: Odufa Emike Kadiri will begin graduate studies in Information Studies, and Roenika Wiggins will commence graduate studies in Air & Space Law.

■ The creation of new awards in support of Black undergraduate and graduate students across various Faculties.

■ New opportunities for Black students through the Pick Your Path for Black Youth program.

■ The 91˿Ƶ Dental Inclusion Program (MDIP).

■.

■ The Black Law Student Association Outreach Project.

■ The Department of Physics’ BIPOC Summer Research Experience.

■ In alignment with the Action Plan, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (GPS) earmarked funding to support graduate students at both the Masters and Ph.D. levels in excess of $200,000.

■ The Audrea Golding Black Student Leadership Award, established in 2021 through the leadership of the Subcommittee on Racialized and Ethnic Persons, was awarded to two graduating students again in 2022.

■ 30 Mastercard Foundation Scholars were admitted to 91˿Ƶ during the 2021–2022 academic year.

■ The Biology Department offered four summer research awards to Black BSc or BA&Sc undergraduate students. These were full-time, 15-week awards that allowed Black students to work in a lab or field setting to conduct hands-on research under the supervision of 91˿Ƶ Biology professors.

■ The AES Black Students Undergraduate Summer Research Award supports two undergraduate students who self-identify as Black students in the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. The professor supervising the research project also contributes funding towards the total award.

■ IBRO Summer Studentship Program for Black Undergraduate Students: In collaboration with the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO), the Brain Repair and Integrative Neuroscience (BRaIN) Program of the Research Institute of the 91˿Ƶ Health Centre (RI-MUHC) offered summer research opportunities in neuroscience for four Black undergraduate students. Four paid positions in the summer of 2022 provided a unique opportunity to receive research experience in a top neuroscience laboratory. Each student was paired with a faculty mentor and specific research laboratory over a 12-week period.

■ A fund established to support Faculty-based efforts tied to the Action Plan’s commitments translates to $25K/over five years to support local initiatives tied to recruitment, outreach, and engagement. Several Faculties drew on this funding to establish experiential learning opportunities for Black students. Arts, for example, established eight summer internship awards to Black students through this allocation. Law established the Frederick Phillips Summer Program to introduce Black youth in Montreal to various dimensions of legal education and our legal systems.

■The Frederick Phillips Summer Program developed at the Law Faculty was created to introduce Black youth in Montreal, who are near the end of their High School or CEGEP, to various parts of our legal education and system through interactive activities, field visits, lectures and more.

91˿Ƶ Black Alumni Association (MBAA)
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Ongoing

The remained vibrant and active in 2022-23, holding three events for Black students and alumni. These included an event focused on career networking and job search strategies, a Black History Month discussion with author Perry C. Douglas (BA'91), as well as a Homecoming event, “Blackness and belonging”. In total, the events gathered over 550 participants.

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  • The continued its critical work. This initiative, launched in 2021, is led by the 91˿Ƶ Black Alumni Association (MBAA) in partnership with the 91˿Ƶ Alumni Association (MAA) and ѳҾ’s Subcommittee on Racialized and Ethnic Persons (SCREP). It provides Black students with the opportunity to explore their academic, personal, and professional goals with guidance and support from Black alumni, faculty, and staff who share their experiences and knowledge. In all, the MBMP has matched 132 mentees with 120 mentors.
Advisory Panel on Black Student Life
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Ongoing

In response to the Action Plan, an Advisory and Accountability Panel on Black Student Life (“Panel”) completed its mandate to advise University leadership on key areas affecting Black students at 91˿Ƶ. The Panel was chaired by ѳҾ’s Associate Director, Black Inclusion, Success, and Strategic Initiatives and Black Student Affairs Liaison, and included membership from the 91˿Ƶ and Montreal Black communities. Throughout the reference year, the University worked to implement the recommendations from the Panel’s report, all of which have been accepted. The Panel’s final report can be accessed here.

Partnership and exchange opportunities
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Ongoing

In 2021, 91˿Ƶ established a partnership with the University of West Indies (UWI) that will allow for the further exploration and expansion of current collaborative 91˿Ƶ-UWI projects as well as the development of new opportunities. As ѳҾ’s only Caribbean exchange partner, UWI has welcomed 91˿Ƶ students since 2011. The program will contribute to developing a community of young, engaged leaders and to advancing policy, practice, and research to confront the pressing challenges of climate change. The project involves sending twenty 91˿Ƶ students to the UWI to carry out three-month internships, as well as receiving twenty UWI students at 91˿Ƶ as Graduate Research Trainees for three-month periods.

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  • In May 2023, a 91˿Ƶ delegation traveled to Barbados to visit the University of the West Indies (UWI) – with whom 91˿Ƶ has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) – to explore pathways for collaboration between our institutions. The visit was extraordinary and fruitful. Follow-up visits and meetings are planned to explore faculty exchange opportunities, student internship placements, and welcoming UWI representatives at ѳҾ’s Celebration of Black History Month in February 2024.
  • In addition, a delegation from 91˿Ƶ's School of Social Work traveled in March 2023 to Howard University. There, the delegation met with the Dean and colleagues from Howard’s Faculty of Social Work. Potential sites of collaboration were identified, the first of which was the 2023 Transnational Perspectives on Social Work: Canada and the US conference.
  • 91˿Ƶ was a of the Canadian Black Scientists Network (CBSN) 2023 National Conference for Black Excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine/Health (). (Professor, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences) was a member of the conference’s organizing committee. Dr. Gilda Barabino, President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, was the keynote speaker delivering her address to Black professionals and trainees, which included 91˿Ƶ colleagues and students.

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Workforce

Black faculty and staff can struggle with experiences of isolation, given their low representation within ѳҾ’s workforce. Recognizing that existing employment equity strategies did not address issues of representation and equity for Black faculty and staff, the Action Plan set out a series of action items that aimed to boost the recruitment, representation, retention, well-being, and success of Black members of the 91˿Ƶ workforce within all employee groups and across all ranks. 

Black tenure-track and tenured professors
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Ongoing

A core commitment of the Action Plan was to increase substantially the representation of Black academic staff. At the time of the Action Plan’s development, there were 14 tenure-track or tenured Black academic staff at 91˿Ƶ. The Action Plan committed to targets of 40 and 85 Black tenure-track or tenured professors by 2025 and 2032, respectively.

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  • Currently, there are now 39 Black tenure track or tenured professors at 91˿Ƶ. This is in addition to 31 ranked Contract Academic Staff (CAS) who are Black.

  • Strategic hiring initiatives remain underway to sustain this critical growth in Black faculty representation.

Support for Black and other racialized academic staff
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Ongoing

Support for Black faculty occurs through initiatives that center networking, mentoring, and professional development. University-wide mentorship and professional development initiatives (Provost's Faculty Mentorship Network, First Manuscript Project, and the Development Initiative for Academic Leadership) were put in place or grown over the reference year. These efforts are shown to have a disproportionate benefit for faculty from underrepresented groups, including Black faculty.

The Dr. Kenneth Melville 91˿Ƶ Black Faculty and Staff Caucus (“Caucus”) played a key role in the success of these recruitment and retention efforts. Caucus members who were appointed as provostial delegates for the searches tied to the Action Plan made crucial contributions that deserve recognition and gratitude.

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  • Additionally, various EDI workshops were delivered across the 91˿Ƶ community, including several that focus on anti-racism and preventing and challenging anti-Black racism. Sessions for academic and teaching staff explore how racism can impact learning spaces and the role educators can play in establishing an anti-racist learning environment. They further demystify the concepts of racism and anti-racism and stress how important instructors are to ensuring that ѳҾ’s learning environments are respectful and inclusive even when we address sensitive or potentially divisive topics.

Representation and advancement of Black and racialized administrative staff
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Ongoing

The HR Anti-Black Racism Working Group worked on the recruitment and retention of Black administrative and support staff.

  • The representation of Black administrative and support staff in the MPEX/EXEC categories grew from 4.1% to 4.4% in the reference year. This progress is important, given that the Action Plan sets a target of 5% representation of Black M-level and executive staff by 2025.
  • Human Resources staffing professionals have all participated in learning workshops on equity in hiring and the Action Plan.
  • ѳҾ’s supervisors also participate in growing numbers of equity education workshops related to anti-racism and microaggressions.
  • Outreach to 29 Black Associations in the Montreal area offering employment services.Since July 2022, a total of 453 applicants, 11 of whom were eventually hired, indicated in their applications that they applied to a position of which they had become aware through our Black community association partners.

  • Internal Internships Pilot Program (IIP) for Black staff launched in February 2022. In its pilot iteration, eight Black staff were paired with six hosts, allowing staff members to shadow their host and gain unique professional opportunities. Participants deemed the pilot a success, and the program has now become a permanent initiative entitled the Professional Exchange Program (PEP).

  • Testimonials of Black staff are included on ѳҾ’s career website.

  • Review of ѳҾ’s onboarding website to foster a greater sense of belonging as they join the organization.

  • Initial development of an optional orientation/onboarding buddy program to support newly hired Black administrative staff.

Equity and anti-racism training for Search and Advisory Committee
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Ongoing

The curriculum developed by the Equity Team broadened in scope considerably over AY2020/21. Workshops focusing on equity in recruitment and hiring are a core component of this curriculum. These trainings are designed to ensure that colleagues, once at 91˿Ƶ, experience equitable and inclusive environments where they believe they can succeed.

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  • Enhanced equity training for all senior leadership advisory committees continued.

  • Proactive recruitment and strong employment equity protocols are in place in senior leadership searches, as they are for recruitment more generally across the University, to uphold our commitment to inclusive excellence.

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Physical space

A sense of belonging within higher education settings is seeing oneself reflected in the imagery, iconography, and languages encountered across a campus’ physical space. The 91˿Ƶ Black community has stressed how helpful designated space for Black students would be, with a view to facilitating networking and social opportunities.

Campus Planning Working Group on Recognition and Commemoration
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Ongoing

With a view to expanding the representativeness of iconography and imagery across 91˿Ƶ, discussions began during the reference year to form the terms of reference for a committee that will be charged with expanding opportunities and criteria for the naming of University assets. Its mandate will align with the 2017 Final Report of the Provost’s Task Force on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education, the 2018 Final Report of the Principal’s Task Force on Respect and Inclusion in Campus Life, the 2018 Final Report of the Working Group on Principles of Commemoration and Renaming, the 2020 Strategic EDI Plan, and the 2020 Action Plan to Address Anti-Black Racism, each of which acknowledges the importance of inclusive use of space and the power of physical representation. The Working Group will be initiated in 2023-24.


James 91˿Ƶ statue
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Ongoing

The history of James 91˿Ƶ presented through university channels was rewritten to provide a wider breadth of information regarding his complex history, including his ownership of enslaved persons within his household and his participation in the transatlantic slave trade. This history has been shared on ѳҾ’s website. It was also set out on a plaque that was installed next to the sculpture of James 91˿Ƶ on the lower campus.

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  • In July 2021, after the sculpture was vandalized, it was removed from its site. As explained in a public communication to the 91˿Ƶ community, the decision as to whether it will be returned to its prior location or situated elsewhere is considered and explored. For the moment, the sculpture remains in storage.

Bellairs Research Institute
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Ongoing

Preliminary meetings with key stakeholders at 91˿Ƶ have taken place to determine how best to move forward with Bellairs in a manner that preserves its important academic activities while advancing on commitments made in relation to Bellairs in the Action Plan.

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A 91˿Ƶ delegation traveled to Barbados in May 2023 as part of the existing MoU between 91˿Ƶ and the University of the West Indies. The occasion afforded an opportunity for the 91˿Ƶ team to visit our Bellairs site and drop in on the Applied Tropical Ecology course. The visit has also prompted explorations of potential collaborative opportunities to celebrate Bellairs’ forthcoming 70th anniversary in 2024. Such celebrations could link ѳҾ’s important work rooted in the Faculty of Science occurring at Bellairs with the University’s partnership with UWI and with ѳҾ’s ongoing work to address anti-Black racism. These discussions are ongoing.

Living website
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Ongoing

91˿Ƶ has committed to highlighting the history and contemporary presence of diverse peoples within our campuses through multiple sites and modes of communication. This began with the Bicentennial website. See: .

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  • As part of the University’s Bicentennial celebrations, the 91˿Ƶ Visual Arts Collection featured , among them Black pioneers Violet Grant States and Daisy Peterson Sweeney.

  • 91˿Ƶ is taking initial steps to create a living website highlighting the contributions made by Black 91˿Ƶ to the University and to society. Building off the University’s , a dozen vignettes will initially be featured on the site. The site will continue to grow as more stories are added.

The Anti-Black Racism website was officially launched in English and French to highlight the contributions of Black 91˿Ƶians as well as institutional progress on the 91˿Ƶ ABR Strategy.

Black student space
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Completed

After several months of planning, a dedicated space for ѳҾ’s Black students officially opened in the reference year. The ABR Working Group organized a launch to welcome students to their space, and the reception was wonderful. Students across 91˿Ƶ are free to drop in and use this space reserved to rest or catch up on work between courses or to network and socialize.

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Cover_ABR Annual Report

2022-2023 Annual report

This report on the Action Plan seeks to share information about the progress of its implementation. Through it, we hope readers will see our institutional commitment to address anti-Black racism.


91˿Ƶ is on land which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst Indigenous peoples, including the Haudenosaunee and Anishinabeg nations. We acknowledge and thank the diverse Indigenous peoples whose presence marks this territory on which peoples of the world now gather.

For more information about traditional territory and tips on how to make a land acknowledgement, visit our Land Acknowledgement webpage.


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