Building a Social Justice University: What'll It Take to Free Higher Ed From Its Current Conditions?

A lecture by Davarian Baldwin who examines the fraught (and financially extractive) relationships between universities and the communities in which they reside. The "ivory tower" is a site of learning and innovation, yes, but Baldwin critically identifies the shadows it casts on its neighbors - priming gentrification, exacerbating housing inequality, exercising police powers beyond the campus itself, and squeezing its own labor force to secure productivity that enhances the institution, but immiserates the workers that make it run. But, as Baldwin shows, there is an alternative - one based on an equitable relationship between our cities and universities.

Born and raised in Wisconsin, Davarian L. Baldwin is an internationally recognized scholar, author, and public advocate. He is the Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of American Studies and Founding Director of the Smart Cities Research Lab at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. His academic and political commitments have focused on global cities and particularly the diverse and marginalized communities that struggle to maintain sustainable lives in urban locales. Baldwin is the award-winning author of several books, most recently, In The Shadow of the Ivory Tower: How Universities Are Plundering Our Cities and served as the consultant and text author for The World of the Harlem Renaissance: A Jigsaw Puzzle (2022). His commentaries and opinions have been featured in numerous outlets from NBC News, BBC, and HULU to USA Today, the Washington Post, and TIME magazine. Baldwin was named a 2022 Freedom Scholar by the Marguerite Casey Foundation for his work.