Born out of a national movement and a course taught by Assistant Professor Kiku Huckle, PhD, political science department, an initiative has taken root.

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It was the killing of George Floyd and the resulting Black Lives Matter protests that drew increased attention to the problem of police violence against people of color, in particular, as well as the desire to support Pace University’s Black students that propelled Huckle to develop the Black Excellence Initiative.

Huckle explains, “police brutality is just one of many deep-seated problems faced in our country. Problems such as housing discrimination, disparities in healthcare, and the school-to-prison pipeline can all be attributed to one root cause: the systemic denial of Black humanity. In an effort to actively counter this implicit and explicit narrative, I came up with the Black Excellence Initiative for my Race and American Political Development course.”

The Concept

The Black Excellence Initiative works to counter the endemic effects of racism and to create space to cultivate well-being and a mindset for success for Black students and communities. By regularly bringing Black speakers to campus who exemplify excellence in a variety of contexts to speak with Pace students about their accomplished careers and rewarding lives, the expectation is that these guest speakers will help normalize the presence of successful people of color and open opportunities for Black students within the larger university context to thrive.

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Huckle first developed and implemented this concept for one of her courses. Thus, the Black Excellence Initiative module was launched. Thereafter, she brought it to light during a meeting of the political science department faculty, gaining the support of Amy Freedman, PhD, chair of the department. Intrigued, her colleague, Professor Meghana Nayak, PhD, women’s and gender studies department chair and political science professor, met with Huckle to learn more, which led to the module being housed within other courses in the department. “The more I educate myself and access anti-racism training and conversations, the more I have been exposed to endless examples of Black joy, love, liberation, and community; if all we are doing when we talk about race is focusing on trauma, violence, and discrimination, then we are failing. I am thrilled with Dr. Huckle’s idea and think it is crucial for non-Black and people not of color, like the two of us, to do this kind of work in our classrooms so that we can aim for more nuanced and rich conversations about race.”

The Courses

A module housed in two courses when launched this past academic year, the initiative brings Black speakers to campus who embody Black Excellence. Racial positionality was explicitly discussed and addressed in each of these courses: Race and American Political Development, taught by Huckle in the fall semester, and Gender and Politics, taught by Nayak in the spring. Each course invited one speaker to converse with class participants. The guests also spent dedicated time with the students to facilitate their understanding of course material, and their ability to connect that material to lessons learned from these discussions.

The Speakers

Melba Ayco, artistic director of the Northwest Tap Connection in Seattle, WA, was the guest in the Race and American Political Development course in fall 2020. Northwest Tap Connection is a social-justice–oriented dance program that works to cultivate a self-identification of Blackness while teaching community values, integrity, and discipline. Raised in segregated Louisiana, and part of the forced integration of schools as a fourth grader in 1969, Ayco has a background that provided students with an important new perspective. She was able to both celebrate the students and challenge them, not only on considerations of race and policy, but in their own approaches to and considerations of race and equality. Recent graduate Emily Oberlender ‘21, Political Science, said, “Hearing Ms. Melba speak was truly inspirational, insightful, and brilliant. I greatly cherished hearing her stories and incredible commentary.”

As part of the Gender and Politics course in spring 2021, the guest was Maya Wiley—civil rights lawyer, previous counsel in the New York City mayor’s office, MSNBC legal analyst, instructor at The New School, and founder of the Center for Social Inclusion, as merged into Race Forward (as of 2017), a nonprofit that combines policy expertise with grassroots work to address civil rights and social justice.

Danielle Layton ’19, English and Communication Studies, who was invited to interview Maya Wiley, found the experience gratifying. When asked what her most important takeaway was from the event, she said, “It was when I asked Maya, ‘What advice would you give to younger Maya?’ She looked me right in the eyes and said, ‘You are worth it.’ In that moment, I knew that someone in that class needed to hear that. Such few words, but a message that captured the conversation—that excellence is already within us; we just have to tap into it.”

The students who heard Wiley speak were very engaged and expressed their appreciation throughout for being able to talk openly about the concept of Black Excellence. Afterward, students from the class and the Dyson Women’s Leadership Initiative expressed genuine thanks for being able to talk about race in a positive, community-building way.

The Future

Dyson College is on the leading edge of the effort at Pace to develop anti-racist or race-critical curricula. Huckle’s goal is to further incorporate the Black Excellence module into other courses, and she hopes that other professors and offices will also integrate the initiative, not only in Dyson College but across the University.

Caesar Lopez fell in love with the Haub Law Campus immediately upon visiting the school. “Location was an important factor for me. Additionally, I really liked that the Law School had relationships in and around Westchester and NYC with prestigious businesses, firms, and institutions. I ended up with my first job out of Haub Law at Beiersdorf, Inc., a global skincare company. This position would not have been possible without my experience in the externship program at Haub Law.”

The positive experiences and memories Caesar has from his time at Haub Law are abundant. “Externships were key. I loved my classes in Intellectual Property, Licensing, Entertainment Law, and Business Planning. All of my professors were so passionate about their practice that I enjoyed every single class I took.” Often overlooked, Caesar very much enjoyed the social side of law school. “I was able to develop lifelong friends and a meaningful network of exceptional attorneys. The student organization aspect served me well also. I was also one of the four founders of the Pace Intellectual Property Sports and Entertainment Law Forum. This was rewarding because the law school faculty supported us in developing a new platform that piqued my interests in the intersection of law and sports.”

As far as favorite professors, Caesar notes, “I may date myself, but he was known as Professor Anderson before he was Dean Anderson.”

Fast-forward to today, Caesar is the Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel of Orlando City Soccer Club of Major League Soccer and Orlando Pride of the National Women’s Soccer League. “I oversee all legal, human resources, administration, and government/external affairs.”

Now, as an alumnus, Caesar remains very involved with Haub Law. Although he is based in Florida, he is intimately involved in the Alumni Board and willing to chat with any prospective students or current students about their careers. A regular donor to the law school, giving back is very important to him. “Simply, I like to pay if forward and I believe we all have a duty to help the next generation of students make a difference.”

The Pace University Art Gallery opened the in-person exhibition, “Substance,” on September 27, 2021 which will run through October 30, 2021. The gallery is located at 41 Park Row with the entrance on Spruce Street, across from City Hall in Lower Manhattan. The exhibition brings together four abstract artists—Diego Anaya, Liz Atz, Linda Ekstrom, and Alberto Lule—who express meaning via their materials rather than through representational imagery.

During the exhibit period, artists will also lead hybrid lectures or workshops. An in-person reception will be held on Friday, October 22 from 5:00 p.m–7:00 p.m.

Please note that for COVID safety, no food or drink will be served. Additionally, face coverings are required as is proof of vaccination or PCR test within 72 hours and completion of COVID screening questions.

The following artists will be on exhibit:

• While Diego Anaya’s work is minimalist in imagery, he celebrates his Mexican heritage through the use of ground corn, corn ash, and sand with which he creates rough and uneven surfaces. The texture compels the viewer to examine the work closely, creating an immediate and intimate connection between the viewer and the artist.
• Liz Atz will recreate a large-scale window installation from a March 2021 artist residency on-site. Made of mushroom-based, fully biodegradable plastics, Atz’s bright, immersive artworks critique commercialism, materialism, and consumption. During the residency, Atz experimented further with chitosan—by casting, adding pigment, and laser cutting. She will offer an in-class bio-plastic workshop for Pace students.
• Linda Ekstrom’s works from her “Word” series use text from religious sources as a form of inspiration and commentary. Many of her artworks are made from altered pages of the Bible, which is representative of how Ekstrom explores feminist issues, particularly within the role of Jewish and Christian religious history, and tradition. Her work addresses the suppressed stories of women both in the Bible, and throughout art history, via the process of disassembling and then reassembling this book which has been used to inspire, divide, and control readers. She will offer an online zine-making workshop on Thursday, October 28 at 9:00 a.m. ET.
• Alberto Lule critiques and exposes the prison industrial complex in America as a form of modern slavery. His “Investigation” series offers insight to his experience as a formerly incarcerated person by using fingerprint powder—a tool used by police to prove someone was at the scene of a crime—as his drawing material. Lule reclaims his past, present, and future by using the dust to investigate the carceral system itself. He will give a hybrid artist talk, co-sponsored by the Criminal Justice Society, on Monday, October 25 at 12:10 p.m. ET.Please note that this hybrid event will be available to Pace Students, staff and faculty in-person, and to the public via a synchronous Zoom.

Also included in the digital version of the “Substance” exhibit is artist Adebunmi Gbadebo, who represents identity and history in “Blues People,” by incorporating prints of historical documents onto paper embedded with Black hair. For the artist, Black hair is, “a material and a history in which to root my own work that positions the people who looked like me as central to my practice.” In so doing, she exposes the grim history of American slavery that has been erased by white-centric narratives and materials. She will give an online artist talk on Monday, October 18 at 11:00 a.m.

The “Substance” exhibit, which was originally scheduled for February 2021 and then re-imagined in a hybrid format including an artist residency, was curated by Sarah Cunningham, Pace University Art Gallery director/assistant clinical professor, with Samantha L. Smith, ‘21, gallery intern/research fellow. To support their work, they received the Provost’s Academic Year 2020-2021 Student-Faculty Undergraduate Research Award through the Center for Undergraduate Research Experiences (CURE) at Pace.

About the Pace University Art Gallery

Founded with the conviction that art is integral to society, the Pace University Art Gallery is a creative laboratory and exhibition space that supports innovation and exploration for both artists and viewers. Open to students, staff, and faculty from across the Pace campuses and, equally, to the Lower Manhattan community and visitors from around the world, the Art Gallery encourages personal investigation and critical dialogue via thought-provoking contemporary art exhibits and public programming. Enhancing the Art Department's Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Fine Arts programs, the Art Gallery offers students real-world opportunities to exhibit their own art and to work directly with professional artists to install and promote exhibitions.

About Dyson College of Arts and Sciences

Pace University’s liberal arts college, Dyson College, offers more than 50 programs, spanning the arts and humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, and pre-professional programs (including pre-medicine, pre-veterinary, and pre-law), as well as many courses that fulfill core curriculum requirements. The College offers access to numerous opportunities for internships, cooperative education and other hands-on learning experiences that complement in-class learning in preparing graduates for career and graduate/professional education choices.

About the Pace University Center for Undergraduate Research Experiences (CURE)

The Center for Undergraduate Research Experiences (CURE) in Dyson College of Arts and Sciences provides leadership, coordination and support to student-faculty research collaborations, faculty grant-funded research projects and programs, and opportunities for service learning. CURE is part of Dyson College’s long-standing, ongoing commitment to build a research culture at Pace University. CURE is one component in Dyson’s efforts to innovatively enhance the quality of both the academic experience and overall student life.

About Pace University

Pace University has a proud history of preparing its diverse student body for a lifetime of professional success as a result of its unique programs that combine immersive academics and real-world experiences. Pace is ranked the #1 private, four-year college in the nation for upward economic mobility by Harvard University’s Opportunity Insights, evidence of the transformative education the University provides.