Join BRESI leaders and student participants in a lively discussion about the impact of the Black, Race, and Ethnic Studies Initiative at CUNY. We’ll reflect on the initiative’s ambitious goals, hear about emerging accomplishments, and discuss how this CUNY-wide collaboration to drive change and build community in this important space across the University is progressing. We look forward to audience participation in an engaging conversation about hopes and plans for the future of BRES at CUNY.

The Black, Race and Ethnic Studies Initiative (BRESI), generously funded by the Mellon Foundation, seeks to reimagine and further develop University programs in Black, Race and Ethnic Studies CUNY-wide. In Fall 2022, a total of 126 competitive grants totaling $1.8 million were awarded to CUNY faculty, staff and entities including centers and institutes to seed promising work advancing BRESI’s mission. An additional $250,000 was awarded to the CUNY Graduate Center to develop a Ph.D. Program in Black, Race and Ethnic Studies. This new multidisciplinary program intends to expand existing BRES academic programs at CUNY and build on their contributions to this interdisciplinary academic field. The newly established BRESI Collaboration Hub will support the development of the Ph.D. program.