Students learned this month that The University of Akron’s Rethinking Race, hosted by the Office of Inclusion and Equity, has been canceled for the Fall 2025 semester.
UA last held the series in November 2024. Due to a decline in attendance, the Office of Community Engagement, Opportunity & Belonging decided not to budget for it going forward.
Dr. Sheldon Wrice is the vice president for the Office of Community Engagement, Opportunity, and Belonging. He explained that the decision not to budget for the Rethinking Race series in Fall 2025 was made in November.
According to Dr. Wrice, there are no plans to bring back the Rethinking Race in its current format.
“We will use future allocated budget resources for new content that engages more members of the campus and surrounding community,” said Dr. Wrice.
Dr. Wrice also said that the Office of Community Engagement, Opportunity, and Belonging will continue to create new programming.
For more information, Dr. Wrice said to read the op-ed from Lewis W. Adkins Jr., chair of the University of Akron’s Board of Trustees, and the statement to campus from President R.J. Nemer.
The op-ed can be found, here and President Nemer’s statement can be found here.
