The University News

Issue date: 8/24/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Courtesy UMKC Clovis Semmes.

Building a Black Studies program takes a lot of hard work and dedication, but Clovis Semmes says he is prepared for the challenge.

Formerly a Visiting Professor, Semmes was named the director of UMKC's Black Studies Program, a position he will assume Sept. 1.

Coming to UMKC with past experience in the field, serving as acting director of Black Studies at the University of Illinois and assistant director of Admissions and coordinator of Admissions and Financial Aid for Minority Students at Northwestern University, Semmes said he is excited to get started in his role.

"I am looking forward to the challenge," he said. "I am looking forward to working with the people."

In addition to teaching the Introduction to African American Studies course, Semmes will be focusing on restructuring the program.

"[It] has to be an academically sound program," he said. "What that means is if we are talking about African American Studies, African American Studies is much more than just a course that has content on African Americans. It has to draw from a theoretical perspective and from tradition."

He will be looking at the core curriculum and determining what qualifies as a Black Studies course.

"As of right now, UMKC does not have the core curriculum to support an African American Studies program," Semmes said. "So that is one of the first things I am going to address."

He said this process can include adding or removing classes from the program, which is currently only offered as a minor.

"We want students to have a comprehensive grounding in the field," he said. "So it will be incumbent upon me to look at these courses and see how they fit into the development of an overall program."

Semmes also hopes to include classes that incorporate African Diaspora and a Womanism perspective.

"We will need to develop a core curriculum that gives students a good foundation in the field," he said. "And then to offset that with courses that focus on critical issues. And then beyond that, we can supplement with courses that exist around the university that may utilize content on African Americans or the Caribbean."

Considering it another way to access human experience which, in turn, allows students to grow, Semmes believes an improved Black Studies program is a vital component to making UMKC the world-class university it strives to be.

"When universities attempt to be more inclusive, they have to deal with the core question of perspective as well as content," he said. "They have to give voice to groups, who in the past have not had a voice."

Although Semmes has been involved in building African American Studies programs in a number of contexts for many years, he advised that the process of restructuring the program will not happen over night.

"Bear with us," he said. "This is going to take some time."

alang@unews.com

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