Five years after Saint Louis University elevated African American Studies to a full academic department, the university is reviewing its future, raising fears that a program strengthened in the aftermath of the Ferguson uprising could lose the independence its supporters fought decades to secure.
The department is among more than two dozen low-enrollment academic programs undergoing further evaluation as SLU considers changes to its academic offerings. University officials say no decisions have been made about eliminating or restructuring any of the programs.
But Dr. Christopher Tinson, associate professor and chair of African American Studies, worries that waiting for a decision could leave supporters with little opportunity to challenge it.
“If we wait until a decision is made, it may be too late to push back,” Tinson said. “The fact that this is happening at other universities means the process is in motion already.”
Clayton Berry, SLU’s assistant vice president of communications, said the university is conducting “a comprehensive review of its academic programs” as part of its strategic planning efforts.
The review includes “28 low-enrolling programs across eight colleges and schools that will undergo further evaluation throughout the fall semester,” Berry said.
The review could also examine other factors, such as the number of majors and minors, class enrollment and graduation rates.
The uncertainty comes amid financial challenges at SLU, which announced a $20 million budget deficit in 2024 that forced academic and administrative divisions to cut expenses. African American Studies was not eliminated during that round of cuts.
Tinson and other supporters fear that restructuring could dilute the department’s funding and decision-making powers, even if African American Studies courses continue to be offered.
In a commentary sent to The St. Louis American titled “Defending Black Studies,” SLU alum and author Jonathan Pulphus, who helped organize the 2014 OccupySLU protests that led to the Clock Tower Accords, expressed outrage over the possibility that the university could “dissolve or eliminate African American Studies.”
“Your campus has a vampiric history with the Black community, extracting without reciprocity,” Pulphus wrote, adding that framing the need to save money by targeting Black Studies while preserving philosophy and theology “is preposterous.”
Pulphus called the review process a “smokescreen,” linking his concerns to changes involving SLU’s diversity and inclusion offices.
SLU’s Black Studies program dates to 1973, when the university began offering courses in the discipline. Throughout the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, students could pursue a certificate or a customizable major. In 2021, African American Studies gained full departmental status, with greater autonomy over hiring and curriculum.
That milestone followed years of advocacy, including the student-led protests on SLU’s campus after the 2014 Ferguson uprising. Those demonstrations produced the Clock Tower Accords, an agreement between students and administrators addressing racial inequality and institutional change.
Former SLU President Dr. Fred P. Pestello described implementing the accords as a universitywide responsibility.
“It takes all of us to change an institution, which like our society was built upon a system of inequality,” Pestello said.
Tinson questions whether the university adequately recognizes the department’s academic and community contributions.
The interdisciplinary program serves students beyond those majoring in African American Studies. SLU’s website notes that many courses are cross-listed with other departments, may fulfill core requirements and complement majors such as psychology, political science and marketing.
“Our argument is that the university ought to reexamine how they look at us,” Tinson said. “We serve the mission of the university and the greater St. Louis community, the intellectual arm of the community on campus.”
African American Studies programs also face a difficult enrollment challenge, Tinson said, as students interested in the subject may choose to minor in it rather than pursue a standalone degree.
Tinson said the challenge is finding a way to attract more majors while continuing to serve students who take African American Studies courses alongside their other studies.
Isaiah Banks, a mechanical engineering junior, told St. Louis Public Radio that African American Studies helped him feel more at home at SLU. He said students in engineering and other science-related fields often know little about the department because academic advisers rarely introduce them to its courses.
“I felt a lot more like I belonged on campus,” Banks said.
Tinson said the review involves several meetings with university leaders before decisions are made about investing in, consolidating or discontinuing programs.
“We don’t know what the timeline will be if any of these programs receive closure. We don’t know how immediate it will be or if it will be like a two-year phasing out process. That’s where we are right now,” he said.
Students, alumni, faculty and community supporters organized a “Stand with SLU African American Studies Town Hall & Teach-In” Nov. 2 at Morrissey Hall.
“It was well-attended with more than 200 alumni, students, community folk and other faculty staff,” Pulphus reported.
He said a Change.org petition titled “Protect African American Studies at Saint Louis University” gained more than 600 signatures by week’s end. Most, Pulphus said, came from the ZIP code immediately surrounding campus.
St. Louis Alderwoman Alisha Sonnier, who majored in African American Studies at SLU, reminded the crowd of the program’s personal and historical relevance.
“Many of the things that I was advocating for and fighting for and felt strongly for, so too did the class before me, so too did the class 10 years before me, so too did people 20 years before me, so too did my ancestors before we were even allowed to be admitted to the institution…”
Tinson said the gathering was intended to inform supporters and build solidarity with other departments under review, not intimidate university officials.
“Because of our history of activism and the way we faced the university down at different times, we stick out more than other departments,” Tinson said. “The fact that we struggled to even be a department five years ago and here we are five years later on the brink of closure on an issue not of our making, means something.”
Sylvester Brown Jr. is the Deaconess Foundation Community Advocacy Fellow.