Scholar Ibram X. Kenid's Anti-Racism Center At Boston University Under Investigation
Boston University announced an inquiry Thursday (Sept. 21) into its Center for Antiracist Research over the “management culture” and grant management leadership of Ibram X. Kendi, following sudden layoffs and complaints.
The center laid off nearly all of its staff last week amid multiple allegations that at least $43 million in grants and gifts were mismanaged, and the funding failed to produce the quantity and quality of research many expected, Boston University’s student newspaper, The Daily Free Press, reported.
Kendi “takes strong exception to the allegations made in recent complaints and media reports,” the university’s statement said.
Saida Grundy, a Boston University sociology professor and former center employee, filed an anonymous complaint with the Compliance Services Office in 2021. Grundy noted the sudden turnover of multiple high-level staff and alleged that the center had a toxic work environment, including fear of retaliation and discrimination.
Next, Grundy personally discussed her concerns, including the alleged work culture and mismanagement of funds, to the then-Provost Jean Morrison, who was instrumental in hiring Kendi.
“The pattern of amassing grants without any commitment to producing the research obligated to them continues to be standard operating procedure at CAR,” Grundy wrote to Morrison in a follow-up email. “This is not a matter of slow launch. To the best of my knowledge, there is no good faith commitment to fulfilling funded research projects at CAR.”
Kendi, a scholar on race and an activist, is the author of the international best-seller How To Be An Antiracist. He founded the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University in 2017 before Boston University recruited him in June 2020 amid national protests over the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery.
He now serves as Boston University’s Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities and a College of Arts & Sciences professor of history and director of its Center for Antiracist Research.
“We recognize the importance of Dr. Kendi’s work and the significant impact it has had on antiracist thinking and policy,” the Boston University statement reads. “Boston University and Dr. Kendi believe strongly in the Center’s mission, and while he takes strong exception to the allegations made in recent complaints and media reports, we look forward to working with him as we conduct our assessment.”
