Safe Zones–Look for the Safe Zones sticker on office doors.

Student club for LGBTQIA+ students and allies. Contact faculty advisor, Kristin Ravel (kravel@rockford.edu) for more information. 

• The center’s mission is to create a safe and supportive environment to meet the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs of the Rockford University community. Free and confidential counseling services are available. Contact Lang Wellness Center (healthcenter@rockford.edu) for more information.

Burpee Student Center

• Two single-stalls are located next to the Spirit Shop.

PURI School of Business

• One single-stall is located downstairs next to classroom 019 and HR.

Seaver Physical Education Center 

• One single-stall is located downstairs on the same floor as the gym, (go through main gym and then through the door on the left).

Clark Arts

• One single-stall is located off the art offices in the lobby.

Lang

• One all gender restroom located on the health center side
• One all gender restroom located on the faculty office side

In order to have a name updated on Self-Service and other campus materials (such as email, campus ID, Canvas, Self-Service, Billing, and internal systems), students will need to complete a legal name change. Once a student’s name has been legally changed, they (1) need to fill out a “Name Change Form”—found at Student Administrative Services (SAS) and (2) provide two forms of identification showing the updated name. Generally, a court name change document and an updated driver’s license (or other form of ID with a picture) will work for these forms.

If a student would like the name change to be reflected on their Financial Aid and their diploma, one of the forms included will need to be an updated Social Security card.

If you have updated your legal name, and for any reason you don’t see your name updated on your RU email, just reach out to Support@Rockford.edu to make the request directly to IT, or follow up with SAS to let us know their name on their email hasn’t changed yet (please provide two weeks for changes to be made).

If you do not want to proceed with a legal name change to adjust the name on Self Service, you may alert your instructors via RU email with your chosen name preferences. See the Template Email to Instructor for Preferred Name document for an example of how that email could look. 

Students and faculty may change their names on Canvas and/or add their pronouns. Instructions to do so are below:

1. Log into Canvas
2. Click on “Account” in the upper left-hand side and choose “settings” from the menu
3. Click “Edit Settings” (on the lower right-hand side)
4. Adjust “Display name” and “Full name” from there.
5. Click “Update Settings” to save

Should a time come when athletes want to change something on their bio, such as their name, the individual can either talk to or email Brian Vanden Acker (Assistant Director of Athletics), or if they would prefer, they can fill out the “Student-Athlete Bio Sheet Updates” form (https://rockfordregents.com/sb_output.aspx?form=14) on the website. The link to that form is directly under the original bio sheet form they previously filled out. The only difference between the two forms is that updates one only has the “First Name”, “Last Name”, “Sport(s)”, “e-signature” and “date” fields marked as required, whereas the original form has all fields marked as required. This simply allows the person to only fill out the fields that they would like updated instead of having to fill everything out again. 

The Liam Foundation is the first LGBTQIA+ Resource Center in Rockford. They serve the LGBTQ+  community in our area by connecting folks to services. They also offer professional development trainings to other organizations to educate them on the unique challenges the community faces. You can connect with them by visiting theliamfoundation.org or their Facebook page. 

PFLAG promotes the health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, their families and friends through support and resources.  Learn more and connect at  https://pflag.org/chapter/rockford/.

The mission of Equality Illinois is to secure, protect, and defend equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in Illinois. They envision a fair and unified Illinois where everyone is treated equally with dignity and respect and where all people live freely regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. Learn more at http://www.eqil.org/. 

 The Department of Human Rights administers the Illinois Human Rights Act. The Human Rights Act (“Act”) prohibits discrimination in Illinois with respect to employment, financial credit, public accommodations, and real estate transactions on the bases of race, color, religion, sex (including sexual harassment), national origin, ancestry, military status, age (40 and over), order of protection status, marital status, sexual orientation (which includes gender-related identity), unfavorable military discharge and physical and mental disability.  Learn more at https://dhr.illinois.gov/ 

http://www.usstudents.org/coalitions/translate.asp?xsl=nqsa.xsl

http://www.hrc.org

Last updated March 2022.

• A Black Woman’s History of the United States by Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross
• American Sonnets for my Past and Future Assassin by Terrance Hayes
• A More Beautiful and Terrible History by Jeanne Theoharis
• An African American and Latinx History of the United States by Paul Ortiz
• Angela Davis: an Autobiography by Angela Davis
• An Indigenous People’s History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
• Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Davis
• Assata: an Autobiography by Assata Shakur
• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• Beyond Survival: Strategies and Stories from the Transformative Justice Movement by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
• Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do by Jennifer Eberhardt
• Black is the Body: Stories From My Grandmother’s Time, My Mother’s Time, and Mine by Emily Bernard
• Black Stats: African Americans by the Numbers in the Twenty-first Century by Monique Morris
• Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
• Discourse on Colonialism by Aimé Césaire
• Dog Whistle Politics: How Coded Racial Appeals Have Reinvented Racism and Wrecked the Middle Class by Ian Haney López
• Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds by adrienne maree brown
• Fatal Invention: How Science, Politics, and Big Business Re-create Race in the Twenty-First Century by Dorothy Roberts
• For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood…And the Rest of Y’all Too : Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education by Christopher Emdin
• Freedom Is a Constant Struggle : Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Davis
• From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
• Habits of Whiteness by Terrance MacMullan
• Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon
• How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being Young and Arab in America by Moustafa Bayoumi
• How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
• How to Be Less Stupid About Race: On Racism, White Supremacy, and the Racial Divide by Crystal Marie Fleming
• How We Fight for Our Lives: A Memoir by Saeed Jones
• How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
• I Hope We Choose Love: A Trans Girl’s Notes from the End of the World by Kai Cheng Thom
• Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
• Let Freedom Ring: A Collection of Documents From the Movements to Free U.S. Political Prisoners by Matt Meyer
• Let It Bang: A Young Black Man’s Reluctant Odyssey Into Guns by RJ Young
• Nobody: Casualties of America’s War on the Vulnerable, From Ferguson to Flint and Beyond by Marc Lamont Hill
• On the Other Side of Freedom : The Case for Hope by DeRay Mckesson
• Pleasure Activism : The Politics of Feeling Good by adrienne maree brown
• Policing the Black Man : Arrest, Prosecution, and Imprisonment by Angela Davis
• Race for Profit : How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
• Racism Without Racists : Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva
• Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America by Jennifer Harvey
• Sister Citizen by Melissa V. Harris-Perry
• Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde
• So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
• The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther by Jeffrey Haas
• The Color of Success : Asian Americans and the Origins of the Model Minority by Ellen Wu
• The Condemnation of Blackness : Race, Crime, and the Making of Modern Urban America by Khalil Gibran Muhammad
• The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
• The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race by Jesmyn Ward
• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
• The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon
• Tulsa, 1921: Reporting a Massacre
• Unapologetic : A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements by Charlene Carruthers
• We Are Not Here to Be Bystanders: A Memoir of Love and Resistance by Linda Sarsour
• We Do This ‘Til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice by Mariame Kaba
• We Will Not Cancel Us: And Other Dreams of Transformative Justice by adrienne maree brown
• Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves by Glory Edim
• White Flight: Atlanta and the Making of Modern Conservatism by Kevin Kruse
• White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
• Why We Can’t Wait by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Who is eligible for Swipe Out Hunger?

Swipe Out Hunger exists to serve all current Rockford University students who are experiencing food insecurity, whether permanent or short-term.

Commuter students and on-campus residents alike are eligible for Swipe Out Hunger.

You do not need to have a meal plan already purchased in order to use Swipe Out Hunger swipes. However, if you are not currently on a meal plan, you will need to visit SAS to have them activate your student ID card for use.

Do I need to show proof of income?

No. Swipe Out Hunger grants are available to all students regardless of income. Students who are not Pell-eligible will need to provide a brief explanation of their need for food assistance.

How do I use my Swipe Out Hunger grant?

Just like standard meal swipes, Swipe Out Hunger swipes can be used to dine in or carry out food from Burpee Dining Hall.

For students already on a meal plan, SOH swipes will automatically be used after you have exhausted your weekly swipe allowance.

How many times can I apply to Swipe Out Hunger?

If you applied to Swipe Out Hunger but were denied, we ask that you refrain from re-applying unless a dramatic change has taken place in your ability to purchase or prepare food.

For successful applicants, you are welcome to re-apply once you have exhausted all the swipes in your current meal swipe grant. There is currently no limit on how many times successful applicants may reapply. However, please remember that there is a limited number of Swipe Out Hunger swipes available each year, and that this resource is meant as a temporary means of addressing food insecurity. If your experience with food insecurity is permanent or long-term, we recommend that you speak with JACCE about other options that may be available to you.

Can I carry out food using Swipe Out Hunger?

Yes. Using Swipe Out Hunger, you may obtain one carry-out container from the Dining Hall to fill.

I want to apply to Swipe Out Hunger but I’m embarrassed. What should I do?

There is no reason to be ashamed or embarrassed to use Swipe Out Hunger. Food insecurity is not a choice, and therefore says nothing about who you are as a person. Your financial status has nothing to do with your personal character. On the other hand, reaching out for help with a problem—any problem—does. It demonstrates courage, humility, and personal responsibility.

Not to mention, by taking advantage of Swipe Out Hunger, you might inspire other students to apply for the program who may never have before. Beyond that, you will show RU that a need for food assistance exists and must be addressed on this campus.

Moreover, as an educational institution, Rockford University has an ethical responsibility to make sure that our students’ basic needs are met. These basic needs include the need for a steady and nutritious diet. Nutrition is especially important for college students, whose minds require fuel in order to grow. Here at Rockford University, we not only want to help you grow your mind—we want your mind to thrive.

Will anyone know that I am receiving assistance from Swipe Out Hunger?

The only people who will know that you are receiving Swipe Out Hunger grants are the people who need to know in order to administer the program: Dining Services, Student Administrative Services, and the director of the Jane Addams Center.

However, if you are comfortable with it, we encourage you to publicly talk about your participation in Swipe Out Hunger. By sharing your experiences among your classmates, you will help to normalize conversations about food insecurity and student support services on campus, as well as encourage help-seeking behavior generally. You may even inspire somebody to apply for Swipe Out Hunger who may never have before.

Am I taking swipes from someone who might need them more?

We have obtained these swipes and set up this program in order to assist you because we believe that every one of our students deserves the nutrition they need in order to study, grow, and succeed. We would hate to learn that a student who would have benefitted from Swipe Out Hunger refused to apply solely because they were worried about taking swipes. Here at the Jane Addams Center, we believe in helping everyone in need of help.

Emmanuel Lutheran Church
920 3rd Avenue, Rockford, IL 61104
(815) 963-4815

My Pantry Express
Online, various pick-up locations

Northern Illinois Food Bank
Various locations, including mobile pantries

Rock River Valley Pantry
1100 Broadway, Rockford, IL 61104 and 421 S. Rockton Avenue, Rockford, IL 61102
(815) 965-2466

Salvation Army Social Services Center
416 S. Madison Street, Rockford, IL 61104
(815) 972-1135

Winnebago Community Market
765 Research Parkway, Rockford, IL 61109
(815) 639-1257 ext. 555

Rockford Rescue Mission
715 W. State Street, Rockford, IL 61102
(815)965-5332

Confront racism head-on. Understanding systemic racism and the ways systemic racism negatively impacts persons of color is an important first step. As a classroom instructor, it is critical for you to learn about the challenges faced by students of color not only through your own reading and studies but also through your observations of student learning and interactions in your classroom. Educate yourself about systemic racism and its roots in American culture, microaggressions, intersectionality, and the harmful effects of colorblindness. Keep in mind that this is an initial step, but should be part of a continuing process of self-education.

Suggested Resources to Explore:

Act.tv. (2019). Systemic Racism Explained (A Crash-Course type short video that explains systemic racism.)

Jon Greenberg. (2015). “7 Reasons Why ‘Colorblindness’ Contributes to Racism Instead of Solves It.” (An article from the Everyday Feminism website that gives a high school teacher’s perspective on the harmful effects of colorblindness.)

Darnell Moore. (2016). “Here is the Problem with ‘All Lives Matter’” (A short video explaining why “All Lives Matter” is the wrong response to “Black Lives Matter.”)

National Humanities Center Education Programs. (2017). The History of White Supremacy: A Professional Development Webinar (Designed for teachers. An excellent resource for anyone interested in learning about the history of white supremacy.) 

Netflix. (2016). 13th. (Documentary by Ava DuVerney on the systematic injustice of the prison system.)

NPR. (2010). “‘Whistling Vivaldi’ and Beating Stereotypes.” (An interview with Claude Steele, author of Whistling Vivaldi: And Other Clues to How Stereotypes Affect Us, a book on social identity and the negative perceptions that come along with stereotypes.)

Monnica T. Williams. (2011). Colorblind Ideology Is a Form of Racism (An article from Psychology Today that explains the problems with colorblindness and the importance of valuing difference.) 

What biases might you carry that you are unaware of? Understanding them is an important step in expanding your perspective. Consider taking the Harvard IAT to examine both your conscious and unconscious biases. Spend some time looking inward and examining how your own attitudes about race have been shaped by your own identity and experiences. Recognize that before you ask students to reflect on racial identity and biases, you must first interrogate and process your own. This experience may be challenging, but is necessary work.

Suggested Resources to Explore:

Adichie, C.N. (2009). The Danger of a Single Story. (A TedTalk on the importance of recognizing the multiplicity of life stories that make us who we are and the cultural misunderstandings that can happen if we limit views of others to just a single story.) 

Robin DiAngelo. (2018). White Fragility. Beacon. (Best-selling book on why white people find it so hard to talk about racism.) 

Kimberly Harden & Tai Harden-Moore. (2019). “Moving from Ally to Accomplice: How Far Are You Willing to Go to Disrupt Racism in the Workplace?” Diverse: Issues in Higher Education (An article that explains why being an ally isn’t enough.) 

Harvard Implicit Association Test (A tool for assessing your own implicit biases. The study takes about 10 minutes, and you’ll receive your IAT result at the end of the study.)

Willie Jackson. (2019). “To Promote True Advocacy, Don’t Be an Ally: Be an Accomplice.” From Day One. (An article from a business-focused website on the importance of being an accomplice.)

Ibram X. Kendi. (2019). How to Be an Anti-Racist (Short video with best-selling author Ibram X Kendi defining what it means to be Anti-Racist and discussing the importance of working to be Anti-Racist.)

Ibram X. Kendi. (2019).  How to be an Anti-Racist. Penguin. (Best-selling book that proposes ways to bring about change on both personal and systemic levels.)

Peggy McIntosh. (1989). White Privilege: Unpacking Your Invisible Knapsack (A groundbreaking article in the discussion of white privilege.) 

Refinery 29. Why Are White People So Bad at Talking About Race? (An interview with Robin DiAngelo, the author of White Fragility.)

This next step asks you to turn to your own course materials and content. Educate yourself about what an Anti-Racist curriculum is and look at Anti-Racist curriculum models. Educate yourself on best approaches to talking about race in the classroom. Is your course design intentionally and explicitly Anti-Racist? In a course where the content is race-focused, multiple voices and perspectives should be represented and whiteness decentered. If your course is not focused on race, there is opportunity for questioning: What is valued as important knowledge in the discipline? Who made those decisions? What voices are left out? 

Suggested Resources to Explore:

Antiracist Pedagogy Reading List (A resource list intended for college professors.)

Braun, Gina and Kristin Ravel. “Toward an Anti-Racist Curriculum.” (Powerpoint presented as part of RU’s Courageous Conversations series. The slides provide an overview of strategies for designing an anti-racist curriculum.)

Brown University Center for Teaching and Learning. Effective Teaching in Anti-Racist Teaching. (A webpage from Brown University that offers a process for working toward anti-racist teaching. Focuses on course goals, content, classroom discussions, and assessment.)

Jennifer Imazeki. Anti-Racism and Allyship in the Classroom (An extensive list that includes general and discipline-specific resources.) 

Kernahan, C. (2019). Teaching About Race and Racism in the College Classroom: Notes from a White Professor. West Virginia University Press. (A university professor’s reflections on teaching about race.)

Taylor, S.D., Veri, M.J., Eliason, M., Hermoso, J.C.R., Bolter, N.D., & Van Olphen, J.E. (2019). The Social Justice Syllabus Design Tool: A First Step in Doing Social Justice Pedagogy. Journal Committed to Social Change on Race and Ethnicity (JCSCORE), 5(2), 133-66. (An article that suggests ways to design a syllabus that “signals belongingness, growth mindset, communal goals, clear and positive expectations, and success-orientation.”)

Students come into a classroom with a wide variety of perspectives and experience. No matter the content of the course, these differing outlooks vastly affect their beliefs and understanding of the subject. Keeping this in mind, it is important for your students to confront their own positionalities and biases. An Anti-Racist classroom encourages this reflection and interrogation. Fostering an Anti-Racist environment means meeting students where they are and engaging from there. This may result in challenging conversations or even resistance from certain students. Aim to work with your students on developing skills for having tough conversations. Doing so will also help them in addressing social injustices they see beyond the classroom. 

Suggested Resources to Explore:

Cora Learning. (2020, April 28). Responding to Racial Bias and Microaggressions in the Online Environment [Video]. Youtube. 

Columbia University Center for Teaching and Learning (2017). Guide for Inclusive Teaching. 

Harbin, M.B., Thurber, A., & Bandy, J. (2019). “Teaching Race, Racism, and Racial Justice: Pedagogical Principles and Classroom Strategies for Course Instructors. Race and Pedagogy Journal, 4(1), 1-37.  

Smith, L., Kashubeck-West, S., Payton, G., & Adams, E. (2017). White professors teaching about racism: Challenges and rewards. The Counseling Psychologist, 45(5), 651-68. 

Supiano, B. (2020).  Teaching: When students resist learning about racism. Chronicle of Higher Education. 

It is important that your Anti-Racist work does not stop at the classroom door. Ask your students to reflect on ways we can build Anti-Racist communities and encourage them to think of ways they can take what they have learned in your classroom to other parts of their lives, both on and off campus. Consider ways that your work in the classroom can be translated into broader work on our campus. Reach out to others in departments that impact students and propose collaborations on Anti-Racist programs and discussions. Look at students holistically–not just within the limits of your classroom.

Suggested Resources to Explore:

Colorado College. Our Work Toward Becoming an Antiracist Institution. (An open letter from Colorado College’s president that outlines steps being taken by the college to work toward becoming an anti-racist institution.)

Eliminate Racism 815. (Website for a growing group of community members in Rockford that aims to end racism and validate the importance of every individual.) 

Ibram Kendi. (2020). “Making Higher Education Anti-Racist.” Harvard Gazette. (A short article about potential reforms in higher education.)

Errol Louis. (2020). ”Ibram X. Kendi: Building an Anti-Racist Society.” (An interview with Kendi on dismantling racist systems and building an anti-racist society.)

Krishni Metivier. (2020). “Envisioning Higher Education as Anti-Racist.” Inside Higher Education.  (A checklist of key actions that colleges and universities should take in working toward an anti-racist campus culture.)  

University of Dayton. (2020). Explore UD’s Steps Toward Becoming an Anti-Racist University. (An Open Letter to the University of Dayton Community from Members of the President’s Council Regarding Steps Toward Becoming an Anti-Racist University.)