The Alternate University

Photo of the "alternate university" featured in Alumnae Line, August 1970.

Announcement of the "alternate university," May 12, 1970.

Proposal for the Black Studies Prgram, January 1970.  Click this image to see all three pages of the proposal.

A memo evidencing faculty response to the Black Demands, May 1971.

"Report on the State of Black Studies at Mundelein," May 1971.  Click this image to explore the report.

A draft of the Black Studies course offerings for academic years 1970 - 1971 and 1971 - 1972.

Perhaps more than any other innovation, the Civil Rights and Antiwar Movements of the 1960s and early 1970s dramatically changed the future of education at Mundelein College. The remarkable shift of May 1970 inspired a radically altered academic curriculum. Student protestors developed the “alternate university,” a series of seminars to advance student understanding of contemporary social justice issues. Undergraduates could advance their understanding of the war with a roster of courses such as Changing Democratic Society, Military in Politics, and Analyses of Nixon’s Cambodia Addresses. At the same time, Mundelein College implemented the Black Studies Program that was originally proposed during the Conference on Curriculum in 1969. In the Fall of 1970, Mundeleinites now had the opportunity to enroll in courses such as Theology of the Black Experience, Afro-American History, and Black Art.