Programs and Services

To honor Frederick Douglass' commitment to education and diversity, The Kutztown University Frederick Douglass Institute sponsors the following programs and services.

The Frederick Douglass Institute puts on a variety of programs, events and services throughout the year. Check below for a list and description of current programming offered by the FDI.

FDI Scholars and FDI Fellows

FDI Scholars and FDI Fellows

For the past twelve years, the KU FDI has hosted a "scholar-in-residence" by offering a Frederick Douglass Scholar Fellowship program. This initiative gives teaching opportunities to culturally diverse post-graduate students who are entering the final year of a terminal degrees and/or doctoral program. The chosen participants teach as a yearlong temporary professor. The Frederick Douglass Scholar Fellowship is designed specifically for growth and mentorship, as well as demonstrating KU's strong commitment to diversity.
The New North Stars (Formerly the FDI Debate Team)

The New north stars

In the spirit of Frederick Douglass' legacy as a gifted orator, most schools in the FDI Collaborative develop a FDI debate team. Teams compete against each other at a debate tournament over a predetermined topic.

The debate coach and FDI Scholar, Professor Stephens will lead students in the FDI debate team that will compete against other debate teams. FDI graduate assistant will help facilitate discussions. In addition, students will be assisted in research by Stefani Gomez, Information Literacy Librarian and Sylvia Pham, Reference Librarian who are both members of the FDI Advisory Committee.
FDI Lecture Series

fdi lecture seires

Every semester, the KU FDI facilitates three presentations by various scholars on topics related to cultural diversity. Together, the six presentations constitute each academic year's discussion series.

The 2021 Spring Discussion series included talks by Dr. John Ronan, English Department on "Douglass' Political Artistry in the 1845 Narrative," and by Dr. Amber Pabon, Secondary Education Department, on "Sistering, Daughtering, and Mothering through a Racial Pandemic: How African American Virtual Literature Circles Get Us Through."

All of the discussion series were diverse topics that engaged students, staff and faculty members of Kutztown University.
Undergraduate Internships and Scholarships
Graduate Assistantships

Graduate Assistantships

The Frederick Douglass assistantship was awarded to many graduate students in the fields of student affairs, psychology, social work, and public administration over the last decade.

Past graduate assistants have helped facilitate the fall discussion series, improved the FDI's social media presence, coached our debate team, assisted our Scholar in the planning and implementation of the Celebration of Black Composers Concert, showcased FDI events, and many other projects. Graduate students are selected based on a desire and ability to promote cultural diversity and social equity on the Kutztown University campus.
Celebration of Black Composers

Celebration of Black Composers competition and online concert

In honor of Black History month and National Women's History Month, the legacy of Frederick Douglass, and the contributions of Black composers throughout history, the KU FDI hosted a musical composition competition. We invited local and regional performers to compete in three categories-KU, high school, and community. In total, $4500 in prizes will be granted to first, second and third place winners in each category. The winning acts will be recorded and posted on a dedicated YouTube Channel.
Undergraduate Research Conference

Undergraduate Research Conference

For the past decade, the KU FDI has consistently sent students to the statewide FDI undergraduate conference to present their research on diversity-related topics. The FDI undergraduate conference has been attended by all schools in the FDI Collaborative. This year, the Frederick Douglass Institute at Kutztown University has had to cancel the undergraduate conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but we look forward to hosting the conference again in the coming year.