In 2008 as the Associate Provost for Multicultural Affairs and Academic Initiatives, Dr. Wanda Heading-Grant ’87 was charged with developing complementary professional development learning opportunity intended to support UVM faculty, enhance instruction in the classroom, explore new scholarship on social justice and equity, and create a space for critical brave conversations regarding race, privilege, power and multiculturalism in the U.S. and beyond. With the support of a small working committee she convened, including Robyn Warhol-Down, Sherwood Smith, Emily Bernard, John Gennari, and Jill Tarule, Heading-Grant visualized and built the multi-day teaching, learning, and community building signature event that continues to engage the entire University community and guests on topics of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice that impacts climate, culture, assessment, research in a learning and teaching environment.

The title "Blackboard Jungle" refers to a 1955 film that dramatizes the complicated relationship between teachers and students in a multi-racial inner city high school. A white teacher encounters resistance from both students and faculty as he attempts to challenge his students and run an orderly classroom. We screened the film during the first annual “Blackboard Jungle” symposium, and those in attendance found it to be an excellent jumping off point for discussions about race and teaching in our classrooms here at the University of Vermont.

Faculty and staff find that we have to navigate our own "jungles," ideologically speaking, as we find our way through student fears and inexperience when it comes to issues of race, color, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national and ethnic origin, socio-economic status, cultural and/or geographic background, religious belief, age, and disability. These "jungles of resistance" are why we gather annually to participate in "Blackboard Jungle," where faculty and staff inspire each other with experience, wisdom and strategies for educating and guiding our students here at UVM, and equipping them with tools that will enhance their experiences in an increasingly diverse world.