Boston University (BU) has announced plans to scale back its Center for Antiracist Research just three years after its launch amid criticism, the New York Times reports.

Founded in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and in response to students’ calls for the university to address racism on campus, the center had plans to create undergraduate and graduate degree programs in antiracism. To lead the center, BU recruited Ibram X. Kendi, a University of Florida professor who gained national fame in 2020 with his book How to Be an Antiracist. The Times reports that 36 employees, more than half of the center’s staff, were laid off and the budget is being cut in half. Former staff and outside critics have expressed concerns about Kendi’s management and focus as well as the center’s grant management practices.

“Commensurate to the amount of cash and donations taken in, the outputs were minuscule,” said Saida U. Grundy, a BU sociology professor and feminist scholar who was once affiliated with the center.

The center’s new model will be a nine-month fellowship program for intellectuals who will participate in public events while conducting their own research. Kendi told the Times that the decision to downsize the center was made to ensure its future, even though it is currently financially healthy. According to the university, the center has raised nearly $55 million and its endowment contains about $30 million, with an additional $17.5 million held in reserves.

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