PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Brown University has received more than $20 million over the past two academic years in support of its diversity and inclusion plan, the school said.

The funds have offered new support for faculty positions, research initiatives, student financial support and other priorities and is part of more than $157 million the Ivy League college has committed toward the plan over the past five years, the school said in a statement.

The funds were raised as part of the university’s $3 billion BrownTogether campaign.

“As our nation continues to confront racism and discrimination while battling a pandemic that disproportionately affects people of color, the importance of addressing issues of diversity, equity and inclusion has never been more clear,” President Christina Paxson said.

At the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America, for example, scholars from across the academic spectrum are convening for urgent explorations on how anti-Black racism permeates American public health, criminal justice and election procedures.

At the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice, faculty and students are collaborating with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History to gather stories from descendants of slaves.