While affirming the equality of all persons the faculty wish to make it known that we stand in solidarity with the Black community.
Recent violence and discrimination against Black, as well as other minority individuals and communities across the globe, reminds us of our ongoing professional and moral obligation to ensure all people are viewed, treated, and judged as sovereign, sacred, thinking individuals, with no reference to any race or group identity.
We seek to ensure that neither overt nor implicit bias or discrimination are upheld in our profession or at our institution, and consistent with our forthcoming strategic plan, commit to accelerating our efforts to increase equity and inclusion across all parts of our campus and community.
We encourage administration, faculty, staff and students to reflect, engage, and plan contributions that address and reduce discrimination and bias. We specifically encourage all faculty to:
- Listen to and learn from experiences of injustice and discrimination, and increase empathy for the perspectives of blacks and other oppressed races, groups, & individuals
- Hold departmental discussions to increase awareness and plan positive actions
- Have classroom discussions on bias, discrimination, and related topics as appropriate
- Plan and implement tangible positive actions for marginalized individuals and groups, inside and out of the classroom
We call for our campus community to join together to create and maintain a just, equitable, and inclusive climate & culture on our campus and in our community