To the Campus Community,
We are stunned and troubled by the racially charged treatment by members of the Faculty Council publicly calling into question the appointment of our new distinguished dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Dr. Tyson King-Meadows, as chair of the search committee for the dean of the College of Education and Human Development. His role and responsibilities as the chair of a search committee are being scrutinized and challenged in ways that no other dean has experienced at UMass Boston.
There is no room for this behavior on our highly diverse campus, especially one that aspires to be the leading antiracist, health-promoting public research university. We stand in solidarity with Dean King-Meadows and all our African American and Black colleagues at the university. And let us be perfectly clear: We have full confidence in Dean King-Meadows’ to lead this search.
In a month when we are commemorating Black history, we should be acknowledging the monumental and essential contributions of our African and Black communities, rather than trafficing in the racial stereotypes and tropes that unfortunately still exist, even within our campus community.
If UMass Boston is to be true to its mission, cognizant of our values, and just in our actions, we will not be bystanders to racism. We condemn the activity against Dean King-Meadows and welcome his many talents and gifts to UMass Boston.
Sincerely,
Marcelo Suárez-Orozco
Chancellor
Joseph B. Berger
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs