Dear SU Community,
One of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s favorite passages, one which he cited often in his speeches and writings, is this: “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” Last Wednesday, we were reminded that there are individuals on this campus who believe they have the right or the power to stand in the way of that inevitable progress. We will not allow that to happen. Southwestern University is committed to honoring the history and humanity of all of our students, particularly those members of the BIPOC community.
What took place last Wednesday and again last night was a reminder that while the University increases the representation of people of color among our students, faculty, staff, and administrators, our campus climate must also undergo dramatic changes. Cowardly acts of racism, intimidation, and hate took place in another first-year residence hall, this time Clark Hall, named after the University’s first admitted Black student Ernest Clark, class of ’69. When these incidents take place, it deeply affects our faculty, staff, and students of color, and it also represents a continuation of a racially divided America.
Some Southwestern history might be helpful in providing some context as to why what has taken place on campus this year is so egregious. Mr. Clark enrolled at Southwestern in the fall of 1965, desegregating the University 11 years after the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case. As an undergraduate at SU, Clark was a member of the band, the choir, and Mask & Wig, the student-run theater organization. He completed his music degree at Southwestern in 1969 as the University’s first Black graduate and went on to become a band director and music instructor in the Dallas Independent School District, teaching an estimated 36,000 students. In 2009, Mr. Clark was awarded the Southwestern University Medal, the institution’s most prestigious honor, for charting the path for later Black students and in recognition of his contributions as a long-time educator. His legacy stands and will not and cannot be marred or erased.
On Tuesday, when images of racist epithets were first shared on Facebook, Leslie Peterson, the digital media coordinator in Marketing & Communications (Marcom), immediately brought them to the attention of David Ochsner, Marcom’s vice president, who in turn notified Brit Katz, the vice president for student life and Shelley Story, the dean of students. They, in turn, reached out to the affected students, and the dean of students messaged all students on the floor shortly after the incident.
On Wednesday afternoon, I met with a group of distressed and concerned Clark Hall students. Understandably, our students wanted to know how the incident was first communicated, what actions the administration has already taken, and actions that are being undertaken both immediately and in the longer term.
However, before I begin to share the specific, material policies, programs, and changes we have both in place and planned, I want to invite every member of our community to find ways to support those members of the Southwestern community who have been wounded by the hate that was displayed here. Our words, our actions, our faith in the inevitability of justice—they all have the power to bend that arc.
Below is a list of initiatives that students on Wednesday requested and that are, in several instances, being implemented for the first time at SU. They are followed by longer-term proposals from students.
Immediately
- Fund additional surveillance cameras in/around first-year residence halls, a new initiative currently being implemented;
- Complete Student Life's "bias response protocol and team,” a new initiative currently underway;
- Create an anonymous survey including questions, "How can the University better support you?" and "Do you feel safe where you are living?” Act on the thematic recommendations registered in the surveys, a new initiative currently underway;
- Announce to the community the range of sanctions possible for violations of our bias policies (see Student Handbook);
- Offer rewards for information identifying persons responsible for bias incidents, a new initiative currently underway; for more information about the rewards, contact Dean of Students Shelley Story or Coordinator of First-year Housing Autumn Lange;
- Create a Students' Bill of Humanity, a new initiative currently underway;
- Repeatedly announce Southwestern’s core values and beliefs on flyers and posters in all residence halls, implemented today;
- Create a telephone tip line for anonymous reporting of bias violations, implemented today. If you have information that directs us to the individuals responsible for the criminal intolerant behavior in Clark Hall, please contact our Incident Tip Line: 1-866-943-5787.
- Create an expanded and more centralized operating space for the JEDI Center, a new initiative currently underway.
Long-term initiatives
- Hire a chief diversity officer. A president’s commission is currently being organized to discuss a position and the responsibilities;
- Invite faculty and staff to hold classroom discussions regarding race and ethnicity;
- Continue staging panels, student support groups, campus gatherings, and speakers regarding racial and ethnic issues;
- Expand current micro-fundraising efforts for POC student organizations.
Already planned
- Welcome week will include panels specifically aiding in the conversation of diversity and inclusion - with emphasis on antiracism and social justice. It will also include a student panel on how to treat faculty with respect and how to flourish and value the opportunity to live in a culturally, ethnically, and racially diverse community;
- Welcome week will also include an involvement fair with sign-ups for clubs, intramurals, off-campus outdoor recreational trips, information about all sororities and fraternities, the JEDI Center, and the Student Government Association;
- Thematic Hires in Race, Ethnicity, and Social Justice focused in LatinX and Black Studies—the creation of six lines in English, Feminist Studies, History, Political Science, and Sociology (x2) that focus on race, ethnicity, and social justice content. Five searches are complete; one search in English is ongoing. New faculty will enter in 2023-24;
- Organize a "President's Corner" for students of color, scheduled for Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. in Bishop’s Lounge;
- On March 2, the president will be meeting with Coalition for Diversity & Social Justice (CDSJ) members;
- Notify the student body that a special lunch discussion of pre-selected faculty and staff will be held on March 28 to outline future education, training, and protocols toward racial/ethnic understanding;
- Restorative justice workshops in the JEDI Center, already underway;
- Provide visual and written admissions materials and videos in Spanish, already underway.
Over the past two and a half years, the University has put these measures into place:
- Job descriptions have been revised, and job advertisements have been strategically placed to increase diversity across leadership positions and in faculty/staff hires;
- FOC (Faculty of Color) connect at the Associated Colleges of the South (ACS) and at SU—mentoring program for faculty of color (led by Professor Alicia Moore and Professor Maha Zewail-Foote) funded by ACS Mellon grant.
- Hired Southwestern’s first full-time Title IX coordinator, Katie Rallojay;
- New position created, a Hispanic Student Success Coordinator, to be hired as part of Academic Success approved for 2023-2024;
- New position created, Brianna Pierce is our Coordinator of Student Inclusion and Diversity;
- An inclusive pedagogy specialist to be added to the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship in 2023-2024;
- For staff hires, HR now provides affirmative action and diversity training for staff search committees;
- ACS Mellon Fellow in the Humanities—Professor Laura Senio Blair will begin a two-year appointment as Assistant Dean of Faculty Development and Strategic Initiatives with a focus on implementing HSI programming approved for 2023-24;
- Resident assistant compensation was reviewed, then increased for 2022-2023;
- Associations recently joined promoting diversity and inclusion:
- Liberal Arts College Racial Equity Leadership Alliance
- Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities
- President's Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration
- Excelencia in Education
- Universities Studying Slavery Consortium
In addition, my appreciation goes to the Staff Steering Committee for requesting that when bias incidents occur, immediate communications go to the entire University community, not just to immediately affected students. This change has now been put into place.
A year and a half ago, the board of trustees approved the
University’s Five-Year Tactical Plan. During the initial meeting of the 20-person committee, there was unanimous agreement that Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Equity (DIBE) was the institution’s most important priority. The hiring freeze in place was subsequently lifted, and the University is welcoming an increasingly diverse community of students, faculty, and staff. Currently tenure track faculty people of color (POC) stand at 30 percent compared to 23 percent for liberal arts institutions nationally; our board of trustees is 27 percent POC compared to 16 percent nationally. Our POC student population stands at 42 percent versus 35 percent nationally; POC staff is 29 percent, which aligns with the national average, and we aim to improve on this number.
We stand by our students as we face these issues, and these are conversations and actions in which everyone needs to take part to support continuing institutional change. We have an opportunity to create something that is aspirational and a model for higher education, and to not do so would be an enormous opportunity forfeited. We are ever more determined to continue our efforts to create and sustain a more inclusive campus for all.
Sincerely,
