Dear Campus Community:

We must remind ourselves that everyone is valued at Arkansas State University. Everyone on our campus belongs here and deserves respect. We must continuously ask ourselves: what we can do to be agents of positive change? We continue to hear and see comments, many anonymous, in social media that repeat or reinforce stereotypes. They are disrespectful, dismissive, and hurtful. I'm aware that these have happened in the past, and these types of statements should not be a part of the culture at A-State.  

It is incumbent upon all of us to respect how our words and actions influence others and how they reflect on our beloved campus. At Arkansas State, we have the Pack Pact by which we strive to hold each other accountable, and its words should guide our actions at all times:

As a member of the A-State Pack,

I will ACT... with integrity and respect.

I will ACT... and not be a bystander.

I will ACT... to positively change the culture.

I will ACT... because Every Red Wolf Counts.

I will ACT... for the well-being of the entire campus community.

It is time for us to have a serious conversation about our campus culture. To help us put action into our Pack Pact, I am asking our campus-wide community to come together for a series of meetings during the next weeks to begin the process.

The first one is Thursday, Nov. 10, at 1 p.m. in Centennial Hall at the Reng Student Union, and I will introduce this first discussion along with a panel of campus and student leaders. I am inviting everyone on campus to attend as we open a conversation about inclusion and belonging. I encourage you to submit questions or concerns that can be used to begin the conversation via the button below.

We are planning two more conversations on Tuesday, Nov. 29, that can dive deeper into the concerns of our students and our employees.  At 9 a.m., I am inviting our employees to come to their follow-up conversation, and at noon, we will invite students.  Both sessions will be in the Reng Student Union Auditorium.  There will be drawings for giveaways and refreshments at all three events.

Our goal from these events will be to listen and create actionable items that we can announce at the start of the spring 2023 semester in a follow-up event on Thursday, Jan. 12.  We will have more details about that event after we complete these first campus conversations.

We must work together to ensure that our campus is a welcoming place. We need to build a university where we all live in dignity, and are accepted, respected, and free from fear. This should be the goal of our campus. I look forward to seeing you on Nov. 10 to begin the conversation.

Dr. Todd Shields
Chancellor
chancellor@AState.edu

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