Dear Southwestern Community,

Please join me in extending my gratitude to Professor of Anthropology Melissa Johnson for her exceptional efforts in organizing Tuesday’s Race & Ethnicity Symposium. Additionally, I am deeply appreciative of all the panelists who contributed their insights and perspectives and the students, staff, and faculty who spoke. Your bravery and openness in sharing your experiences and viewpoints are truly commendable.

The questions and views expressed were important, and the sharing of the pain and challenges our community faces must lead to creating together a stronger, hate-free, and empathic Southwestern University. I would like to address a matter that has recently sparked great concern across our campus. It is crucial to emphasize that the university firmly upholds the principle that the content and methodology of each class are exclusively under the faculty’s purview. This stance is a testament to our unwavering dedication to the principles of academic freedom, a cornerstone of our institution's ethos. We steadfastly commit to this ideal, ensuring that our educational environment continues to foster free thought and scholarly independence. Our institutional core values uphold this commitment.

In the interest of transparency, I am passing along information about topics that were raised at the symposium. Here is the most recent update about the composition of our faculty, staff, students, and Board of Trustees and the status of the Black Student Union’s Petition and the actions taken since last year. Dinah Ritchie, our interim Vice President for Integrated Communications and Marketing, has been working with faculty and staff to create a diversity website and our DIBE initiatives website. Updates are regularly published there.

We are making significant strides in our Tactical Plan, which features DIBE as a core theme.

The search is well underway for our new Vice President for Equity, Accountability, and Inclusive Excellence. Our search has yielded an exceptional pool of almost 30 candidates. Guided by the expertise of our dedicated search committee, comprising Associate Professor of Education Alicia Moore, Professor of Chemistry Maha-Zewail Foote, Vice President for Student Life Brit Katz, Chaplain and Director of Spiritual Life Ron Swain, Dean of Financial Aid James Gaeta, Dara Adebayo ’24, and alumna and trustee Dr. Elizabeth Medina, the list of 30 candidates was narrowed down to eight for first-round interviews. From this outstanding group, we have invited three candidates to visit our campus in mid-February.

Also included in the Tactical Plan is the objective to enhance wages for our faculty, staff, and students. Two years ago, a new salary study system was implemented to ensure that compensation is competitive at a national level. Staff compensation is benchmarked against peers in the Annapolis Group, including Trinity University and Austin College. Faculty salaries are monitored in line with the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) salary report. In addition, we have raised the hourly wage for our workers from $11 in 2021 to $14.50. Currently, we are reviewing student wages. A recent audit revealed 29 different classifications for student wages, and our Office of Finance and Administration is set to roll out a new student wage structure by the new academic year following the work of the Student Employment Committee.

We are also expanding infrastructure on our campus to better support our students. The newly planned Welcome Center and Residence Halls are designed with our students' needs in mind. These spaces will feature student lounges, gathering areas, a theater, art gallery, first-year advisor center, and various other amenities, all aimed at creating a more welcoming, inclusive, and collaborative environment for our students.

Finally, Dinah Ritchie is organizing the formation of a new student advisory group. If you are interested, you may contact her at ritchied@southwestern.edu. This initiative aims to improve student communication at Southwestern, ensuring a more connected and engaged student body. Stay tuned for more information.

These initiatives represent a portion of our comprehensive efforts to enhance retention and support for our entire campus community. I encourage you to review a detailed list of all our ongoing retention initiatives for more information.

Sincerely,

Laura Skandera Trombley
President, Southwestern University