Dear Carleton Alumni,
I hope that you are enjoying a pleasant fall. It has been truly spectacular on the Carleton campus! I am sure that you all remember the stunning array of reds, yellows, and oranges that ring the Bald Spot in October, and the way the late afternoon sun highlights the colors.
I write today to provide you with an update on two important, related areas: our first steps in the implementation of the Community Plan for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity, and our launch of a comprehensive strategic planning process, called Carleton 2033. I know that the alumni community is deeply committed to our IDE goals, and I hope you will find this implementation update encouraging. I also know that alumni are ambitious to see the College grow and evolve, and I hope that you will be excited to hear how you can participate in our efforts to envision all the ways in which we can make our extraordinary college even stronger in the years ahead.
Updates on the Community Plan for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity
After the tremendous community effort that went into shaping the IDE Plan, it is exciting to have moved from planning into action as we work to build a more inclusive community. The plan commits us to ongoing and timely communication of progress toward the goals outlined in the plan, and we will be sharing updates regularly to ensure that we are holding ourselves accountable to this important work.
We’ve compiled a detailed list of both actions taken and projects currently in progress from across campus, all of which can be seen on the IDE Plan website. The following are some recent highlights.
- A search is underway for a Vice President for Inclusion, Equity, and Community to serve as the college’s chief diversity officer and oversee implementation of the IDE Plan.
- The college recently created a new Community of Belonging website that brings together IDE-related information, initiatives, and news from many different offices and groups across campus.
- Academic departments are beginning work on the departmental equity analyses recommended by the plan, and faculty and staff have undertaken facilitated, IDE-specific training focused on biases in hiring practices, difficult conversations, and other topics.
- Student feedback continues to play an important role in the development of plans to build multicultural and Black student center spaces as part of the recently approved Student Life and Housing Plan.
- The senior administration has worked to allocate both ongoing and one-time funding toward IDE initiatives that will lay the foundation for the office of the future VP for Inclusion, Equity, and Community.
- Through the generosity of donors as part of their estate plans, approximately $2 million was set aside as an endowed fund for IDE work. Alumni donors to the annual fund also responded positively to the option to designate their gifts to support the college’s commitment to IDE by contributing over $400,000 for this allocation in fiscal year ’22.
As I hope you can see, a great deal of time, thought, and action has already been put toward this initiative in the few short months since the IDE Plan was approved by the Board last spring. I invite you to read the full list of progress updates, which are listed by goal on the IDE Plan website.
Carleton 2033: A Strategic Direction for the Future
As important as the IDE Plan is, it does not address every aspect of the Carleton experience. Last month, we formally launched Carleton 2033, a planning process that will shape a strategic direction for Carleton over the coming decade. This launch followed six months of discussions and conversations about the future of Carleton through informal lunches, formal presentations, and a variety of gatherings in which we invited members of the community to offer ideas on how we can make the college even stronger in the future than it is today.
Our exploration centers on three key themes that emerged in discussions across campus and beyond:
- First, how can we build an equitable community in which all members feel a sense of belonging and ownership?
- Second, how do we advance our understanding of what is meant by a robust, 21st century liberal arts education?
- Third, how can we expand Carleton’s reach to ensure that the extraordinary education that we offer is familiar and accessible to a wide range of students, families and communities?
Our goal is to build a vision for Carleton’s future that is comprehensive, generative, and exciting. We will seek to define and pursue transformative change within our community, to assess external trends that may impact Carleton, and to align our energies and purpose in the coming years. The IDE Plan will be a foundational piece of this exploration, and its goals will flow into the broader strategic plan.
The Carleton 2033 planning structure includes a coordinating committee, three task forces, community advisors, and a reliance wherever possible on existing groups, committees, and student organizations to undertake focused discussion of specific topics.
I invite you as alumni to participate in one or more of several ways. Alumni representation will be included in some of the appointed planning groups noted above. In addition, you can share your ideas with us by filling out the feedback form on the Carleton 2033 website, by joining the discussion in an upcoming webinar (schedule to be announced), and/or by providing information about your experiences as a Carleton graduate through some forthcoming survey opportunities.
The timeline for Carleton 2033 allows for the three task forces, which are being appointed early this month, to work throughout the academic year, sharing draft reports with the community before submitting them to the coordinating committee by the end of spring term 2023. We plan to share and finalize a draft plan by early next fall, and seek approval from the Board of Trustees at its October 2023 meeting.
I hope that you’ll find time to take a look at our strategic planning website to learn more. I am excited to be launching this effort, and look forward to working with the entire community to create a shared vision for the Carleton of the future.
Many thanks for your support,
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