We have two major challenges today at UVM. It has become clear to me in the few months that I have been here that we experience a particularly difficult form of racism on this campus and in the community around us, the kind that is hard to deal with because it is often covert. That is, we are proud of our tolerance for differences and our "live and let live" attitude, and yet, at the same time, we really don´t know how to manage difficult differences, and thus we continue to engage in racist behavior. This conference is entitled "Dismantling Racism at UVM," and it is much needed.
Racism comes in many forms here. There are bias-related incidents in the residence halls and little acts of discourtesy and awkwardness and subtle, but demeaning forms of stereotyping, based on our assumptions about other people who seem different from us in some noticeable way. There are also open acts of harassment and discrimination. The climate that we create through these countless little acts is lukewarm at best and, for many, overtly chilly and hurtful.
At the same time, many of the workshops today have incorporated much broader issues that best can be described as creating diversity, respect, social justice and democracy. Over the past several months, I have been trying to understand how racism manifests itself on our campus and in Vermont and how we can create at UVM a truly just and respectful community. I have built some of my own thinking around the work of the Association of American Colleges and Universities which has been conducting a study of diversity and democracy in its series on "Higher Education and American Commitments."
In my experience at several universities, I have observed that the concepts of what diversity means and what racism means change as a community gains more experience with diversity. The working definition of diversity evolves as a consequence of actions taken, reflection on the reactions to the steps taken, identification of new challenges, further steps, further reactions and so on. We are engaged in that process here today and must continue to do so as we progress through this academic year.
Institutions have defined the challenges of achieving diversity in various ways, as:
a. A problem to be solved or managed.
b. Something for "them" and not for "us," so that "they" can be successful in "our" environment.
c. A means to enrich everyone´s life.
d. A necessary component of academic excellence.
e. A necessary component of preparing ourselves and our students for the 21st century.
Quote from a newsclip: "Why do I want diversity? Because without it, you rob me of the education I deserve."
I believe that UVM must opt for approaches C, D, and E, but I think that some of us are still in stages A or B.
What does it take to change deeply embedded assumptions and values? For some, seeing is believing (written reports, policies). For others, hearing is believing (oral culture). For everyone, actions speak louder than either written or spoken words.
It is my impression that at UVM and within Vermont as a whole, we express a broad tolerance for individual beliefs and differences, but we lack a good repertoire for dealing with the actual differences we encounter and the conflicts and feelings that these differences engender. Here are some of the questions that are on my mind:
What is the relationship between "diversity" and "ditferences"? How do we engage "difficult differ ences"-quotation from Carol Schneider at the AAC&U-so that we are all enhanced by it? What does a culture that supports diversity really mean?
Who has permission to talk about the conse quences of discrimination and racism? How similar are the experiences of gender bias and racial bias and stereotyping? What is the real experience of our students, faculty and staff of color at UVM? What can we do to create a truly inclusive and respectful community in which all people feel both safe and welcomed?
What will it take to attract more faculty and staff of color and ensure their success at UVM?
How can we recruit and retain more students of color at UVM? What will ensure that they have successful experiences here?
How can the UVM community learn more about race and race relations and correct the common misperceptions about these issues? According to Yolanda Moses, president of CCNY and an anthropologist, race is a social construct, but most people in our country don´t think this way about race. They think it is a physical or biological condition.
How can we use the natural conflicts that our growing concerns about diversity will create as a stimulus for greater engagement and shared learning? Are we prepared for a racially related "incident" or protest?
We have recently experienced several bias-related incidents in our residence halls. Our new director, Annie Stevens, has been working with the campus community to develop an effective response that will help all of us to know what is really going on at UVM and to call all of us to do our fair share in addressing these issues. We must first recognize that there are acts of bias and racism going on today on this campus. We must all work together to create a genuinely inclusive and supportive intellectual and social environment for us all.
How can we work with members of the Burlington community to create a more supportive environment for people of color in the public schools, in the workplace and in the community?
UVM cannot create a completely self-contained environment. All of us are citizens of our surrounding neighborhoods and communities as well. We must keep this broader context in mind and exercise our civic responsibilities while we attend to our campus commitments.
I am looking forward to hearing what happened today, what we have learned and how we can turn this day into action. I have asked several members of the ALANA Coalition to develop a design for an advisory and resource group that can work with me and with the provost and with our Board of Trustees to create a campus community that is a truly inclusive educational environment in which all participants are equally welcome, equally valued and equally heard. I hope that this group will help us interpret the results of our surveys and our experiences with recruitment and with promoting the success of all our community members, and that it will offer advice on strategies that we can employ to create a truly diverse and democratic campus experience for all of us.