Dear Honors College Community,
Over the last days, following the murder of George Floyd, I have gone from feeling sick about what I saw and heard to upset and angry that it could happen anywhere in this country, especially in a city I called home for 8 years. I have been demoralized about the thudding regularity of violence to Black people in America; I have felt helpless and ineffectual about my ability to do anything substantive; I have experienced self-doubt and guilt about my own complicity in this country’s systemic racism and oppression as a person of privilege who identifies as white. I’ve had challenging conversations with my children, proudly watched as they stood with their friends to protest racial injustice and oppression, and I’ve worried about their safety and the safety of their peers. I imagine, as you have witnessed these events, that you have experienced many similar emotions and more.
I have also wrestled with how to put these feelings into words in some meaningful way for the Honors College community that would go beyond empty "thoughts and prayers" rhetoric and point towards impactful and measurable action. One of the things that I cherish about the Honors College is that, in addition to providing an outstanding academic experience, we also emphasize that we are a community. Many of our community members are hurting right now. The Honors College is here to support each of you as you process the events of the last few weeks, and for those of you looking for how to lend support to those who are struggling, the advising team, the FOUR office, and the rest of the staff can suggest resources to learn about the history of violence toward communities of color in the United States and ways to get involved. But I also urge each of you to reach out to one another, to listen, to console, and to make sure the members of our community are heard, seen, and cared for at this hurtful moment.
The hurt and staggering dismay of these days, raw and immediate right now, has long historical roots, and we would fail in our efforts to build an HCOL community if we didn’t acknowledge and try to address this history of racial injustice and its impact on education in a meaningful way. To that end, over the course of the last year, I and my HCOL colleagues have been working with two groups, one of students and one of staff and faculty, to find ways to support students of color in the Honors College, to advance diversity and inclusion, and to remove barriers and promote access to the Honors College community. These two committees, the Student Equity Action Committee (SEAC) and the Committee on Equity and Inclusion (CEI) have proposed a number of actions to make the Honors College a safe, welcoming environment where marginalized students can thrive both socially and academically.
As a result of these proposals and collaborations, we have committed the Honors College to the following actions that have already taken place or will be put in motion in the coming academic year:
· The Honors College staff have participated in Bystander Step-Up bias response training.
· HCOL staff now participate in an ongoing bi-weekly reading group of articles related to diversity and equity in higher education.
· HCOL and the Mosaic Center will collaborate to establish an “Affinity Space” as a starting point for greater collaboration in supporting marginalized students.
· We have revised the first year curriculum to include more diverse viewpoints and voices, including the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on communities of color, and we will begin teaching a new HCOL 85 that reflects these changes this fall.
· We will work with Admissions to devise a “hybrid” recruiting approach to increase FTFY diversity
· We will likewise work with our campus partners to develop alternative pathways into the Honors College for marginalized students.
· We will advocate for and present a plan to increase participation of faculty of color in Honors College seminars.
I hope that these actions will become the foundation for an Honors College that truly lives up to its ideals to be a “community of inquiry” and where the obligation to be a safe, welcoming, and just environment stands shoulder to shoulder with our mission to create conditions where every student can discover and express themselves. It is also my hope that if we succeed, the Honors College will be the place where the leaders, consolers, and inspirers who will ultimately make this world an inclusive and equitable place can learn, grow, and thrive.
In Fellowship,
David