Posted on behalf of Roger "Doc" Richardson, Interim Chief Diversity Officer
Dear campus community,
As I write this, the tragic events in Paris and Mali, and the recent loss of our Ithaca College student, Shannon Sakosits, are still fresh on my mind. As a result, I find myself thinking a lot lately about the relationship between losing something or someone that is dear to me and having to live with a new reality. I have lost a number of loved ones during my time here at IC; as I have gained more clarity about my personal and professional life, the realities of loss and change have become more apparent.
Like many, I find the approaching holiday season to be a special time to reflect on what was, what is now, and what I hope the future will be. In many ways, I think the discourse that has occurred since the start of the fall semester about exclusion, racism, micro and macro inequities, and not feeling safe on campus are directly connected to the need for the IC community to prepare for the inclusionary changes that are essential for our institutional sustainability.
The reality of loss— not in terms of human life, but loss of the status quo and the privileges many of us have operated with — are in question as the campus strives for inclusive excellence.
As an educated black man living in the United States, working at a predominantly white institution of higher education in a senior administrative role, I know I occupy a small space of privilege when I am on campus. When I leave campus, though, my small space of privilege shrinks. Because I am aware of this fact, I can only imagine how it must feel for those who occupy larger spaces of privilege (consciously or unconsciously) to be confronted with the reality of possibly losing any aspect of their privilege.
We must put that discomfort aside, though, so that each of us can prepare and work for a changed campus environment, one in which an increased population of traditionally underrepresented students, faculty, and staff will share our daily spaces with increasing frequency. In that environment, inclusion must become our new campus reality, inside and outside the classroom.
The work necessary to create that environment is hard to contemplate and will offer difficult challenges to navigate, but it is work we all must do. I believe there is widespread agreement that a transformative shift is necessary if IC is to become an institution that embodies “inclusive excellence.” Those of us who occupy larger spaces of privilege inside and outside the classroom are needed to help create the cultural change we want to see here.
I can only assume that for many of you, like me, these past few months have been stressful, with some restless nights and long days in classes or workspaces. Despite these trying weeks, I still give thanks. I give thanks to all of you who have voiced your concerns and respectfully demonstrated your frustrations, thereby showing your commitment to help Ithaca College become a better and more progressive institution in the pursuit of inclusive excellence.
As we enter the holiday season, I am filled with hope and optimism. Our efforts, together, are moving the action items related to diversity and inclusion forward. Here are some of the latest updates:
- The Office of Public Safety and the African, Latino, Asian and Native American (ALANA) Student Engagement work group continue to engage in conversations meant to build positive relationships, and are working together to draft a “Peace Bill” for Student Government Association (SGA) review and adoption. They are also working to implement an end-of-the-semester social activity to celebrate their working relationship and to foster good will among students and officers.
- The Resident Assistant and Office of Public Safety work group has been actively meeting throughout the fall semester. The notes from their meetings will be available on the diversity section of the IC website later this week.
- Faculty in the Center for the Study of Race, Culture and Ethnicity (CSCRE) are working with members of the administration on a dedicated space to serve as the physical and emotional support safe space for ALANA students. The Office of Student Engagement and Multicultural Affairs and members of the African & Latino Society are also involved in some preliminary discussion on this topic as well.
- The Office of Alumni Affairs has enhanced the IC Mentoring Network to help foster more opportunities for ALANA alumni to mentor ALANA students.
- The Center for Faculty Excellence plans to implement a newly enhanced faculty orientation program for Fall 2016. The program is being designed to help faculty better understand the diversity of IC students and how to create a more inclusive classroom culture.
- The Council on Diversity and Inclusion (CODI) campus survey work group (CSWG) is gearing up for its initial meeting with Rankin and Associates consultants in early December to review expectations for the implementation of the campus climate survey in Fall 2016. Having Rankin and Associates work with us on this important campus initiative is the result of advocacy on the part of SGA and others, who lobbied for an independent firm to work with IC on this survey.
- CODI has provided recommendations for the scope of work for the external, independent review of Public Safety, first noted in my message last week. Now the process for vetting the outside firms for consideration is moving forward.
- CODI is in the process of reviewing the new faculty search procedures that have been instituted this semester. Plans to review procedures for staff searches will be underway soon, as well.
- The Diversity Dissertation Fellowship, a pre-doctoral program to increase underrepresented ALANA faculty, has been increased from two to four individuals per academic year, with two in the School of Humanities and Sciences and two in the School of Health Science and Human Performance for the 2016-17 academic year.
- The Department of Human Resources is working on several diversity and inclusion initiatives to be rolled out early 2016, including a cultural competency-learning model that will provide staff with cultural competency training and other professional development learning opportunities pertaining to inclusivity. Supervisors looking to facilitate group/departmental opportunities within their respective areas should contact Kirra Franzese to coordinate their interest in this area.
I am thankful for our collective effort to implement these initiatives and I hope each of us can find time in the coming weeks to reflect on our ongoing commitment to promote inclusive excellence at Ithaca College.
I wish you all peace. I hope you enjoyed your well-deserved Thanksgiving break.
Sincerely,
Doc
Dr. Roger (Doc) Richardson
Interim Chief Diversity Officer and
Associate Provost for Inclusion and Engagement
