Clarification regarding action plans to address issues of systemic racism at Brandeis
June 16, 2020
Dear Brandeis Community,
I want to clarify one part of the message I sent out last week regarding the action plans aimed to address racism on our campus.
Thanks to messages I received from a number of colleagues, and a good discussion with our Faculty Senate last week, I see how my message lacked clarity and specificity when it comes to the intended composition of the groups to draft the action plans. Allow me to clarify and also apologize for the confusion.
The names listed in the memo are those who will be responsible and accountable for submitting plans to me by September 1. I had not intended to limit membership to those involved in the reporting process. I anticipate that each group of action plan leaders will invite individuals to submit ideas and develop the action plans. Mark Brimhall-Vargas, Chief Diversity Officer and Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, will coordinate these plans with each other and our institutional mission and values.
If someone, or a group, prefers to contribute to the action plans outside the structure I outlined in my email message, I invite and encourage them to do so. They should submit their ideas and recommendations to those responsible for each action plan, or to any office they feel is appropriate, and that office will then share the recommendations with the responsible administrators.
I am aware of the additional burdens we have placed in the past on a small number of individuals, and so I wanted the noted administrators listed in my previous email message to bear the burden of organization and the compiling of these plans. The content, however, must come from the community.
Sincerely,
Ron