More Updates on Our Anti-Racist Agenda
Dear Brooklyn College colleagues,
Today is Tuesday, July 14, 2020, and I have a few updates to share.
First, we continue to strongly oppose the new guidance from Immigration and Customs Enforcement barring international students from the country who are taking classes entirely online this fall. On behalf of Brooklyn College, I signed onto a letter to Congress from the American Council of Education decrying the guidance. Additionally, CUNY has joined NYS Attorney General Letitia James’ legal challenge to this misguided rule. At the College, we are working to support our students by identifying hybrid courses they need in order to remain in the country and continue their education. If you are an international student with questions, please email our International Student Advisors at iss@brooklyn.cuny.edu.
Second, Chief Diversity Officer Anthony Brown and Human Resources Director Renita Simmons hosted the first Listening Session yesterday focused on staff concerns as part of our anti-racist agenda. They reported back to me that more than 100 participants discussed the challenges that our staff of color face in the workplace. They discussed the responsibilities for the new Staff Ombudsperson, and learned that the position may be better framed as a mentor rather than an ombudsperson. Staff talked about feeling under-appreciated in their roles and not feeling that they had equal opportunities for promotion at the College. There was general agreement that a culture change on these issues is needed. We are slating additional listening sessions for the summer and fall, many of which I will be able to attend, to ensure that we hear from a broad range of staff, student, and faculty voices, and to help improve our strategies as we move forward.
Third, we met with the Faculty Council Master Planning Committee yesterday to discuss faculty hiring. Diversifying the faculty and staff is an expression of our Strategic Plan, which identifies the need to “attract, develop, and retain an innovative, diverse, productive, and engaged faculty and staff.” Our Strategic Plan also requires us to “develop a plan for the support and retention of faculty from historically underrepresented groups.”
Our discussion yesterday was lengthy and fruitful. We agreed that we need to find the means to fund hiring, despite the budget challenges we face. We noted that the departments of Africana Studies and PRLS are critical to the College, and that faculty lines are at the heart of what these departments need to thrive. We also examined the need to diversify the curriculum across departments––that is, to develop our research depth in areas that most affect people of color and to be able to offer the corresponding courses most relevant to our diverse student body. I have asked the Provost to begin to work with the deans, Master Planning, and chairs on their faculty line requests for the coming year with these principles in mind.
Sincerely,
Michelle J. Anderson
President, Brooklyn College
