To: Faculty, Staff and Students,
In recent weeks, several individuals and groups have asked for clarification regarding the University's plans for DePauw Dialogue this academic year. I write to share the framework I would like to use for planning this year’s Dialogue and background information about the event for those of you who are new to the DePauw community.
Timeline and Background Information
In 2014, the DePauw Student Government (DSG) requested that the faculty authorize a DePauw Day of Dialogue, where formal classes would be cancelled to focus the “entire community on conversations that build toward a more inclusive community.” In their proposal, which the faculty approved, students said:
-The Day of Dialogue should not be a reactive mechanism, used to respond to the latest campus crisis, but a proactive tool that other universities could, and should, model.
-In establishing the Day of Dialogue, we are hoping to ensure space is set aside on a regular basis to consider concepts that often go unexplored in the classroom such as bias, difference, privilege and identity. It is our hope that this day will continue to provide a regular opportunity for students, faculty and staff members to work collaboratively in a rigorous intellectual environment—an environment that pushes all participants to examine their individual role in building a shared community.
In 2015, DSG asked the faculty to authorize a second year for DePauw Dialogue (Dialogue 2.0), to which the faculty also agreed, and shared the following:
-DePauw 2.0 will give faculty, staff and students the opportunity to come together for a rigorous intellectual learning experience featuring a series of workshops, insights from a keynote speaker, and opportunities for dialogue and self-reflection, all emphasizing inclusion, community building and good citizenship.
-While we are not unique in these problems, we wish to be unique in the way we address them. As an institution, we need to be direct and intentional in telling the world that we will not stand idly by as members of our community are marginalized in the classroom or walking down the street. We cannot simply uphold status quo as set by other colleges and universities, but strive to do better with concrete and meaningful changes in the way we explore our various identities and contribution across campus. In hosting a second day of Dialogue we wish to usher in a new era at DePauw University an era where we will be the example for others to follow in building a more inclusive environment—an era where all members of our community will feel safe no matter the color of their skin; the person they choose to love, socioeconomic class or other aspects of their identity.
-The DePauw Dialogue provides an opportunity for students, faculty and staff members to congregate as a community and carefully consider the university’s academic and social goals.
In 2016, DePauw faculty approved a motion to set aside one day of class each year for five years – from the 2016-17 academic year through the 2020-21 academic year. Due to the pandemic, faculty voted during Spring Term 2020 to move DePauw Dialogue from fall 2020 to Spring 2021; the Course and Calendaring Oversight Committee subsequently set the date for Wednesday, February 24, 2021.
Moving Forward: 2020-21 DePauw Dialogue
While DePauw Dialogue has undergone evolutions in structure and programmatic activities, its original and core focus on bringing the entire community together to discuss issues of diversity, equity and inclusion has remain unchanged. However, I’ve listened carefully to concerns expressed by those throughout our community about whether the program has sufficiently addressed critical and complex diversity and inclusion issues.
I believe one day is not enough to achieve the intellectual, multi-faceted learning experience we should expect of our outstanding liberal arts institution, especially during a time of extraordinary unrest and divisiveness in our nation. Therefore, as a new president who respects the wisdom of students in asking us to “usher in a new era,” I propose that DePauw Dialogue 2021 be a series of programs, workshops and activities focused on issues of diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism during the remainder of Fall Term and continuing in Winter and Spring Terms, culminating in the full-day DePauw Dialogue event.
Programs should:
- Educate members of our community about current diversity and inclusion issues (this year including the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on people of color, police killings of Black people, the election, intolerance, immigration policies and more) with a focus on our roles and responsibilities in addressing these issues through teaching, learning and scholarship, student life experiences and policies and practices.
- Create space, through a variety of mediums, for students, faculty and staff, to engage in dialogue and self-reflection related to our individual and shared responsibilities in creating an inclusive community of all identities, as well as to strive for understanding of our personal biases and the experiences of marginalized members of our community.
We also have an opportunity to augment our new strategic planning process with a series of concurrent programs that will enable us to re-examine the many university reports about campus climate/diversity and equity and inclusion, with a view toward explicit and actionable longer-term strategies that honor our Gold Within values and aspirations. These strategies should reflect an unwavering commitment to equity, inclusion, diversity and anti-racism in our recruitment, retention and overall experience of students, faculty and staff; teaching and scholarship; community outreach; and our everyday practices.
In addition to programmatic support, a pool of grant money, awarded through application, will be set aside for faculty, staff and students who wish to engage in research and/or a professional development opportunity aligned with the focus of DePauw Dialogue activities to be shared/ presented during the spring event or in another related manner.
Finally, every effort should be made to ensure that each member of our community participates in one or more programs leading up to and including the day of DePauw Dialogue; due to the pandemic, it is likely there will be hybrid formats and options.
Planning Committee
A DePauw Dialogue program planning committee co-chaired by Amanda Kim, Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion and Alan Hill, Vice President for Student Academic Life, will include a student nominated or named by DSG, representative faculty (selected in consultation with Faculty Governance), and additional staff and students. If you are interested in serving on the planning committee, please contact Vice President Hill or Vice President Kim.
I invite all members of our campus community to participate in the upcoming series of 2020-21 DePauw Dialogue programs and look forward with great anticipation to actively participating with all of you.
Sincerely,
President White