October 17, 2024
Dear Campus Community,
On October 3, President Iuliano wrote to the campus community about a number of action steps the College will take to address bias and identity-based issues on our campus. As Chief of Staff, I am overseeing the logistics of this important work. I’m writing today to provide you with an update on our progress.
- Last week, nearly 20 students joined Anne Ehrlich, Vice President of College Life; Eloísa Gordon-Mora, Chief Diversity Officer; and other administrators to discuss the process of notifying students when an identity-based incident directly impacts members of our campus community. The group made good progress and tackled important questions related to the frequency and mode of communication, among other topics. Another meeting will be held with this group later this month to continue this work.
- As you know, the College has retained Jason Craige Harris of the Perception Institute. This weekend, Harris will meet via Zoom with groups of student leaders to solicit feedback on his ideas for a campus dialogue series on race, identity, accountability, and repair. Invited student leaders received an email earlier this week from Vice President Ehrlich with meeting details.
- Finally, informed by student feedback, we will partner with Harris to launch the campus dialogue series in the next few weeks. The series—designed to bring together students, faculty, and staff in conversation—aims to deepen mutual understanding among us and to expand our awareness of how bias and othering function, their impact on us and others, and what we can do to foster lasting change, including an examination of our structures, policies, and practices.
While there is much work ahead, I am grateful for everyone who has engaged in this process so far.
Best,
Kris Stuempfle
Chief of Staff