January 14, 2022–From U of U Leadership:
Dear campus community,
We have an urgent vision for the U. Our collective vision calls for us to come together and say we will not tolerate what has long been intolerable.
We remind our campus family that harm and fear continue to ripple through our community, especially our Black community. We reject the insidiousness of hate, bias, and discrimination in all its forms. We say: No more.Our nation has an ugly history and a complicated present when it comes to confronting issues of race. The recent bomb threat against our Black Cultural Center comes only a week after recent bomb scares targeted eight Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the country, and a week before our country honors the memory and the work of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.At the U, we must not simply rest on words. We must work continuously to address the harms of racism to create a community of belonging for all. To that end, we are launching the Presidential Commission on Equity and Belonging led by Vice President Mary Ann Villarreal and Vice President Lori McDonald, to guide our short-term approaches to address the harm happening in our community.Over the next 30 days, this team will focus on an institution-wide Day of Collective Action. The university will collectively pause for a day to reflect on how hate impacts our community; how we want our community to grow; and how we will take active steps to support and build inclusivity at the U. During this pause, we will host a series of workshops where we bring together students, faculty, staff, and community to reflect and recommend specific actions to support and facilitate our collective healing.Beyond focusing on immediate actions in the wake of these recent incidents, this group will also focus on aggressively moving forward critical initiatives. Among those will be strengthening the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities (Student Code). In coordination with students and other members of the U community—and within 60 days—we will propose revisions to the Student Code that will provide for enhanced sanctions for individuals who violate the code where those violations are motivated by bias, prejudice, or hate—on or off campus. We plan to move those changes through the university’s formal approval process by the end of the Spring 2022 Semester.Additional work is required to ensure the campus community understands the important role that the Racist & Bias Incident Response Team (RBIRT) plays in providing transparency in how racist and bias incidents are reported, communicated, and addressed. Further, we will strengthen RBIRT to be appropriately resourced and empowered to act effectively; and those communications practices are deployed effectively to provide critical timely information on issues of race. At the end of those 90 days, the commission will deliver to President Taylor Randall a written report of its work, actions taken, and any next steps.Within the next 90 days, we will meet with various student and community groups with the goal of establishing a Community Compact outlining the ways in which we will double down on our shared commitment to continuing our work to provide a more inclusive community at the U.Of course, as we meet with various groups and receive feedback from our Day of Action, the Presidential Commission on Equity and Belonging will add more details and action steps to our 30-60-90-day approach. In the meantime, we want you to know that our work will not be deterred by those who seek to stop it.We are only emboldened to take stronger action.Sincerely,
Taylor Randall, PresidentMartell Teasley, Interim Senior Vice President for Academic AffairsMichael Good, Senior Vice President for Health SciencesMary Ann Villarreal, Vice President for Equity, Diversity, & InclusionLori McDonald, Vice President for Student AffairsLaura Snow, Chief of StaffMark Harlan, Director of AthleticsCathy Anderson, Chief Financial OfficerJason Perry, Vice President for Government RelationsChris Nelson, Interim Chief Marketing & Communications OfficerJeff Herring, Chief Human Resources OfficerErin Rothwell, Interim Vice President for ResearchPhyllis Vetter, General Counsel and Vice PresidentHeidi Woodbury, Vice President for AdvancementKeith Squires, Chief Safety OfficerNatalie Gochnour, Senior Advisor to the President
Presidential Commission on Equity and Belonging
Co-chairsMary Ann Villarreal, Vice President for Equity, Diversity, & InclusionLori McDonald, Vice President for Student AffairsMembersNatalie Gochnour, Senior Advisor to the PresidentMichael Good, Senior Vice President for Health SciencesMark Harlan, Director of AthleticsJeff Herring, Chief Human Resources OfficerErin Rothwell, Interim Vice President for ResearchLaura Snow, Chief of StaffKeith Squires, Chief Safety OfficerMartell Teasley, Interim Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs