Dear members of the college community,

I am writing to express my deep sadness over the recent killing of George Floyd and those before him. As President Pollack stated in her message,  “decent people and institutions cannot stand silent while such violence against our fellow citizens continues.”

It has been devastating to read about these events from a distance and I can only imagine the pain and sorrow experienced by the family members and friends of these victims.

These deaths have sparked protests across the country, showing the fear, anger and despair among black and indigenous people of color.

I want to affirm that our college upholds the values of inclusivity and equity and will stand up against racism wherever we find it through all means available to us.

Part of this fight will involve the continuation and strengthening of our programs to educate our entire community on diversity and inclusion issues. It must also involve a continued fostering of a diverse college community through recruitment of people from all backgrounds and cultures in both hiring and student admissions. And finally, making sure that our day-to-day actions, thoughts and institutional norms and systems reflect these values we espouse.  I appreciate all you are doing already and invite you to continue to help us do better in the future.

To all of you who are suffering from these events, please know the college stands with you. We are here to listen, learn from and advocate for you. If anyone wishes to contact me with their thoughts or concerns, I would like to hear from you.

Sincerely,

Dean Lorin Warnick

This post comes from a June 1, 2020 message to the college community