Provost's Letter to Colleagues
Provost's Letter to Faculty
- November 4, 2004
January 21, 2004
Dear colleagues,
This is another of the periodic letters that I will use to communicate with you on topics and challenges that face us in the Office of Academic Affairs. In my November letter, I commented on the settlement of the faculty contract negotiations and the early stages of implementing the Discovery Program. We continue to talk to faculty about the leadership and advisory structures of the Discovery Program, even as we move forward with planning another round of pilot Inquiry courses for the next academic year. I hope that in the coming weeks we will have been able to identify the faculty leadership and other staff and financial resources needed to begin the six-year implementation process put forward by the Faculty Senate.
In this letter, written on the occasion of the 75 th anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr., I will focus on the opportunities to foster greater diversity and inclusion at UNH. This is a topic that should concern all of those who work and learn at UNH. As a public land-grant university, we have both a moral and legal obligation to address social problems that impede the full participation of, or cause harm to, any groups in society. Our faculty are deeply engaged in addressing many of the specific ills that are encountered by particular groups, through research and engagement on matters related to health, education, economic development, and the strength of communities. The Carsey Institute for Communities and Families, which will be directed by Dr. Cynthia (Mil) Duncan , is one example of the University’s commitment to such scholarship.
However, the challenges of racism for which Dr. King sacrificed his life are larger than any one discipline and beyond the capacity of any single organization. Racism and its many manifestations are deeply embedded in society and in each one of us who has been raised in this time and place. This is not the same thing as saying that each of us is racist, or that universities are inherently racist settings. But we must look critically in the mirror and demand of ourselves that we come to grips with the causes and consequences of racism specifically and all forms of xenophobia more generally. We must understand these phenomena as part of the individual and collective experience of ourselves and our students. And we must accept the responsibilities that we have as citizens and educators to carry Dr. King’s mission forward as our own—through our student, faculty, and staff recruitment efforts, in our curricula and public engagement initiatives, and in our everyday work.
My personal commitment to this struggle stems from my experiences as a child and adolescent living in Washington , DC . Thanks to the ways in which my parents directed my attention, I soon learned that the civil rights movement, the leadership of Dr. King and Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, and the shantytowns of southeast Washington , sitting in the shadows of Capitol Hill, were inextricably connected. That is, grassroots action, courageous moral leadership, public policy, and the lives of individuals and families are interdependent. If we are to challenge racism and xenophobia, whether expressed in the subtleties of language or the horrors of genocide, an understanding of these connections is critical. Such a challenge begins with an examination of our own experiences and beliefs. And that examination requires the kind of deliberative dialogue that will take place in the study circles starting next month, where participants will be asked to address the question, “The compelling interest of diversity: How should UNH meet its educational and civic responsibilities to foster an inclusive campus community?”
This dialogue takes place in the context of the 2003 US Supreme Court decisions regarding affirmative action policies at the University of Michigan and in the wake of attempts to legislate limits to the University’s commitments to fostering diversity. In addition, the 50 th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education offers the opportunity to celebrate changes and re-commit ourselves to a diverse democracy. The Academic Plan for the University makes it clear that we intend to sustain and expand our efforts at creating a more diverse and inclusive community. As we affirm our commitments, we are part of a national conversation that is reflected in the title of a conference that some of us attended in November—“Diversity, Democracy, and Civic Engagement in Higher Education.” That is, achieving the vision of a diverse and just society requires democratic values and structures, an informed and engaged citizenry, and a responsive higher education community. These themes have been expressed on our campus in recent months, in the symposia on race that were held last fall, in the discussions that have taken place in the three Presidential Commissions, and in planning for the celebrations of Dr. King’s life that will take place next week.
By the end of this semester, drawing upon the study circle dialogues and multiple other sources, the University will articulate its continuing commitments to diversity in light of evolving judicial, statutory, and empirical understandings. We will do this not because it is fashionable or good for public relations, but because we have a public, moral obligation to make clear our beliefs and to fulfill our educational mission. And we do this in order to hold ourselves accountable to the fact that UNH has not yet achieved the degree of diversity and inclusiveness that is required of a contemporary institution of higher education.
As we begin the dialogue and reaffirm our values, we can recall the words of Robert Kennedy, spoken on the evening of Dr. King’s death and only two months before his own death--
In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States , it is perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in. . . What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country. . . Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.
Through our faith in the realization of community grounded in social justice, and through the unique ability of a university to engage in open inquiry and civil debate, we can so dedicate ourselves. Have a great semester; teach them well.
Sincerely,
Bruce L. Mallory
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
