Dear Students, Staff, and Faculty,

Now is a critical time to listen to and understand the lived experiences of marginalized members of our community. While it is difficult for each of us to recognize our own role in creating and perpetuating inequity, we must do it.

I am initiating an examination of racism at CC. I am commissioning an external review that will include interviews with our students, staff, and faculty, as well as a review of institutional mechanisms and structures. I will identify an external team in the coming weeks; the study will begin this summer and continue through the fall.

We are not waiting for the results of the review to act. The faculty has eliminated the West in Time requirement and will proceed quickly with the general education revisions in the coming months.

The college is providing racial bias professional workshops for employees; staff, faculty, and senior leadership will participate starting Block 8.

We will also be coordinating with departments, programs, and offices to bring in appropriate external colleagues to work on the co-curriculum and curriculum.

To become the diverse and equitable community we should be, it is critically important that we look closely in the mirror for institutional and interpersonal racism, and that we also learn more about our students of color and their experiences through their voices.

Sincerely,

President Jill Tiefenthaler