Campus Communications on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

I’m writing to acknowledge the tremendous pain that so many members of our community are feeling as we continue to witness police-involved shootings that result in the deaths of people of color. Most recently, the deaths of Adam Toledo and Daunte Wright have led to anger, sadness and grief among all people committed to building a better and more just world, and especially among those in Black, Latinx and other communities of color.

April is North Central College Pride Month! The Cardinal Safe Zone committee, in partnership with the student organization OUTreach and the Department of Art and Design, has planned a month of activities to coincide with Day of Silence on April 23. Day of Silence is a national day of action to spread awareness about the effects of bullying and harassment of LGBTQIA+ students. 

This is to remind you that our AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) Solidarity Week Keynote event, a conversation with Dr. Marie Lo, Professor and Chair of the Department of English at Portland State University, will be occurring TODAY from 12pm-1pm on Zoom. Dr. Lo will be joining us for conversation with Dr. Sohinee Roy, Associate Professor of English, on the topic of US anti-Asian exclusion polices and recent anti-Asian political rhetoric and how they are connected to the recent violence against the AAPI community. Details of the event and Dr. Lo’s bio are below.

In recent months we have all witnessed various senseless and tragic acts of violence and hate targeting the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community in our nation, especially since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The most recent of these incidents were this week’s shootings in Atlanta that resulted in the tragic loss of many innocent lives.

On behalf of the members of the President’s Task Force on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, we would like to wish you a belated Happy New Year, with hopes that you are having a smooth start to the semester. It was wonderful to see so many of you participate in the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day activities, and we look forward to engaging with you for more events throughout the term, including the programming for Black History Month.

Learn about the research basis for inclusive teaching and the foundational inclusive practices you can develop in your own teaching with keynote speaker Dr. Chavella Pittman. At the end of this interactive keynote, you will have worked on and know what to do next to improve your inclusive teaching on January 19, 2021 on ZOOM from 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

This year's Martin Luther King Celebration will expand to include MLK Vision Day and a wealth of Black History Month events, all with the theme “A Time to Break Silence”. This year's keynote speaker will be Dr. Eddie Glaude Jr., a New York Times best-selling author & chair of Princeton’s Department of African American Studies. He will speak Wednesday, February 10 at 5 p.m.

Please join us on Friday, January 15 for a special session of CAFÉ's Reading Roundtable Series on diversity, equity, and inclusion facilitated by Dr. Megan Cole Paustian. Over winter break, we invite you to read Isabel Wilkerson's Caste: The Origin of Our Discontents, which analyzes American racism through an analogy to India's caste system. The book has been called "an instant American classic" (Garner) and is distinguished in its "ability to appall and unsettle, to prompt flashes of indignation and moments of sorrow" (Appiah). Combining meticulous research and elegant writing, it promises to be a powerful read.

The MLK Week and Black History Month Committee encourages the campus community to SAVE THE DATE for the MLK Vision Day Teach-In Monday, January 18, 2021 from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The Office of Multicultural Affairs, in collaboration with the Center for Social Impact, Office of Faith & Action, Dyson Wellness Center and Project Re-Connect, is excited to host Anti-Hate Week from October 26-30, 2020. Anti-Hate Week is a week-long campaign designed to educate and raise awareness about various forms of oppression and discrimination. For more information, contact us at mca@noctrl.edu, the Presence App https://noctrl.presence.io/events, and Instagram @ncc_oma. 

Many of you are aware that, beginning fall 2018, student researchers uncovered racist imagery in the North Central College Chronicle and yearbook archives. This discovery resulted in subsequent research projects and has contributed to our ongoing conversation about the role of race in the College's history, as well as the work we have before us today. The President's Task Force on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is charged to hold at least one community forum each semester, and I am happy to announce that several of those researchers will share their findings at the first forum of this academic year.

I wrote to you this summer about a recommendation from the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force that we conduct a campus-wide climate survey. I appreciate the Task Force’s work and its recommendation, and I am pleased to announce that this initiative will soon move forward as part of our commitment to achieving our shared vision of building a more diverse and inclusive community.

With the collaborative efforts of our DEI Task Force, students, faculty, and staff, and our leadership team, we are pleased to announce the launch of our completely redesigned and updated Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Efforts website.

We are writing in the wake of the grand jury announcement regarding indictments in the shooting death of Breonna Taylor in March in Louisville, Kentucky.

For all of us in the campus community—particularly our Black students, faculty, and staff––this is a very sad and difficult moment in time. We have organized two events to help us all as a community to share and support one another, in particular our Black students, faculty, and staff.

 The Office of Multicultural Affairs is committed to continuing to be a source of support for our underrepresented students and a focal point for promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion at North Central College.  We would like to share some news and upcoming events from our office with the campus community.

It is essential for North Central College to provide a safe environment for all community members regardless of identity. Acts that are motivated by intolerance or bigotry have a profoundly negative impact on our campus. While the College adheres to and supports the principles of academic freedom and free speech, each member of the North Central College community also shares a common responsibility to maintain an environment free from bias and hate. To assist with these efforts, North Central College established the Bias Incident Response Team (BIRT) and the Bias Incident Reporting Form in 2016.

Our work does not occur in isolation from the rest of the world. The past few months in particular have been characterized by acute pain and compounded fatigue for many members of our community. In our first Task Force meeting, we reflected on the events of the summer.  We have been disheartened by continuing high-profile incidents of anti-Black racism and the startlingly callous response by so many Americans (including some of our family members and friends).  Yet we are optimistic about the growth that we have witnessed and the energy that has emerged. We begin this academic year with a clear focus and a steadfast determination to assist North Central in realizing its mission.

President Hammond sent a message to the campus community as a reminder of the College’s values, and how those values apply to our commitments to keep one another healthy and safe during this global health crisis, as well as to respect and affirm one another as our country grapples with the continuing effects of racism.

President Hammond hosted a College Town Hall on Thursday, June 18, as one of the many steps the College will take regarding our diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. President Hammond and a group of panelists addressed a number of questions, and shared more with the campus community regarding how the College will move forward by listening and learning from students, faculty, staff, and alumni, and using what is learned to take specific actions toward making North Central College a more inclusive institution.

President Hammond sent a message to the campus community regarding the recent Naperville Police Department presence on campus.

President Hammond states that, consistent with the values at North Central College, Black lives matter, and outlines next steps in making greater change on this campus.

President Hammond comments on destruction in downtown Naperville after what started as a peaceful protest, and responds to calls from members of the campus community advocating for additional campus-based change in wake of recent racist events.

President Hammond and Provost Goke-Pariola reaffirm the College's commitment to equity, diversity, and support for all Black members of the North Central community.