Campus Conversation on Diversity and Inclusion Set for July 24

Interim President Marcia J. White has shared the following message with students and employees:

Dear Students and Colleagues,
 
As a nation and at Saint Rose, we are having important conversations about racial bias and diversity, and I am profoundly grateful to everyone who has openly shared their thoughts and experiences. Your stories have reaffirmed our commitment to the values of our founders, and to ensuring that an inclusive culture remains at the forefront of our Saint Rose mission, decision-making, and actions. Like our founders, while we advocate for change in our society, and work to examine our own personal biases, we also need to also grapple with our own history and responsibility as a college community. I want to assure you that we have heard you, and we continue to listen to you. 
 
Follow-through and focus are the only way that real change happens, and in order to ensure that the stories and experiences of our community become action steps, I have asked Yolanda Caldwell, director of the College’s Women’s Leadership Institute and BOLD Scholars program, to serve as the point person for now on these issues. She will work collaboratively across campus stakeholders to establish frameworks for a diverse and inclusive campus that is truly welcoming to all. Yolanda defines inclusive excellence and has national and regional connections and resources that she is leveraging to inform our work. We are looking forward to updating you on the progress at a campus conversation this Friday, July 24, from noon to 1 p.m. via Zoom. Use this link to access the meeting. (Passcode: 894697)
 
These conversations will continue every other Friday at noon. We welcome our entire community — students, faculty, and staff – to these conversations. Updates shared at the meeting will also be posted afterward on our new diversity and inclusion website.
 
We hope to see you on Friday, as building the capacity for inclusive excellence requires each one of us to invest ourselves in change.
 
Sincerely,
 
Marcia