Focus on Social Justice Issues

M. Lee Pelton’s Letter to the Willamette Community

November 18, 2006

Dear Friends,

I am writing in response to the letter sent to the Willamette community by “Concerned Students for Social Justice.” While the letter is addressed to “Willamette University,” I have taken the liberty as president to address the issues it raises on behalf of the University.

I appreciate the efforts of these students and others to reaffirm our commitment to values of diversity and social justice. As I have participated in several discussions during the last week, I have been encouraged by the many members of our community who have listened with open hearts and engaged in purposeful dialogue about the motivations and intended contextual frame of the “Most Offensive Costume Party Ever.” It seems clear now that this party represented a touchstone for other events and aspects of campus climate that some in our community felt undermined our educational mission. These conversations, at times both difficult and painful, have increased our understanding of what occurred at the party as well as our awareness of the appropriate role of public satire and the complex dimensions of public self-expression and art. I have instructed the office of the dean of campus life to facilitate continuing discussions among those who organized and participated in the party as well as those who objected to or were offended by its consequences.

In the days ahead, let us refrain in our daily lives from “demonizing” those whose perspectives diverge from our own or those whose actions may have resulted in consequences unintended and unanticipated, for, after all, each is one of us. As we all know, the best antidote to ugly, misguided or hurtful expression is more speech, especially that speech which educates, enlightens and lifts us up.

I also want to reinforce what I said yesterday — namely that teaching and classroom instruction are universally held as the defining and indispensable donnee of our educational purposes and, as such, deliberate actions that disrupt or deny students access to them are unacceptable.

Now our focus turns — as it should — to how an intellectual community of good will and conscience can aspire to become a better place to live, work and study.

In Willamette’s mission statement, we state that in all of its pursuits, Willamette University “cherishes the dignity and worth of all individuals and strives to reflect the diversity of our world.” The University’s Long-Range Plan, adopted by the Board of Trustees in 2001, incorporates five major University goals, including the goal of Strengthening Diversity, as follows: “Commitment to diversity is needed as a visible expression of our collective worldview and the world in which we live. It is essential to quality education and supports our sense of moral duty to overcome racism, bigotry and discrimination in all forms. Thus, we must invest in people, programs and activities to strengthen our appreciation of and commitment to diversity.”

During the last five years, we have made very good progress in our efforts to enhance and support diversity at Willamette. An almost two fold increase in the percentage of undergraduate students of color, the establishment of the Lausanne Fellowship, the creation of a Native American lecture series, a small but steady increase in women and faculty of color, the American Ethnic Studies Program, the Willamette Academy and other outreach programs are examples of movement in the right direction.

However, progress is sometimes a long and dusty road and despite these gains, it is clear that our journey has not reached its final destination for, as recent events remind us, we have more important work to do.

Let’s begin that work today with clarity of purpose and renewed faith in Plato’s dictum that “ … if you ask what is the good of education in general, the answer is easy: that education makes good [people], and thatgood [people] act nobly.”

Towards this end, I am writing to announce several actions that I believe will support and sustain a campus culture characterized by diversity and social justice.

  1. Establish a Council on Diversity and Social Justice
    I will establish a Council on Diversity and Social Justice and in consultation with faculty, students and staff seek to appoint its members before the Thanksgiving break. I will convene the Council as soon as possible. I will ask that it begin its work by developing its charge, the scope of its work, its budget, responses to the issues contained in the letter from “Concerned Students for Social Justice,” as well as other related matters. Council membership will include faculty, students and staff from the College of Liberal Arts (CLA), Atkinson Graduate School of Management, College of Law and School of Education, as well as representatives from the CLA Multicultural Affairs Committee, Classified Staff Council, Trustee Committee on Religious, Spiritual and Ethical Life and offices of Alumni Relations, Enrollment, Campus Life, Multicultural Affairs and Human Resources.
  2. Organize a “teach-in”
    I will ask the Council on Diversity and Social Justice to collaborate with faculty and students to develop plans for a “teach-in,” to occur this term, if the Council determines that it is possible, or other opportunities that engage the community in focused discussion, debate and understanding of issues related to diversity, social justice, the dimensions of freedom of expression, the application of technology in public discourse and media and related issues.
  3. Encourage CLA faculty to quicken their ongoing efforts to examine undergraduate pedagogy and curriculum
    The faculty represents the core of the University. Classroom instruction is our preeminent activity aided, of course, by research and scholarship. Faculty are committed to sustaining a learning environment that enhances the intellectual and moral growth of our students. Issues related pedagogy and curriculum reside within the domain of the faculty. Carol Long, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, has already outlined a plan to initiate important discussions with CLA faculty standing committees responsible for considerations of undergraduate pedagogy and curriculum as well as faculty recruitment, hiring, evaluation and retention. She will shortly issue a letter to the CLA faculty on these important subjects.
  4. Develop a CLA Resource Guide on Diversity
    In my discussions with many undergraduates, it became apparent that many were not sufficiently aware of the representation of diversity that already exists in the CLA curriculum. Nor were they aware of the CLA faculty for whom these issues represented professional or personal interests. In consultation with faculty and students and the office of Multicultural Affairs, the University will develop and publish an online CLA resource guide on diversity available to students by Fall 2007.
  5. Office of Human Resources Annual Report
    I will ask the Office of Human Resources to provide an annual report to the Council on Diversity and Social Justice and the Board of Trustees describing Willamette’s progress in recruiting, hiring and retaining diverse faculty and administrative and classified staff.
  6. Develop a “living wage” standard for our lowest paid employees
    The Office of Financial Affairs has initiated a process to establish a “living wage” standard so that our lowest paid employees will have sufficient resources to support their families and children. Recent events have tested the measure of who we are and what we stand for as a commonwealth of learning. We now have the opportunity to consider with deliberation and thoughtfulness how we can do better. Like Martin Luther King, I, too, have “the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits.”

I challenge each of us as we go about our important work at this wonderful place of learning to accept a call to action with a sense of urgency. Let us lay down the cudgels that hurt and divide us. Let us seek out the best, rather than the worst, in each other. Let us — despite our differences — work together to affirm our community’s highest aspirations and hopes. Let us work together to turn heat into light.

I believe that when we meet challenges head on with honesty, integrity and a commitment to doing what is right, we will make a new period in the history of Willamette.

Thank you in advance for your commitment and dedication.

Sincerely,

Lee Pelton