Dear University Community:
I write today to formally announce the launch of the University of Redlands Anti-Racism Committee and to share with you its charge which is attached.
As detailed in the charge, the Anti-Racism Committee’s membership will be composed of faculty, staff, students, cabinet members, and alumni who will be focused on developing an antiracism plan and ways we can provide a more equitable and inclusive campus that invites perspectives from our communities of Black, Indigenous, Latina/o/x/Hispanic, and people of color.
The first meeting of the Anti-Racism Committee (or ARC) will be later this spring.
Launching this Anti-Racism Committee would not have been possible without the important and necessary work of many who have led us to this point.
In November of 2020, the University of Redlands through its faculty, administrators and Board of Trustees issued an Anti-Racist Statement wherein it unconditionally rejected racism in all forms and embraced the institutional change necessary to dismantle systems that perpetuate injustice and inequity. We also committed to bring together our constituents to create and implement an anti-racism plan with specific goals and objectives. Although this work was disrupted by the pandemic challenges and the change in leadership, today we will begin to formally engage in this work together as a university.
Fundamental, necessary change can be difficult, and it requires the participation of all of us. Civil rights champion and attorney, Bryan Stevenson, noted: “We all have the responsibility to create a just society.”
I am committed to working with you to fulfill our responsibility to promote anti-racism, justice, and equity at the University of Redlands for all students, faculty, staff, alumni, trustees, and visitors. Without this commitment, the education and experiences we all strive to provide to our students at Redlands are not possible.
Thank you for your commitment to the University of Redlands and this important work.
Sincerely,
Krista L. Newkirk
President