President’s speeches, letters, and articles
Subject: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
December 6, 2022
Dear Reed community,
As the end of the semester comes to a close, we want to take this opportunity to thank you for your patience and grace as we continue to strive toward meeting our aims of creating an inclusive campus environment. Last spring we pledged to take actions reflective of the institution’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
Today, we want to update you on some of the institutional efforts that have been underway to advance us toward becoming a campus community where equity, care, and belonging are integrated into our learning, living, and workplace practices. This is a sampling of what we have addressed since the spring:
- Met with joint Committees on Diversity
- Invested in programs that support diverse communities
- Developed administrative divisional DEI plans
We invite you to explore the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Reed website for more information, including updates as we continue to amplify, articulate, align, and make progress toward our aim of being an inclusive campus environment where all have opportunities to meet their academic and professional goals.
Intentional organizational change and community accountability is informed by your perspective. We have learned a great deal through small-group conversations and listening sessions with groups of students, faculty, and staff. We look forward to a broader, campus-wide gathering in the spring.
Our anti-racism statement asks that we continually examine our policies both at and beyond the college, noting that “the effects of racism are caused not only by the isolated actions of individuals, but also by the policies and practices of institutions.” This work of continual reexamination and evolution must remain centrally focused in all that we do.
Sincerely,
Audrey Bilger
President
Phyllis Esposito
Vice President and Dean for Institutional Diversity