PSU seeks campus feedback on equity and racial justice recommendations

Dear Colleagues,

It is with great excitement that we present the draft recommendations of the Equity Summit task forces. These draft recommendations represent months of collective thinking and critical reflection. The task forces have been grounded in the work from prior reports and plans as well as in your voices and ideas from the October 30th, 2020 Equity Summit.

The task forces have been invited to think short term, high impact by focusing on the recommendations that can have the greatest impact in the next three years. As such, this is a focused list rather than an exhaustive one.

There are not enough words to express gratitude to the task force members, with a special shout out to the co-chairs, for the great work they have done. During a most challenging period, with incredible demands on time, focus and energy, they have navigated obstacles and setbacks and kept at it. We are deeply grateful that these leaders are part of the PSU community and are investing their time, passion and commitment to the work. It is unfortunate that the task forces were unable to present the recommendations to you in person at the Winter Symposium, which was originally scheduled for February 18th. However, know that your virtual feedback will be treasured and we can’t wait to hear your thoughts, suggestions, and questions.

The task forces each have access to $50,000 seed funding from the Racial Justice Fund to ensure that their efforts move forward. We will also be creating an implementation plan to ensure that these recommendations do not sit on a shelf.

In addition to the great work happening through the task forces, there are other efforts underway and we look forward to providing a fuller report on these efforts at a later date. We know that across campus, people are figuring out ways to support racial justice and equity in their spheres of influence and we thank you and encourage you to keep up the good work. Unfortunately, since the summit, we have had painful reminder after painful reminder of the need to continue to courageously lean into this work and ensure that action and outcomes approximate words. We are honored to partner with you to do the work that lies before us, knowing that this is marathon, not a sprint and that we must step, and stay, in even, and especially, when it gets tough.

Without further ado, please visit the Equity and Racial Justice Priorities website, explore the recommendations and provide your important feedback. And join us on April 15th to continue our conversation about racial justice at the rescheduled Winter Symposium.