Dear Faculty and Staff,
In support of Luther College’s commitment to educational access, diversity, inclusion, and other dimensions of equity in higher education, I am pleased to announce that Luther College is joining with the other members of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM) to launch a collaborative anti-racism initiative. This initiative will be one component of Luther College’s sustained attention to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and it is one of the action steps that I described in my message to the Luther College community on August 24.
Working with our ACM peers and through the ACM consortial office, we aim to address the institutional and structural forms of racism that have contributed to the differential experiences and outcomes for our communities of color: students, faculty, and staff. In support of that goal, we commit to launching these three targeted activities during the 2020-2021 academic year:
Professional Development
The ACM consortial office will develop anti-racism skills and knowledge to enhance teaching and learning through the following activities:
- Faculty and Staff – Curate and host monthly ACM workshops designed to ensure that interracial and intercultural understanding inform the colleges’ curricular and co-curricular programs. Early sessions during the fall semester/term will focus on microaggressions, inclusive discourse, and culturally responsive student mentorship.
- Administrative Leadership – Develop a collaborative, research-informed process through which consortial groups (e.g., Registrars, Admission Directors, Financial Aid Directors, etc.) can assess their processes and related student touch points to determine whether they are resulting in any unintended disparate impact.
Community Building
The ACM consortial office will build cohorts and enhance well-being among communities of color across and between our campuses. For faculty and staff, the ACM will host a series of virtual convenings, organized around topics identified by the colleges. The ACM will also coordinate with campus-based multicultural/intercultural centers to create convenings for student affinity groups across our campuses.
Data Collection and Analysis
The ACM consortial office will coordinate with the 14 colleges to identify and understand past and current institutional practices that have created disparate impact among communities of color. This will be accomplished through an inventory of existing practices and through gathering and analysis of data to illuminate the landscape for racial equity across ACM campuses.
The ACM will develop the full scope of this work iteratively, over time, as the full range of campus-based aspirations and needs are revealed. They will also collaborate with the Presidents’ offices across the consortium to ensure that these initiatives complement each college’s ongoing anti-racism programs.
As the first element of this iterative work, I am also pleased to announce that the first monthly ACM workshop, “Charting the "How": Coalition Building and Policy Change in the Age of Anti-racism,” will occur on Thursday, September 24 at 4:00 pm (CST). There are no limits to the number of participants, and you may register for the workshop here. A description of this workshop, as well as future workshops and the other activities within the consortial collaboration may be found on a new section of the ACM website.
By pursuing this initiative together and leveraging the power of the consortial approach, the ACM colleges will develop infrastructure, access resources and expertise, and coordinate collective efforts that can have a much greater and more positive impact on our communities than Luther College could achieve working alone.
Sincerely,
President Jenifer K. Ward