Dear Luther Community,

In my  message to the greater Luther community on June 4, I stated that the killing of George Floyd and the subsequent global cries of anguish and protest were “not an ‘acute’ event to be addressed by a quick intervention and subsequent recovery. This is chronic. This requires sustained attention and discipline.” This summer I have been proud of the work at Luther College of my Cabinet colleagues, the smart and empathetic staff in their divisions, our faculty, alumni, Board of Regents, students, and our community partners in Decorah to not only implement the initial action steps identified in my June 4 message, but also to develop the broader range of initiatives described below.

Student Safety and Well-being

The Office of Institutional Equity and Inclusion is working with the Decorah Police Department to explore the formation of an advisory group that will include Luther students and community members; provide training to officers on diversity, equity, and inclusion; and develop a process to report bias incidents that occur in Decorah.

Campus Safety and Security will develop a webpage that outlines under which circumstances campus officers and residence hall staff will call the Decorah Police Department to request support.

Institutional Resources, Policy, and Procedures

Admissions

The Admissions Office is reviewing policies that could unintentionally lead to disparate outcomes, including the use of standardized tests such as the ACT and SAT. The Admissions Office will recommend to the President and the faculty that Luther College become a test-optional institution.

Alumni and Development

Luther College announced a new scholarship opportunity available to African American students beginning next fall. The Black Alumni Association Scholarship was established this summer in memory of slain African Americans who fell victim to racist violence in America.

The Vice President for Development is looking for opportunities to engage more diverse individuals in Luther College’s alumni, donor, parent, and volunteer councils. The Board leadership and I, along with the Vice President for Development, are looking for opportunities to engage more diverse individuals on the Board of Regents.

Assessment and Institutional Research

The Director of Institutional Research and Effectiveness and the Vice President for Institutional Equity and Inclusion and Student Success are reviewing student participation and outcomes with regard to race and ethnicity in the following areas:

• Athletics
• Internships
• Persistence and Retention
• Registration
• Student Conduct Hearing Board
• Student/Faculty Collaborative Research
• Student Leadership roles
• Study Away
• Title IX
• Work-Study

Career Center

The Career Center is collaborating with the Black Alumni Association to increase internship opportunities and resources for BIPOC students.

Supported by a grant from the Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education program of the Council of Independent Colleges and Universities, a vocation-inspired alumni mentoring program has been developed for students at Luther College; 24 of the 34 alumni mentors are members of the Black Alumni Association. These mentors will start working with current students this fall.

Diversity, Civility, and the Liberal Arts Project

The Diversity, Civility, and the Liberal Arts (DCLA) steering committee has posted resources for all students, faculty, and staff on the DCLA KATIE site. The resources include readings and presentations from the DCLA institute, as well as additional readings, books, webinars, and other resources focused on anti-racism, student success, and faculty diversity and hiring.

Financial Aid

The Financial Aid Office is undertaking a comprehensive review of scholarships and grants that are connected to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The review includes assessing whether the practice of assigning awards are consistent with donor intent and the language in donor agreements, determining the impact of awards on persistence through recipient outcomes, and identifying scholarship funds that have the greatest need for additional support.

Human Resources

Human Resources is working with the Vice President for Institutional Equity and Inclusion and Student Success to ensure that search pools for faculty and staff positions reflect the diversity of availability in regional and/or national pools, as well as to make certain that faculty and staff recruitment and onboarding materials use inclusive language.

Student Life

The Student Life Office is reviewing policies, including those in the Student Handbook, that could lead to structural inequities. Recommendations and action plans will be developed and communicated throughout the fall semester.

Counseling Services, in collaboration with Athletics and the TRIO Achievement Program, is participating in the NCAA “Changing Minds, Changing Lives” program. The initiative builds on pre-existing student strengths, expands coping resources, and deepens social connections to build resilient student leaders from diverse backgrounds and communities and promote success in the classroom and in competition.

Training: Anti-Racism, Implicit and Unconscious Bias

The Office of Institutional Equity and Inclusion, in collaboration with the Diversity, Civility, and the Liberal Arts (DCLA) Steering Committee, has planned training opportunities for faculty, staff, students, and community partners. The workshops began in August and will continue throughout the fall semester. The list of workshops is shown below.

• Student Academic Support Center, TRIO Achievement Program, and Center for Intercultural Engagement and Student Success (August 12)
• Faculty Development Workshop: Confronting Pandemics: Building Culturally Responsive Education (August 19)
• Campus Safety and Security (August 20)
• Resident Assistants (August 27)
• Decorah Police Department (September 15)
• Alumni & Development, Admissions & Financial Aid, and Marketing & Communications (October)
• Athletics (October)

Additionally, a mandatory training series for all faculty and staff will be launched in mid-October in collaboration with the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at the Ohio State University. The Kirwan Institute is an interdisciplinary research institute focused on creating “a just and inclusive society where all people and communities have opportunity to succeed.” The Kirwan Institute offers training on Implicit Bias and Active Bystander, Gender Equity and Pronouns, Civic Engagement, and Metropolitan and Neighborhood Change.

Curriculum

All-College Requirements

The Dean of the College and the Faculty Curriculum Committee are exploring the possibility of bringing a proposal to the faculty in the fall to add requirements focused on global citizenship.

Program Reviews

Each academic department and program will identify a DEI liaison and initiate a review of program requirements, outcomes, and course content using the lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Courses

Luther College faculty will receive training to become Intergroup Dialogue facilitators. This training will be led by Kristie A. Ford, who is a professor of sociology as well as the founder of the Intergroup Relations Program and director of the Center for Leadership, Teaching, and Learning (CLTL) at Skidmore College. Intergroup Dialogue is a pedagogical technique that facilitates conversation between members of two or more social identity groups. Dr. Ford previously provided a workshop on the elements of Intergroup Dialogue to faculty at Luther College in February 2020.

Orientation

During  New Student Orientation in September, students will participate in training initiatives to learn concepts and build skills central to diversity, equity, inclusion, and dialogue, including

• An online Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion module from Everfi. The module will help students “learn key concepts related to identity, bias, power, privilege, and oppression; understand the benefits of being part of a diverse community; and develop skills related to ally behavior, self-care, and creating inclusive spaces.”
• Workshops on implicit bias led by the Office of Equity and Inclusion.
• Workshops on civil, civic discourse led by Braver Angels, a citizens’ organization focused on depolarizing the United States of America.

Outreach and Visibility

Student Advisory Groups

The Student Life Office will form Student Advisory Committees to inform the work of Campus Safety and Security and Counseling Services. The Admissions and Financial Aid Offices have scheduled listening sessions with BIPOC students in order to address issues of equity and inclusion within recruitment and financial aid processes, build a more inclusive student ambassador team, and expand equity recruitment initiatives.

Community Relations

The President’s Office and the Office of Equity and Inclusion are working with the Mayor of Decorah and other community stakeholders to ensure a welcoming community. The President’s Office, in collaboration with the Center for Ethics and Public Engagement, the Center for Sustainable Communities, and the DCLA steering committee, are sponsoring a project on Civic Sustainability with community stakeholders. Example initiatives from the Office of Equity and Inclusion include establishing a connection between CARE (a local anti-racism coalition) and the Campus/Community Forum (a monthly conversation between leaders of Luther College and Decorah offices and organizations) and using the Decorah Library website to host anti-racism resources.

Publications

The fall edition of the  Luther magazine will feature articles on the Black Alumni Association Scholarship, a Black trans alumna who received an award as an LGBTQ leader in Des Moines, and a Black alumna pastor who wrote on Black Lives Matter. The Admissions Office is exploring the creation of Spanish-language versions of brochures and webpages.

Consortial Work

On behalf of Luther College, I joined the President’s Alliance on Immigration and Higher Education, an alliance of “college and university leaders dedicated to increasing public understanding of how immigration policies and practices impact our students, campuses, and communities.” I am also participating in an ad hoc committee with three other presidents of the  Associated Colleges of the Midwest to develop a consortium-wide initiative focused on anti-racism and diversity, equity, and inclusion; further details on this initiative will be announced in the coming weeks.

Based upon the leadership of Renae Rost-Hartl, director of intercollegiate athletics and head softball coach, Luther College and the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) are joining the  Minority Opportunities Athletic Association (MOAA). Chris Garcia-Prats, assistant athletics director and head men’s soccer coach, will serve as one of five liaisons from the A-R-C to the MOAA.

Many of the things shared with you today are the continuation of work undertaken by previous generations, but many are new and inspired by the urgency of the moment. Some are disruptive and some are generative -- preparing the ground for future seeds to be planted and tended. In all, there is an earnest desire not to approach the work of anti-racism as a series of “check boxes” to be completed and shelved, but to consider that Luther College and the world it influences is shaped by us. And since that is so, we all have a hand in the design of the most inclusive, rich, clear-eyed, and just place we can be. The work continues. Please join me in it.

Soli Deo Gloria,

President Jenifer K. Ward