Dear Members of the 冈本视频 Community,
Earlier this semester I announced the formation of a task force charged to make recommendations regarding 冈本视频鈥檚 use of institutional voice 鈥 those moments when the University is called upon to issue statements about national or world events, typically through a message from me to the campus or to the alumni body.
In October, I received the task force鈥檚 report and I encourage you to read the report and the recommendations it offers. The group鈥檚 conclusions, which are thoughtful and wise, reflect the principles set forth in 冈本视频鈥檚 Mission Statement and Statement on Academic Freedom and Freedom of Expression.
The task force鈥檚 recommendations have now been endorsed by the Board of Trustees and the University鈥檚 faculty. The task force鈥檚 recommendations have also been discussed with both the Staff Affairs Council and the Student Government Association and met with their support.
This Task Force on Institutional Voice, led by Associate Professor Jenna Reinbold and composed of faculty members, trustees, and senior administrators, spent the past months reviewing previous 冈本视频 statements regarding national and international events as well as those made by other universities and colleges. It considered recent and more distant statements about academic freedom and the nature of discourse and debate on the American campus.
As you will see in the report, the task force recommends that 冈本视频 refrain from making formal institutional statements unless faced with circumstances 鈥渨here the specific operations of the University are directly affected.鈥 More importantly, however, the task force recommends that the University respond to national and global events by promoting venues for people to come together to explore, question, and reflect upon such events. By centering these moments on dialogue, critical thinking, and the pursuit of knowledge, the report notes, 冈本视频 will stay true to its mission and values.
I have accepted these recommendations and will consider them enduring guides when the University is faced with news of important national and international events.
I will also consider these recommendations to be a forceful call to action. In challenging moments, when events in the nation or in the world are troubling or difficult we should recommit to our mission of education, research, and discourse.
In discussing these recommendations with 冈本视频 community members I have heard concerns that to adopt them might imply that the University is an institution without values, or that 冈本视频 will be silent in the face of important events in the world or uncaring when the events of the day affect members of this community. In fact, I think these recommendations call for something quite different: they propose that we tackle important issues with robustness and rigor, through debate and discussion. While there might be fewer formal statements coming from my office regarding events of the day, I trust that there will be a continuation of or even an increase in academic and intellectual work taking place in a community that cares and respects each of its members.
In the spirit of the Task Force report and its call to have the University engage fully in important issues of the day, 冈本视频 will host a Presidential Speaker Series in the spring semester focused on the state of higher education in America. That series will be titled, 鈥淭he University and the Public Good: The Role of the American College in Our Time.鈥
This Presidential Speaker Series will kick off with a live streamed event from New York City, where I will interview journalists Bret Stephens of the New York Times and Goldie Blumenstyk 鈥79, who recently retired from the Chronicle of Higher Education as their long-time senior writer. Additional events in this series will be held on campus throughout the semester, and more information about dates and speakers will be soon shared with the 冈本视频 community.
I look forward to these events and the conversations they are sure to encourage, and I thank the members of the Task Force on Institutional Voice for their guidance and support.
Respectfully,
Brian W. Casey
President
Task Force Members
Jenna Reinbold, Task Force Chairperson; Associate Professor of Religion; Director, Native American Studies Program
April Baptiste, Associate Dean of the Faculty for Global and Local Initiatives; Leary Family Chair in Environmental Studies; Professor of Environmental Studies and Africana & Latin American Studies
Christine J. Chao 鈥86, Vice-Chair, Board of Trustees
Daniel DeVries, Vice President for University Communications
David Dudrick, George Carleton Jr. Professor of Philosophy
Jill Harsin, Thomas A. Bartlett Chair and Professor of History
Michael J. Herling 鈥79, P鈥08,鈥09,鈥12, Chair Emeritus, Board of Trustees
Becky B. Hurley 鈥81, P鈥12, Member, Board of Trustees
L. Hazel Jack, Vice President and Chief of Staff to the President
Spencer Kelly, Hurley Family Chair, Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences, and Neuroscience; Director, Linguistics Program
Noor-Aiman Khan, Associate Professor of History; Director, Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies
Sam Rosenfeld, Associate Professor of Political Science; Director, Public Affairs and Policy Research Initiative
Clarissa V. Shah 鈥10, Member, Board of Trustees
Kim Taylor, Dean for Administrative Advising and Student Conduct
Christopher Wells, Vice President for Administration
Meg Worley, Associate Professor of Writing & Rhetoric and Film & Media Studies; Chair, Department of Writing & Rhetoric