Memorandum

Date: September 14, 2015

To: MICA Campus Community

From: Samuel Hoi, President

Re: Campus Dialogue on Diversity, Inclusion, Equity & Globalization

Dear Campus Community Members,

I am excited to share the plan for our upcoming dialogue about diversity, inclusion, equity, and globalization during the 2015–2016 academic year and beyond.

Background

This dialogue aims to improve MICA’s ability to be a diverse, global leader in art and design education. The goal is to achieve an open, honest, and in-depth campus conversation that will lead to a concrete plan to support campus diversity in a comprehensive and powerful manner. As explained in the College’s Public Response to the Black Students Union Open Letter last academic year: “This is the right approach for sustainable change because we must first explore among ourselves how diversity is understood and defined before we have a real chance to integrate it into our identity, culture, and practice.”

Per plan, the Power & Equity Forum, composed of multiple constituencies on campus, worked on assessing four aspects of MICA and developing recommendations for the 2015–2016 campus-wide dialogue. Those four aspects were structure and support, policy, curriculum, and training and awareness. At the end of July, the Forum leadership delivered a set of thoughtful recommendations to me and Vice President of Student Affairs Michael Patterson (the full set of Forum Recommendations can be viewed at www.mica.edu/campusinclusivity). Since that time, the senior team of the College collaborated with the leadership of the Power & Equity Forum to establish the dialogue described in this memo.

Plan for 2015–2016

As recommended by the Power & Equity Forum, a Presidential Task Force on Diversity, Inclusion, Equity & Globalization (Task Force) will be formed in September to oversee the design thinking, further research, problem-solving, decision making and larger community engagement of College efforts. The Task Force is expected to work for no less than a year and no longer than two years, so that it will have the time to ensure implementation of established goals and oversee the structuralization of related efforts into College operation. The Task Force will be composed of carefully selected members who reflect key MICA constituencies. Its membership is shared below.

At the same time, the Power & Equity Forum (Forum) will continue to function on campus as a safe space for organic campus community discussion, follow-up to special programs and events, ideas and feedback collection. Participation is open to all. To ensure coordination with the Task Force, the Forum will be guided and organized by a core leadership team also described below.

The Task Force and Forum maintain their independence and yet work in tandem. For example, critical ideas and pending decisions of the Task Force that need community feedback will be shared with the Forum leadership for a transparent and productive feedback loop to happen in the Forum

As promised in the College’s Public Response to the Black Students Union Open Letter: “The end product in May 2016 is a college-wide, multi-year plan to achieve a more equitable, diverse, and reflective place of learning at MICA. In the context of our educational mission, we seek to deploy diversity as a catalyst for creativity, educational excellence, and responsible engagement.”

In addition to the Task Force and Forum, this academic year will unveil a coordinated set of new initiatives and activities that together shape a year-long program that advances both campus dialogue and action related to diversity, inclusion, equity, and globalization. These initiatives and activities will be announced by October after the Task Force has the opportunity to meet and study the proposed ideas.

Forum Leadership & Task Force Leadership/Membership

Power & Equity Forum Co-Chairs

• Fletcher Mackey (Faculty)
• Steven Townes (Office of Community Engagement)
• Jacquis Watters (Office of Diversity & Intercultural Development)

Presidential Task Force on Diversity, Inclusion, Equity & Globalization Co-Chairs

• Samuel Hoi, President
• Clyde Johnson, Assistant Dean for Diversity and Intercultural Development • Colette Veasey-Cullors, Faculty

Members

• Mary Allen, Director of International Affairs
• Theresa Bedoya, Vice President for Admissions and Financial Aid
• David Bogen, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
• Jenny Carson, Faculty
• Wendy Jachman, Trustee
• Gwynne Keathley, Vice Provost for Research and Graduate Studies
• Vanessa Lopez, Faculty
• Natovian McLeod, Graduate Student
• Guy Moshayov, Undergraduate Student
• Alexandra Oehmke, Undergraduate Student
• Michael Z. Patterson, Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students
• Shyla Rao, Faculty
• Olivia Robinson, Faculty
• Debra Rubino, Vice President for Strategic Communications
• Raél Salley, Faculty
• Karen Stults, Director of Community Engagement
• Estevanny Turns, Associate Vice President for Human Resources
• Rita Walters, Vice President for Advancement
• Alfonso Fernandez Vazquez, Graduate Student
• James Williams, Gallery Installations Manager, Exhibitions

Website & Forum Next Step

This memo, the Forum’s Recommendations from July, and future materials can
be viewed at this website: www.mica.edu/campusinclusivity.

The first meeting of the Power of Equity Forum in the 2015–2016 academic year will take place on September 18, from 3 to 5 pm, in Leake Hall. The gathering will discuss the Constitution Day program the day before that addresses “Black Lives Matter: Structural Racism in 21st Century America.” The Forum leadership will also share the July 2015 Power & Equity Recommendations.

I strongly invite and encourage you to participate as fully as you can in this important campus dialogue. The heartfelt pledges from Trustees, faculty, staff and students to come together for a collective dialogue bodes well for our goal to create at MICA an educational environment that is a model of inclusion