Task Force Begins Work to Create EDAI Strategic Plan

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:

We write to you today in our capacity as the leaders of the Equity, Diversity, Accessibility and Inclusion (EDAI) Strategic Planning Task Force. Our task force, composed of 31 members of our community, including students, faculty and staff (full membership list included below the signature line), has been charged with creating and guiding the implementation of the University’s first strategic plan on equity, diversity, accessibility and inclusion.

The task force will complete the draft strategic plan by June 1. We will then submit it to Chancellor Kent Syverud and the Executive Team for approval and endorsement. Once approved, implementation of the strategic plan will commence immediately and complement the work already underway by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Office of Academic Affairs, the Student Experience team, the schools and colleges, and many other units and individuals on our campus. This strategic plan also builds on the progress made to date advancing the commitments the University made to several student groups.

This is the latest action in the University’s ongoing efforts to confront institutional barriers and systemic challenges and create a pathway to a more inclusive, equitable and just campus community. In recent weeks, you have received reports from the Board of Trustees Special Committee on University Climate, Diversity and Inclusion and former U.S. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch. These reports, combined with the forthcoming results of the campus climate pulse survey administered by Dr. Damon Williams, will inform the development of the strategic plan.

The campus community is invited to participate in an engagement session on Tuesday, March 30, at noon. The event will:

• feature a presentation of the survey’s findings and insights;
• provide an overview and timeline of the University’s EDAI strategic planning process;
• include remarks from the three of us; and
• share how community members can offer feedback to the process and plan and sign up to participate in upcoming campus engagement events and opportunities taking place in April and May.

This session will be recorded and made available on the diversity.syr.edu webpage for later viewing. Please register for the event.

We look forward to collaborating with our colleagues, classmates, friends and peers on this important work. Cultivating a culture that respects, values and empowers every individual requires our collective attention and commitment. Thank you for being a part of this work.

Sincerely,

Keith A. Alford, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer and Professor, School of Social Work, David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics

Shiu-Kai Chin, Professor, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Diane Lyden Murphy, Dean, David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics

EDAI Strategic Planning Task Force Membership

• Keith A. Alford, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Office of Diversity and Inclusion
• Philip Arnold, Chair, Religion Department, College of Arts and Sciences
• Davine Bey, Director of Talent Management, Office of Human Resources
• Eboni Britt, Executive Director of Strategic Communications, Office of Diversity and Inclusion
• Jorge A. Castillo, Director, LGBTQ Resource Center
• Shiu-Kai Chin, Task Force Co-chair, Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, College of Engineering and Computer Science
• Diane Crawford, Executive Director of Institutional Culture, Whitman School of Management
• Meredith Davis, Associate Vice President of Student Engagement, Student Experience
• Martha Diede, Director, Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence, Office of the Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs
• Jerry Edmonds, Senior Assistant Provost, Academic Affairs
• Jean Gallipeau, Comptroller, Comptroller’s Office
• Wei Gao, Associate Director of Operations and Outreach, Center for International Services
• Maurice Harris, Dean, Undergraduate Admissions
• Taylor John, Student, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
• Regina Jones, Assistant Director, Multicultural Affairs
• Brian Konkol, Dean, Hendricks Chapel
• Andrew Sky Lieberman, Student, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
• LaShan Lovelace, Director of Diversity and Inclusion, Office of Diversity and Inclusion
• Diane Lyden Murphy, Task Force Co-chair, Dean, David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics
• Gladys McCormick, Jay and Debe Moskowitz Endowed Chair in Mexico-U.S. Relations, and Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
• Robert Murrett, Professor of Practice, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
• Seth Ovadia, Associate Director, Institutional Research
• Paula Possenti-Perez, Director, Center for Disability Resources
• Mackenzie Proud, Graduate Student, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
• LaVonda Reed, Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs, Office of the Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs, and Professor of Law
• Karin Ruhlandt, Dean, Distinguished Professor, College of Arts and Sciences
• Jeffrey Stoecker, Vice President and Chief Communications Officer
• Stephen Vassallo, Associate Vice President, Institutional Research
• Diane R. Wiener, Research Professor and Associate Director of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach, Burton Blatt Institute
• Salatha Willis, Associate Director of Diversity and Inclusion, Athletics
• Peter Willner, Strategic Partnerships Manager, El-Hindi Center for Dialogue, InterFaith Works of CNY