Update from the Anti-Racism Action Plan Working Group
Dear Students,
Welcome back to campus! Only a few weeks in and we’re already deeply engaged in classes, community-building, and rehearsals. It has been enlivening to reunite with returning students and to meet the new folks in our Theatre & Dance community.
We, the Anti-racism Action Plan Working Group (AAPWG), want to provide a brief update about our department’s continued work after engaging with consultant Kaja Dunn last year.
At the conclusion of Professor Dunn’s consultancy last spring, she met with the AAPWG and other members of the faculty and provided recommendations to help us continue fostering a culturally competent and anti-racist community. Her recommendations ranged in scope from implementable in the near future to achievable in a number of years with strategic planning.
The Theatre & Dance faculty and staff will be meeting Sept. 27 to discuss Professor Dunn’s recommendations, compile a list of goals for this academic year, and assemble a committee to begin the strategic planning for our long-term goals. After that date, the AAPWG will be in touch with T&D students again to provide an update on those goals and more opportunities for your engagement and feedback.
Since the beginning of August, the AAPWG has worked with the college to create a new values statement that reflects our department’s commitment to anti-racism and cultural competency. We believe these words accurately characterize who we’ve been, who we are and who we want to be. You can read it here.
We are organizing a series of student-centered “Open Dialogues” community conversations on Friday, Oct. 18 between 2 and 6 pm. Details about these sessions will be coming soon, but please keep this time open. We plan to use this time to engage further about our department’s anti-racism and cultural competency goals for this coming academic year. Please mark it in your calendar and plan to attend!
Fostering an inclusive, anti-racist, and culturally competent atmosphere is the work of our entire community and so your investment is essential. We value your insight, passion, and commitment. We look forward to continuing this work with you.
The Anti-Racism Action Plan Working Group
Elizabeth June Bergman
Gabriel Jason Dean
Troy Dwyer
Leslie Hill
Matt Moore
Leticia Robles-Moreno
