New Year, New Opportunities
A Message from President Harring to the Muhlenberg CommunityTuesday, January 16, 2024 03:30 PM
Dear students, faculty and staff,
A very warm welcome to the Spring 2024 semester. I hope that the break has brought rest and renewal to each of you. As we start this semester, on a snowy day, please join me in thanking our Plant Operations and Campus Safety colleagues for working hard to ensure safety and continuity on campus today.
In celebrating the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. this week, I encourage you to reflect on our mission of leadership and service as well as our individual and collective commitments to equity and inclusion. Here are some of the ways students, faculty and staff have honored this work and a few upcoming campus events (more details to follow):
- Over the weekend 23 students attended the kickoff of the annual Alliance for Justice Active Leadership series, spending the holiday immersed in learning about allyship, leadership, social activism, and transformational justice.
- There is an interactive display in Seegers Union, hosted by the Office of Multicultural Life, in honor of Dr. King, encouraging students, faculty and staff to consider how they can be part of creating a rich and inclusive campus climate and world.
- As part of the National Racial Day of Healing, the Counseling Center will host a session on Wednesday, January 17 to facilitate dialogue on understanding healing and building trust.
- Next week launches this year’s Bridging the Gap leadership series, another way for students to engage in dialogue across differences with a goal of strengthening community over the next five weeks.
- This Friday, January 19, the Office of Multicultural Life will host a student event offering hot cocoa and conversation about allyship within our community and on campus.
To further support a climate of equity, inclusion and dialogue, two ad-hoc committees are being formed this spring, spearheaded by Provost Furge and Dean Williams who will be sharing more details in the coming weeks.
The Muhlenberg Ad-hoc Committee on Defining Bias Based Upon Shared Ancestry will define antisemitism, Islamophobia, and xenophobia, offering clear guidance for our campus community.
The Education and Dialog Planning Group will develop a series of open dialogues and educational programs to raise awareness about antisemitism, Islamophobia and xenophobia.
Our work will continue this spring through the efforts outlined here and so many others. Our mission compels us to empower the next generation of leaders “who are intellectually agile, characterized by a zest for reasoned and civil debate, committed to understanding the diversity of the human experience.” And our liberal arts tradition calls on all of us to engage in dialogue on difficult topics — to reshape our thinking, and to gain the ability to recognize and hold more than one truth at the same time.
I am excited to engage in this critical work with you in the coming months.
Sincerely,
President Kathleen Harring
