The following email was sent to the Barnard community on Oct. 26, 2018:
Dear Barnard Community,
As Interim Chair of the Council on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, I am pleased to announce the Council for the 2018-2019 academic year that will support campus-wide programming and initiatives promoting diversity and inclusion at Barnard. Academic excellence is impossible without the unique perspectives, ideas, approaches and contributions that come from having a diversity of students, faculty and staff across the College who can voice opinions in an inclusive environment. The Council members represent rich backgrounds and each share a tenacious commitment to improving the Barnard community.
The Council members include: Yvette Christianse, Interim Chair; Pamela Cobrin, Faculty; Saskia Hamilton, Vice Provost; Elizabeth Hutchinson, Faculty; Paige Johnson, Faculty; Monica Miller, Faculty; Emy Cardoza, Dean's office; Nikki Chambers, Admissions; Alexcia Gayle, HR, BSAC Rep; Anthony Otero, Events Management; Gabrielle Simpson, VP Communications; Tirzah Anderson '21, SGA Rep for Inclusion and Equity; Leeza Kopaeva '22; Daniela Lebron '22; Emily Ndiokho '22; Noa Shapiro '19; Jyoti Menon '01, Trustee; Linda Sweet '63, Trustee; Claire Tse '78, Alumnae. Ex Officio: Rob Goldberg, COO; Cynthia Yang '02, Deputy Chief of Staff; Patricia Keim, Communications. Their bios can be found here.
The Council will focus on three priorities this year:
1. Expanding the dialogue about diversity, equity, and inclusion: the Council will continue to encourage input from the larger Barnard community to ensure that we understand and convey how the College can best support all members of the campus community and promote the uniqueness of our student body, faculty and staff. We are committed to keeping our Barnard community informed and will communicate our findings to you as well as the steps taken towards progress. This may include events and activities and may involve longer-term, institutional recommendations. We welcome your ideas and input at diversitycouncil@barnard.edu.
2. Creating a structure for reviewing proposals from the community: the Council will finalize plans to financially support student, faculty, staff and alumnae efforts to foster inclusion on campus. During this academic year, the Council will develop the structure, timeline, and budget for evaluating these proposals, including the criteria, scale and timing of initiatives and events on campus.
3. Organizing campus-wide events: The Council will develop a plan including timeline, budget, potential speakers, themes, and structure for two campus-wide events to be held each year, including the annual "Grace Lee Boggs Lecture" and a cultural event.
You will be hearing more from the Council in the coming weeks. In the meantime, please share any feedback or ideas with the Council at diversitycouncil@barnard.edu and visit our website.
Sincerely,
Yvette Christianse
Interim Chair, Council on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
