Vice President Yvette Alex-Assensoh and Dean Lisa Freinkel sent the following message to faculty and graduate employees:

Dear Colleagues,

In light of the events of last week and tensions on campus regarding race, inclusivity, and even the presidential election cycle, we are writing to share with you several resources that are available to ensure that we are providing welcoming and inclusive spaces for our students. 

As we move forward with this work together, we urge you to join the conversation about how to convey to our students that they belong here, and about how to productively engage in a discourse on race, power, and difference across our courses and curriculum. We acknowledge that we may not have all of the necessary resources in place, and we invite your input on what additional resources may be needed going forward.

Faculty members and graduate employees (GEs) can direct immediate questions about classroom climate and inclusive teaching to the Teaching Engagement Program (TEP) via their website. TEP consultants also work one-on-one with faculty members and GE’s. Contact TEP by e-mail or phone: tep@uoregon.edu and 541-346-2177. 

TEP continues the work of its “Belonging” series with two final workshops this term on November 11 and 18: “Engaging Student Resistance” and “Allies in the Classroom.” We hope you will join us there. We are working to acknowledge and harness the experience and expertise of our academic community toward needed changes in the curriculum, especially the multicultural requirement, and have asked representatives of the TEP to organize that effort.

The Center on Diversity and Community and the Division of Equity and Inclusion also offer one-on-one consultation to faculty members, departments, and GE’s seeking to build capacity and to advance goals of equity and inclusion on our campus.

Dean of Students Kris Winter and her staff are also reaching out directly to students and are working to organize a campus forum. Her office will provide details when these are available. 

Thank you for everything that you are doing to make our academic community vibrant and welcoming. Let us know how we can provide any additional support that you need.

Sincerely,

Yvette Alex-Assensoh                                      
Vice President for Equity and Inclusion

Lisa Freinkel
Vice Provost and Dean, Undergraduate Studies