February 4, 2021 – Update on Antiracist Actions

To: Campus Community
From: President Gayle Hutchinson

In my fall Convocation address and subsequent email messages(opens in new window) last semester, I acknowledged that while Chico State has been focused on equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) work for decades, we can and should do more. I outlined several key actions planned for this academic year to confront racism and racist policies within our institution. You can find a full, point-by-point update to these commitments on the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion website.

I want to take a moment here to update you on a few of these actions from the fall and look ahead to this semester.

Acting Chief Diversity Officer Appointment
First, I’m pleased to share that following the retirement of Chief Diversity Officer Chela Mendoza Patterson in December, I have named Tray Robinson acting chief diversity officer (CDO) to guide our important EDI work. A longtime advocate and ally, Tray has served as the director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion for 15 years and also teaches in the Department of Multicultural and Gender Studies. I look forward to closely collaborating with Tray to move Chico State forward. We will launch a campuswide search for an interim CDO in the spring and when appropriate and safe, we will conduct a national search for a permanent CDO. More information will follow as we work through these steps.

Presidential Task Force on University Policing
The task force of more than 30 students, faculty, staff, and community members was established in October and began meeting in early December. The group is being facilitated by Reverend Dr. Jaime Washington, president and founder of the Washington Consulting Group(opens in new window) and the Social Justice Training Institute(opens in new window). As meetings continue in the spring semester, there will be opportunities for your input—look for updates via email. The task force has been asked to submit findings and recommended actions to me in April 2021, and its report will be shared with the University Police Department and the campus community.

Deepening Campus Conversations
In the fall, the Book in Common committee hosted a number of campus conversations discussing films, speeches, and, of course, Ibram X. Kendi’s How to Be an Antiracist. As we continue our conversations this spring, I am pleased to share that we will host renowned anti-racist writer and educator Tim Wise for a virtual discussion on March 4. We also look forward to welcoming Kendi to campus (virtually) for a lecture and discussion on April 21—save the date!

Increasing Workforce Diversity
The campus has been working on several initiatives to better recruit, hire, and retain employees who reflect the diverse, intercultural, and intersectional identities of our student body. One of these is the creation of the “Action Now Team” of diverse faculty who consult with and/or serve as outside committee members on current tenure-track faculty search committees, and make recommendations for revisions to recruitment and retention policies and practices. These recommendations have included enhancing virtual interview itineraries and reimagining the Faculty Recruitment Manual as a user-friendly web and app-based resource for search committees.

These highlights are just a glimpse of the great work that is underway. I encourage you to review the lengthier update on the EDI website for more information.

Being anti-racist is not just about changing attitudes. I acknowledge the significant effort ahead of us as we examine policies and practices that perpetuate unequal outcomes and take action to change them. This is work we can and must do together. Thank you for your support and commitment to our strategic priority of improving equity, diversity, and inclusion at Chico State.