Addressing Intolerance on Campus
Dear Members of the Campus Community,
As we celebrated a great start to the semester with the Lehigh Club and Community Expo and the high energy around the potential and promise of a new year, we were extremely disappointed to learn that someone vandalized a restroom in the University Center with racist language. As an institution and as individuals, we deplore this behavior and will not tolerate it. We refuse to let the actions of a handful of hateful people stem the tide of positive progress on our campus, or overshadow the strong sense of a cooperative and supportive community that greeted our students this year.
As Lehigh continues its work to move forward on creating a more welcoming and affirming campus for all, this incident reminds us of how necessary and important our work is. We all share a responsibility for creating a respectful campus environment where diversity in all forms is celebrated. We encourage anyone who wants to be more engaged in this work to visit the website of the Council for Equity and Community at http://www4.lehigh.edu/diversity/cec, where you can also find a full listing of membership, and to email the CEC leaders at cec@lehigh.edu.
Sincerely,
Kevin Clayton, Interim President
Pat Farrell, Provost
Denise Blew, Associate Vice President for Finance and Treasurer
Peter Gilbert, Chief Investment Officer
Fred McGrail, Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs
John Smeaton, Vice Provost for Student Affairs
Erik J. Walker, Chief of Staff, Office of the President
Mohamed El-Aasser, Vice President and Associate Provost for International Affairs
Patricia Johnson, Vice President for Finance and Administration
Henry Odi, Vice Provost for Academic Diversity
Alan Snyder, Vice President and Associate Provost, Research and Graduate Studies
Joseph Kender, Vice President for Advancement
Frank Roth, General Counsel
Joseph Sterrett, Murray H. Goodman Dean of Athletics
Executive Committee of the Council for Equity and Community (CEC):
Kathleen Hutnik, Director of Graduate Life
Rita Jones, Director of the Women’s Center
Lori McClaind, Assistant Dean of Academic Transitions
Tyrone Russell, Director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs
Jennifer Swann, Professor of Biological Sciences