Dear Campus Community,
We write to you at the beginning of a new year, having experienced the shock, distress, and sadness of an attack on our democracy and values. This has been an emotional week for our nation, from the election of the first Black and Jewish senators in Georgia to the deadly riot at our U.S. Capitol Building, where the Confederate flag was marched through its halls – something that has never happened in U.S. history.
It is normal to feel distracted, in pain, and angry at this time. It is important to take time to process. As we said in our message to the campus community on Wednesday, we encourage our students, faculty, and staff to seek support. Our work is grounded in our mission and our commitment to this community.
This is a time that calls for us all to reflect on our commitment to antiracism, and to internalize what that commitment means to each of us personally and professionally. What steps will we take to move our campus, our workplace, our community, and our nation to be more just and equitable? How will we heal the divides that have emboldened extremists to terrorize our country – and then for most of them to walk away, without consequences? How do we navigate the disparate response to this horrific attack as compared with the response to racial justice protesters last summer? And how do we move forward with all of this during a pandemic that continues to bring devastating loss worldwide? Community building is more important than ever and we welcome your feedback and engagement as we move forward together.
As we struggle with these questions, it is fitting that we come together as a campus and with the Colorado Springs community to commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. While we cannot gather in person as we do other years, we will offer a day’s worth of meaningful virtual events, including discussions, a keynote speech by lawyer, activist, and Harvard Professor Cornell Brooks, and a performance by the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble. You can learn more about event offerings and register here.
Much is planned for the coming weeks and months. In December, the CC Board of Trustees named L. Song Richardson to become our 14th president, who will begin her role at CC on July 1. A legal scholar, educator, lawyer, and expert on implicit racial and gender bias, Richardson brings a wealth of experience in higher education as the current dean and chancellor's professor of law at the University of California, Irvine School of Law. We look forward to welcoming her to campus this summer.
On Monday, we began the first ever J Block at CC, part of our extended academic format to increase flexibility during the ongoing pandemic. On Jan. 12, students will begin the elective Half Block, and we look forward to welcoming the entire student body back to in-person, hybrid, and remote formats for Block 5, which begins Feb. 1.
CC students continue to lead as examples of how we can build a more just and inclusive community. Throughout the Fall Semester, they organized, canvassed, and fundraised to support fellow students, and this momentum will carry on to the Spring Semester. We encourage you, our CC students, faculty, staff, parents, and alumni, to join one another virtually so we can have meaningful discussion, learn, and grow together. Stay safe, and stay connected.
Sincerely,
Mike Edmonds
Acting Co-President
Robert G. Moore
Acting Co-President
|
|
|
|
|
