Over the past 15 months, 92 members of the Colleges of the Fenway community have participated in Undoing Racism (UR) workshops. This is our moment to put into action what we committed to in this workshop, personally and professionally. We pledged a sacred covenant to face history and the truth about the damage systemic anti-Black racism and historical trauma is causing. We must recommit to support each other in doing this difficult and essential work on our campuses.
For many of us, the Undoing Racism Workshop was a life changing experience where we spent 2.5 days coming to terms with the history of racism in the United States, its foundation, and the recognition that American culture and governance was built on racism and our own internalization of it.
While we are sure you have heard this over the past few weeks, two of the core takeaways are that we are all racists and that racism is systematically institutionalized in this country. It is in the air we breathe and can take our breath away.
For those of you who have participated in UR or similar programs, as administrators, staff, students and faculty within the COF community, we have a responsibility to apply what we have learned about how racism operates and to do what we can to undo it. We can make change as gatekeepers and leverage our privilege for good. It is also critically important to recognize that as the beneficiaries of White supremacy, White people in the US need to take the lead in addressing systemic and institutional racism.
For those of you who have not had the opportunity, we invite you to talk with us about the experience, and how we can work together to do the work that needs to be done. We invite you to take advantage of the many reading lists and resources that are being circulated. You must be engaged, or we will fail in effectuating the change we hope for.
Jeff Smith, Associate Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion/Chief Diversity Officer, Emmanuel College
Lyssa Palu-ay, Dean of Office of Justice, Equity, and Transformation, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Debra Perez, Senior Vice President of Organizational Culture, Inclusion and Equity, Simmons University
Claire Ramsbottom, Executive Director, Colleges of the Fenway
Alex Cabal, Director of Center for Diversity & Social Justice Programs
Wentworth Institute of Technology
Annamaria Wenner, Vice President for Student Affairs, Wentworth Institute of Technology
Mary Amato, Professor of Pharmacy Practice – School of Pharmacy, MCPHS University
Margaret F. Young, Director of Academic Technology Services, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Kelli Connors, Associate Director of Student Center and Campus Activities, Emmanuel College
Lyssa Palu-ay, Dean of Office of Justice, Equity and Transformation, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Tasha Baclawski, Senior Director of Programs and Communications, Colleges of the Fenway
Darlene Gillan, Director of Alumni Relations, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Anupama Seshan, Associate Professor of Biology, Emmanuel College
Deirdre Bradley-Turner, Assistant Dean of Mission and Ministry, Emmanuel College
Marjorie O’Malley, Vice President of Advancement, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Courtney Stock, Academic Advisor, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Ryan Mott, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Emmanuel College
Karalynn Gau, Executive Director of Institutional Research, Effectiveness, and Planning, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Cheryl Clark, Assistant Professor, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Samantha Moshier, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Emmanuel College
Danielle Rose, Project Manager and Community Service Coordinator, Emmanuel College
Eugenia Correia Knight, Director of Field Education/Associate Professor of Practice, Simmons University
Sr. Barbara Gutierrez, SNDdeN, Director of Center for Diversity and Inclusion, Emmanuel College
Diana Estime, Assistant Director of Diversity and Inclusion/Resident Director, Emmanuel College
Belle Bozin, Office Manager, Colleges of the Fenway
Laura Brink Pisinski, Vice President of Real Estate & Facilities, Simmons University
Darci Hanna, Assistant Curator, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Maureen Keefe, Vice President of Student Development, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Kymberly Pinder, Acting President, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Marc Taney, Director of Intramurals and Recreation, Colleges of the Fenway
Brenda Bailey, Assistant Director of Justice, Equity and Transformation, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Ed Shriver, Lecturer of Psychology, Emmanuel College
Franly Ulerio-Nunez, Lab Technician, Wentworth Institute of Technology
Ceci Méndez-Ortiz, Executive Director of Center for Art and Community Partnerships (CACP), Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Valentine Talland, Foundation Board, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Stephanie Cardon, Assistant Professor, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Corey Zohlman, Assistant Dean of Student Engagement, Simmons University
Rebecca Bacon, Director of Global Education Opportunities Center, Colleges of the Fenway
Allison O’Connor, Director of Academic Programs & Professional Development, Colleges of the Fenway
Jamie Glanton Costello, AVP & Dean of Students, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Claudia LeClair, Director of College and Visiting Events, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Sophie Jampel, Assistant Director of College and Visiting Events and Student Engagement, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Elizabeth Smith-Freedman, Associate Dean of Academic Resource Center, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Laura Flynn, Senior Director of Student Engagement, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Elena Belle White, Associate Director of Center for Art and Community Partnerships, Massachusetts College of Art and Design