One Year Later

Dear Bentley Community,

One year ago, our community was rocked by an outpouring of grief and anger following the murder of George Floyd. His death and the conversations about the impact of race in our society that followed fundamentally changed the way we interact with each other. Before last summer, our conversations were about diversity and inclusion, not equity and justice. Before last summer, we worked to make change at the individual level, not at the systemic level. Before last summer, we prioritized our personal comfort, not collective bravery.

So much has changed in one year. Through brave engagement as a community, we have challenged our assumptions about ourselves and our culture. We have begun the process of healing as a community. And we have emerged better informed and prepared to move towards justice. We are on the right path and cannot afford to lose the momentum that has gotten us this far.

As we prepare for the start of a new academic year, it’s important to reflect on the accomplishments of the last year to remind us what we can achieve together and sustain us for the difficult work ahead. Justice is not a destination, it’s a journey – a commitment to giving voice to those who have been marginalized and correcting inequity when it emerges. Falcons, where are we now in our journey toward justice?

Here are some highlights from the past year:

• Racial Justice Task Force: 114 members of our Bentley community joined Bentley’s first Racial Justice Task Force. Over eight months, the students, faculty, staff and alumni members identified practices at Bentley that sustain systemic racism. The document they created committed us to racial equity and set out a clear path forward. While the group’s focus was race, the suggested actions will impact all minoritized groups. To identify actions you can take, take advantage of the Racial Equity Took Kit, a resource developed by the Task Force to encourage continued reflection and investment.
• New Diversity, Equity and Inclusion major: On July 1, 2021, Bentley became one of the first universities to offer a major in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, giving undergraduates the option to pursue a Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts degree in DEI.
• Racial Equity Course Development Grants: This new initiative gives summer stipends to Bentley faculty to develop new courses that explore race in the United States. Two grants were awarded for summer 2021 to faculty in English & Media Studies and Economics, and a second round of grants will be awarded this fall.
• Inclusive Excellence dashboard: The university launched an inclusive excellence dashboard that provides real-time demographic data about the university’s students, faculty and staff to provide full transparency in our pursuit for equity.
• Web page to report discrimination: The university launched a centralized web page on the Bentley website that allows students, faculty or staff to report bias, discrimination or harassment experiences, access policies and procedures, and see reports related to incidents at Bentley. The page is easily accessible by clicking "Report an Incident" at the bottom of every Bentley.edu web page.
• EthicsPoint: Bentley has expanded this third-party reporting system, which allows community members to anonymously report improper conduct, violations of Bentley policies or violations of the law. When submitting a report, community members receive a “report key” so they can log back in to see updates while maintaining anonymity.
• Inclusive Excellence Council: Taking the place of the Racial Justice Task Force, this new group of students, faculty and staff from across the university is charged with the implementation of strategic campus-wide initiatives that will turn the university’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion into reality. The council will provide transparency and accountability to encourage a more inclusive campus.

This is a critical time in Bentley’s history. We are writing that history now, and each of us has the power to shape it. Besides the actions mentioned above, I am inspired every day by the activism in our community, from the formation of the student-led Bentley Black Student Athletes, to the creation of the new Associate Dean of Diversity Equity and Inclusion position, to the launch of the MOSAIC Alumni Council, to the many sessions focused on race and inclusion during the Community Learning Conference for faculty and staff. As they did a year ago, Cabinet members are also renewing their commitment to racial justice by identifying new actions to advance equity and justice in divisions across the university.

At all levels in our community, people are taking action. I am heartened by the deep engagement I have witnessed. The willingness to acknowledge the traumatic impact of systemic inequity. The earnest efforts to examine our individual and collective contributions to that pain. The urgent and honest attempts to challenge and change broken systems.

But we are not done.

I will email you again next month to share several ambitious projects planned for this year, as well as an important news announcement from the Office of Diversity & lnclusion. Our work will go on until every member of our community is treated equitably and with respect. Our work will go on because we must honor those who have worked so hard this year and have been so brave in sharing their pain and their truth. I invite you to continue to monitor our progress by reviewing our periodic updates to the Office of Diversity & Inclusion’s Social Justice Commitment page.

Thank you to every member of this community for not only espousing but actively working to promote our core value of Diversity. Please reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns. I look forward to working with you to create a more diverse and inclusive campus community. We have made a lot of progress in the past year but we have only just begun.

Katie Lampley ’96
Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer