Subject: [Staff-l] Community Forum in Response to Events in Ferguson and NYC
From: Presidents Office <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 14:21:39 -0800
List-Id: All-Staff mailing list <staff-l.lists.cca.edu>

Dear CCA Community,

Last Thursday afternoon I attended a CCA community forum in response to the
recent events in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York City. The forum was
suggested by several student groups, organized by Provost Melanie Corn (who
is also chair of the President’s Diversity Steering Group), and
co-facilitated by staff member Alicia Bell and faculty member Melinda de
Jesus. Despite the stormy weather and the demands of the last week of
classes, about 100 students, faculty, and staff came together to share
their feelings and experiences. The speakers were eloquent, thoughtful, and
passionate.

The tragic deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner
in Staten Island, New York, have highlighted the injustice that persists in
our society, particularly underscoring racial inequities in law enforcement
and the U.S. judicial and prison systems. The demonstrations held across
the country and in our own community testify to the anger, frustration, and
anguish that citizens are feeling. Forums such as the one held at CCA also
give our community members a chance to voice their concerns and be heard.

We tell our students that when they come to CCA they can “make art that
matters.” As an institution, CCA has a responsibility to not only make good
on that promise, but also to bring its creative teaching and learning to
bear on the world’s most pressing problems, including issues of social
justice. We encourage our students and faculty to contribute to the
national dialogue on these difficult topics and to help identify ways in
which our college and our communities can effect positive change.

The President’s Diversity Steering Group
<https://www.cca.edu/about/diversity/steering> (PDSG) was formed six years
ago with a goal to help implement the goals stated under “Cultivate
Diversity” in the college’s Strategic Plan 2010–15. Those goals are:

   - Increase racial, socioeconomic, and global diversity among students,
   staff, faculty, and trustees
   - Develop our pedagogy and curriculum to reflect social and cultural
   diversity
   - Build a campus community that supports and values diversity

While PDSG has done much to advance these goals, there is so much more we
need to do. I am now charging this group to develop recommendations for
improving the college's policies and practices regarding diversity,
inclusion, and equity on campus. I am also asking PDSG to work with student
and faculty leaders from across the college to coordinate events in the
upcoming months that will enhance public dialogue about racial equality,
diversity, and other topics critical to the future of our school and our
country.

To get started on this work, we will hold another forum when classes resume
in January. For now, I would like to hear any of your ideas that the PDSG
might consider as it takes up this charge. Please email your suggestions to
[email-masked].

Sincerely,

Stephen Beal

-- 
Stephen Beal
President
California College of the Arts
5212 Broadway
Oakland, CA 94618
and
1111-Eighth Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
Email: [email-masked]
Telephone: 510-594-3630
Fax: 510-594-3797
_______________________________________________
Staff-l mailing list
[email-masked]
http://lists.cca.edu/mailman/listinfo/staff-l