The following email was sent to faculty on August 22, 2024. It is published here for your convenience.

Dear Colleagues,

I hope that your summer months have been restful and refreshing. As we return to campus, I have heard from many colleagues about exciting new developments in their research, programs that will enrich our campus this year, and innovative approaches they plan to use in the classroom.

Intermingled with that excitement is understandable concern about navigating a complex landscape for educators. A presidential election, global conflicts, and many other ongoing factors affect our community at present, often in disparate ways.

I am proud of our faculty’s commitments to open-minded and pluralistic pedagogy. I have experienced the challenges that inevitably arise as part of the teaching mission, especially in tumultuous times. With preparation, thoughtful design, and fellowship, we can meet this moment with a strength of character and professional care that will enrich and inspire our students, our colleagues, and our larger university community.

To that end, I am writing to ask faculty with instructional duties on our campus to give special attention to two areas this semester to ensure we maintain an excellent learning environment.

Our students come from diverse backgrounds and hold sometimes conflicting, deeply held beliefs. Discomfort is often part of learning. But that discomfort should stem from exchanging ideas, not a sense of exclusion. When they step into our classrooms, they are entering a unique space: an environment where multiple viewpoints will be thoughtfully, systematically examined. This semester, as tensions across society rise, we must take extra care to protect this special duty of the university. An inclusive classroom is one in which the instructor models the openness to diverse viewpoints we hope to instill in our students.

Additionally, while in your capacity as instructors, I am respectfully asking you to refrain from expressing your personal beliefs or advocating for a particular position about potentially polarizing topics on subject matters outside the scope of instruction. That capacity includes our modes of communication with students, such as email, as well as the environment we create in our classrooms. As strongly held as your personal beliefs are, advocacy for them in the classroom or in other communications with students can create a negative environment for the student who does not share them.

Fortunately, we have many opportunities for advocacy and activism in our community and beyond. By supporting personal activism, yet relegating it to life outside the classroom, we uphold our institution’s credibility and integrity, and deliver on our goal of providing a life-changing education for all who choose to learn here.

Laurie K. McCauley, DDS, MS, PhD
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
William K. and Mary Anne Najjar Professor
Pronouns: she/her/hers