Friday, June  26, 2020  

Video message to NKU campus community

Happy Friday afternoon Norse nation!

These past several months have been trying for our community in our country.

What began as an unprecedented global health crisis became an economic crisis not seen since the Great Depression. And in the midst of all this, the underlying social crisis caused by the persistence of systemic racism that has long-vested and was brought to the forefront in full and painful view.

Yesterday we held our first summer campus conversation around the current crisis facing our nation and community and the role of higher education. I hope many of you had a chance to hear from professors David Singleton, Karen Miller, Amal Said, as well as Vice Provost Ande Durojaiye, and Dr. Valerie Hardcastle.

The purpose of the panel was to further our understanding of the impact of the pandemic in racism and how we might contribute to building a more equitable, just and inclusive community. I want to thank the panelists for sharing their perspectives. I for one learned something new about the history of policing and of course the need for reform the panel was moderated by our very own chief Diversity Equity and Inclusion Officer, Darryl Peal. Who is working with the inclusive excellence Council to create goals that will help shape our more equitable future through the Success by Design strategic framework.

Darryl has also convened the CEOs of eight area colleges to address social issues of racism and inequality in the region in fact you will hear from Darryl momentarily. In the quest for equity we've been given hope on a national level as recent Supreme Court decisions have upheld the rights of LGBTQ citizens in the workplace and relieve some anxiety for the hundreds of thousands of Dreamers in this country who hoped for and deserve a clear path to citizenship through federal legislation. As we move closer to welcoming faculty staff and students back to campus for the fall semester, I'm optimistic about the future of NKU.

To help us reflect on where we've been and to look ahead it is my pleasure to introduce the first of our series of summer highlight videos. During each of these video messages thus our members of cabinet will share highlights and success stories with the campus. Today I'm happy to welcome Darryl Peal to talk about NKU's work around diversity equity and inclusion and Vice President for Enrollment and Degree Management Kimberly Scranage to talk about recent efforts to build enrollment and to welcome our incoming freshman class.

Thank You, President Vaidya. Northern Kentucky University is dedicated to creating a more equitable inclusive and diverse campus. In January when I became the Chief Diversity Officer for NKU, I discovered a diverse campus community that values different perspectives and is a great steward of place. I'm excited to help facilitate and develop the first campus-wide diversity goals and the building of a world-class diversity and inclusion program.

Recent events in the news have caused all of us to prioritize diversity equity and inclusion the Black Lives Matter movement has inspired us to dismantle systemic racism and recently a pair of Supreme Court decisions has given us more reason for hope and celebration. First, the court ruled at the Civil Rights Act protects gay lesbian and transgender employees from discrimination based upon sex. Our fellow citizens can no longer be discriminated against and their workplace was because of their sexual orientation. The court has ruled to not dismantle the deferred action for childhood arrivals or the DACA program that was great news for more than, people affiliated with DACA program. However, the challenge of creating a path to full legal status remains and we urge Congress in the administration to provide that status with a path to full citizenship through the enactment of that DREAM Act.

Yes, we have much work remaining at our University and across the country as we work toward a more equitable society but let's remember to celebrate these victories along the way as we continue the journey to a more diverse and equitable society. Thank you stay safe and well and have a good weekend.

Thank you I am excited to be here today to talk and to show everyone how over the past two weeks the enrollment staff and administration have been handing out the NKU yard signs to our incoming class. With the help of the Black Alumni Association the Student Orientation leaders and the NKU Young Live College we have actually delivered over yard signs to students in the Northern Kentucky, Greater Cincinnati, Lexington and Louisville areas. Students were able to drive up to select areas, get their sign and go home and proudly display that they are Norse-bound this fall. And, in fact, many of our incoming students showed their enthusiasm by wearing Norse gear or even by decorating their cars to show their school spirit. We are excited that these students have chosen NKU as their destination this fall. Go Norse!

Thank You, Darryl and Kim. There is much to be proud of at NKU. I'm looking forward to hearing from other members of the cabinet through the summer.

Finally, I have a happy Norse anniversary coming up. Next week will mark two years serving as your president and I cannot believe how time has flown by. This picture is for my first day when I was able to meet so many of you at a welcome breakfast. It has been my distinct pleasure and honor to serve you as we have worked together to develop and begun implementation of our Success by Design strategic framework.

Through this next year and despite the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world in which we find ourselves we will move forward to better serve students as a true steward of place with vision, understanding, clarity and agility. I could not be more proud of the NKU community and I'm thrilled to begin here three with you.

Thank You, Norse nation for everything you're doing to stay safe and well and for everything that you do for this community and our students. I hope that we're all taking some time to stay healthy in mind, body, and spirit while spending some quality time with loved ones if possible and especially with the long holiday weekend coming up next week.

Have a great weekend.