On March 22 our campus came together for the inaugural Day of Collective Action. We want to thank the more than 650 participants who came to the 20+ PCEB-planned events, and all of those who participated in the events that were planned by departments across campus.

Each of these events provided an opportunity for our community to reflect, think through and develop action items to disrupt discrimination and racism in all of its forms. Our individual responsibility requires each of us to design an inclusive and hate-free collective experience of the U. Whether you attended the Presidential Session focused on Anti-Black Racism, the Restorative Justice Session, the Get Inspired sessions or any other session during the day, we hope that you were able to walk away with more information and a deeper perspective on the lived experiences of people in our community. For key takeaways from each of the events, please visit the March 25 summary article in @theU.

This day and its related conversations will be a large part of the foundation for our collective EDI efforts moving forward. We are grateful for the feedback we have received and are energized to implement your thoughts into future actions, including the writing of a Community Compact.

The PCEB has seen the impact of our coming together to support EDI efforts, so we have extended our original timeline to the end of the spring semester. This will enable us to more robustly support the short-term initiatives of the PCEB.

Finally, we want to express that we are aware of the long road ahead of us. On March 22, we were reminded that we are all in different stages of awareness of how racism is embedded in structures and systems at the U, in Utah, the United States, and globally.  As we engage in this work, it’s important to recognize that the journey, personally and collectively, will not be linear. The commitment to learning—no matter what age or title—is inspiring and necessary.

Thank you all for your commitment to creating a more inclusive and welcoming community. We look forward to the coming work and to 2023’s Day of Collective Action.

Sincerely,

Mary Ann Villarreal
Vice President for Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion
Co-Chair of the Presidential Commission on Equity and Belonging

Lori McDonald
Vice President for Student Affairs
Co-Chair of the Presidential Commission on Equity and Belonging