Brodhead, Kornbluth Message to Students
Recent events across the country, including on college campuses, have reminded us that our dream of a colorblind and inclusive nation still has a long way to go. The Duke community is deeply concerned about these events, which include an incident this weekend in which a student on East Campus reported hearing racist speech. The incident was quickly reported to Student Affairs and is under investigation. We encourage anyone with information to contact Student Affairs.
In the face of this situation both nationally and close to home, we want to underline Duke’s fundamental values. Inclusivity and mutual respect are core values for any civil society, but they have a special meaning in a university. Thinking in stereotypes is a failure of intelligence. Education begins the day we learn to pass beyond crude and distorting simplifications. Further, a university is based on the premise that we are all here to learn from each other, which requires a broad measure of inclusion and openness to others’ experience and points of view.
Duke is committed to fostering an open, tolerant space in which differences of all kinds are respected and valued. All students, faculty and staff—whatever their race, nationality, ethnicity, or cultural heritage, whatever their religious or political beliefs, whatever their sexual orientation and gender identity—every member of our community has the right to safety and respect. When any one of us is harmed through the actions of others, we are all harmed.
More particularly, in this place devoted to teaching and learning, we must continue to learn from the history of race relations and racial discrimination at Duke, in Durham, and across our nation so that we can confront it effectively.
We urge all Duke students, faculty and staff to embrace the shared responsibility for creating the community we want to be. As president and provost, we take seriously our responsibility to communicate Duke’s values and to create the institutional climate that affirms the dignity of every community member. As our campus dialogue continues, you have our commitment to work with you in pursuit of that goal.
Richard H. Brodhead, President
Sally Kornbluth, Provost