Message from President Brodhead and Provost Kornbluth on Implementation of Bias and Hate Recommendations

Dear members of the Duke community,

As we begin the new academic year, we want to provide you with an update regarding Duke’s commitment to addressing the occurrence of acts of bias and hate in our community and to dealing most effectively with these acts when they occur.

As you may recall, following several incidents on campus last year, we convened a Task Force on Bias and Hate Issues, chaired by Sanford School Dean Kelly Brownell and Dean of Social Sciences Linda Burton.  The task force included students, faculty and staff from across the university.

In May, we shared with you the report submitted by the task force, which called for a number of specific changes in Duke’s policies and practices, as well as new procedures to engage the Duke community in this issue.  Informed by thoughtful, wide-ranging conversations with faculty, staff and students across the university, the task force’s recommendations were directed towards fostering a more welcoming and inclusive environment, calling out acts of hate and bias if they occur, and dealing with any such acts firmly, consistently, and expeditiously.

After considering the recommendations over the summer, we are now putting them into practice—including making changes to the student conduct policy and procedures, strengthening student support services, and facilitating transparent communication. Some of the actions build on work already underway at Duke and will be implemented quickly.  Others will be taken up this year by a steering committee, led by Larry Moneta, Vice President for Student Affairs, that will consider how best to implement the recommendations.

We and our leadership team are committed to this process and to keeping you informed.  The task force website (https://spotlight.duke.edu/taskforce/) will be regularly updated so that the full picture of this important work—from the inception of the task force through the implementation of recommendations—is visible in a single place. We encourage you to learn more and participate in this conversation so that we can move together toward creating the university we all want.

Sincerely,

Richard Brodhead, President

Sally Kornbluth, Provost