A Statement From the Dean

To Our Huntley College of Agriculture Community,

Cal Poly Pomona is a university known for its diversity and for valuing both inclusiveness and global and social responsibility.

In the wake of this spring’s tragic events – the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Rayshard Brooks – and the subsequent national discussion about systemic racism that African Americans encounter, the university and college repledged their commitment to those values.

But words are just a beginning. By themselves, they are not enough. If we want lasting change, we must back those words with actions to identify and address inequity and injustice.

To that end, the Huntley College of Agriculture commits to the following initial action steps:

• The creation of a college-wide inclusive excellence team that will identify any structures and processes that create and perpetuate inequity
• Training for faculty and staff
• Inviting guest speakers to talk with the college about systemic racism.

I encourage you all to engage in this process. It will not necessarily be easy or comfortable. There likely will be hard conversations: some will find it difficult to share their experiences; others will find it difficult to listen, especially to those whose perspectives and experiences are different.

But we want to hear from you. We value you and your voices. We can all learn from each other and from this process; at the very least we can start to learn how to have these conversations, hopefully in a civil and respectful manner and upholding what President Coley called “our regard for humanity and each other.” At minimum, we can learn the skills to better communicate and understand each other, our future students, clients, customers, and employees. Together, we can work to create a better campus community and a better society.

Sincerely,

 

Lisa Kessler

Interim Dean

Huntley College of Agriculture