Happy Indigenous Peoples Day!
I am reaching out to invite you to join a meeting with Dr. Martin Smith, the Dean of Academic Affairs for Trinity College who is responsible for overseeing the incorporation of anti-bias and anti-racism into the Arts and Sciences curricula. Dr. Smith was specifically asked about Duke's efforts to include Native voices, Native consultants or Native experts in the work Duke is doing as part of its diversity, inclusion and equity work committed to by President Price. Dr. Smtih's response has been that there have been conversations among leadership about this but that there is no plan. However, Dr. Smith has reached back out and requested to meet with our Native/Indigenous alumni to discuss this issue. I assume the meeting will take place over zoom.
To provide a bit of background, Steve McLaughlin, Associate Dean, Office of Undergraduate Admissions, reached out to Duke administration on behalf of our Native/Indigenous Alumni (as requested) referencing the statements of made by President Price in June of this year where he made commitments to provide staff, faculty and student anti-racism and anti-bias training, commitments to expand the diversity of staff, faculty and students with particular focus on Black, Indigenous and people of color. There were also commitments made by President Price to incorporate anti-racism into the curricula.
In addition to Dr. Smtih, Steve reached out and asked about inclusion of Native voices and faculty to Dr. Abbas Benmamoun, Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement, a new position responsible for providing intellectual leadership, guidance and oversight of university-wide strategies and programs to enhance faculty excellence. He oversees faculty development programs, including programs to recruit outstanding and diverse faculty, and partner with schools, departments, and centers to enhance faculty success at Duke and promote a climate that values and celebrates inclusive excellence. Dr. Benmamoun asknowledged that Duke needed to do better and that some schools were interested in including Native voices and that efforts would be made to widen the pool of candidates for their faculty positions. We don't know any more specifics. I would like to learn more.
If you are interested in meeting with Dr. Smtih and potentially other Duke leadership on this issue, please email Steve McLaughlin (stephen.mclaughlin@duke.edu) directly by Thursday, October 15, so we can respond to Dr. Smith with a list of attendees and set up a zoom call. If you miss this date, please let me know of your interest and I can add you to any future meetings or discussions on this topic. As you know, this is an important opportunity to help make Duke a more welcoming space for Native students, as well as helping Duke's total student body become more aware and knowledgeable of Native Nations and Native/Indigenous peoples in contemporary society. Please join us!
With appreciation for your time and interest,
Brenda Pipestem '89