MHU Adopts Academic Commitments to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion When the history of 2020 is written, it will be seen, not just as a time of pandemic, but also as a time when an explosion of rage and protest nationwide forced the country to confront a series of uncomfortable questions about the state of race relations. Chief among them are: Do Black lives really matter in America? And does our nation really offer, as promised in our pledge of allegiance, “liberty and justice for all”? Academic and administration officials at Mars Hill University sought to make a powerful statement to its students, and beyond, that MHU is an institution which is “vigorously committed to anti-racism, equity, and inclusion,” when in June of this year, it published a series of academic commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion. According to Amanda Knapp, Ph.D., chair of the faculty for ’20-’23, the document was created by the academic deans, the provost, the past and current faculty chair, and the directors of the centers for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) and Community Engagement, and included items that the faculty commit to doing in order to be more inclusive. “This document was inspired by reactions of some of our students and alums to the issues of inequality going on in our country,” she said. “Although their reflections on their experiences at Mars Hill were hard to hear, we truly appreciated their honesty. It gave us pause and made us take an honest look at the policies we do and do not have on campus that may be causing inequality.” Jonathan McCoy ’92, director of the Center for DEI, said the goal was to create a unified community, rooted in diversity, equity, and inclusion, ideals which are in keeping with the core of MHU, and the liberal arts education it offers. “The goal wasn’t just to look at what MHU has done before, but to admit that we haven’t worked hard
6 Mars Hill, the Magazine | Fall 2020
enough to sustain and advance our mission of creating a diverse, inclusive community equitable to all,” he said. “We then worked to develop sustainable benchmarks with realistic pathways to not only achieving them but to continually improving upon them.” Among the most obvious and visible steps to be taken for this fall, are (1) the movement of the Office of DEI to Renfro Library, where it will have a more accessible and prominent role in the life of the university, and (2) the institution of training and other programs on campus for faculty, staff, and students which raise awareness on issues like implicit bias and microaggressions toward African-Americans, other minority groups, and LGBTQ+ students. But perhaps the most important promise of the commitments is less visible: that the university pledges to maintain a continued stance of listening and learning from underrepresented student groups. “As we come together in the fall, the types of questions our students of color will be asking the MHU community will center around ‘Are you listening to what we have to say and working to act on our concerns?’” McCoy said. “‘Or, are you not really listening to us and are trying to get back to a state of being comfortable?’ Answering these questions means having difficult uncomfortable conversations. This requires listening and meditating on what is said.” Knapp said, “We acknowledge that we do not know all of the actions that need to be taken at Mars Hill in the area of equity and inclusion, but we are committed to listening, learning, and then taking action to improve so that everyone has a richer experience.”
The entire text of the document which enumerates the commitments to the campus community is on page 8.
