Building Awareness and Knowledge and Nurturing an Inclusive Community

December 18, 2023

Dear Tufts community members,

Before the year ends, I want to connect with you about how Tufts will continue to support our community in the months ahead and how each of us plays an important role in co-creating that support.

Our Commitment
In this time of intensified antisemitism, Islamophobia, and anti-Arab sentiments, as well as other forms of bias, Tufts is actively committed to combatting all these forms of racism and hostility with a thoughtful and considered approach.

As an institution of higher education, our mission and values also require our continued commitment to bring more understanding, perspective, and civil dialogue into discourse about the conflict between Israel and Hamas, starting on our own campuses.

Developing a Coordinated Response
Executive Vice President Mike Howard and I recently formed a team led by Cigdem Talgar, Vice Provost for Education; Kim Ryan, Vice President for Human Resources; and Monroe France, Vice Provost for Institutional Inclusive Excellence. This team works across schools and divisions to support the community’s safety, mental health, learning, and well-being and provides a framework that we can adapt and turn to when new challenges arise. Their work includes:

• Collaborating with leaders across all Tufts schools and divisions to align and strengthen our collective efforts.
• Sharing the excellent work emerging from our schools and divisions so others can access or replicate it.
• Keeping our community informed about university-wide initiatives and available resources.
• Providing recommendations for community conversations and learning.
• Inviting input from all members of our community and encouraging dialogue.

Building Awareness and Knowledge
Starting in late January, Tufts faculty will lead an ongoing series of educational panels for students, faculty, and staff called Tufts Talks Openly, focused on the human dimensions of this conflict. Co-sponsored by the Office of the Provost and Tufts schools and colleges, this educational series offers Tufts community members the opportunity to gain new perspectives from research and scholarship across disciplines. Stay tuned for more details to come early next month. You can also expect to see more school programming and campus conversations throughout the spring.

Nurturing An Inclusive Community
Tufts already has many wonderful community-building traditions, like Tufts Table, which recently brought together 200 students, faculty, staff, and leaders from all four campuses earlier this month. These programs are a good starting point, but to ensure that community spaces are truly inclusive, we will be adding more, including:

• Next semester, we will introduce inclusive dialogue programs for community members. Initially these programs will focus on dialogue within affinity groups, expanding over time to foster dialogue across identities and differences.
• We will offer training to address hate and discrimination and will introduce additional training on creating inclusive learning and workplace environments.
• We will also equip those who work in front line roles to support our community every day with coaching and best practices to create and promote inclusive dialogue.
• The Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT) will expand its existing support for our educators and their teaching to include more programming, consultations, and tips for faculty, teaching assistants, and postdoctoral fellows to support an inclusive classroom environment.

All of Us
Our collective experience in the months ahead does not rest solely on the university’s institutional response. All of us are co-creators of this community. Our participation matters. How will you deepen your own commitment to knowledge and inclusion this spring? Some ideas:

• At times, the most important role we can play in this community may be stepping back to care for ourselves as an act of self-preservation and love. At other times, we step forward to care for someone else. That is valuable, important work.
• For some of us, our role may be to engage with the resources Tufts offers to become informed about something for the first time or to deepen our existing knowledge and skills. This considerationcontributes to our collective wisdom and understanding.
• Some of us may feel ready to challenge our own deeply held perceptions and beliefs by listening to others whose lived experiences differ from our own. This is the courageous work of connection andcommunity.

We will continue to be in touch in the New Year with more information. In the meantime, we welcome your ideas and participation in the months ahead. You can reach members of the team with your questions, feedback, or ideas at communityresponse@tufts.edu.

I wish you peace over the upcoming winter break.

Warm regards,
Caroline

Caroline Attardo Genco
Provost and Senior Vice President