Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Our Charge
Acting on Strategy 3 - Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion – of the College Strategic Plan, a Task Force on Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion is hereby formed. Three Co-Chairs and one ex-officio member will form a steering committee and guide the work of the Task Force.
The College Strategic Plan notes that diverse, equitable, and inclusive organizations bring richness to UNM and perform better. It commits the College to prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion. The College Administration affirms its commitment to honor diversity, ensure fairness and access, and create an environment where all employees, including student employees, and visitors to our buildings are treated respectfully, and all employees and people who work in our buildings are valued for their distinctive skills and perspectives.
Our Activities
- Wednesday, January 30, 2019, All UL&LS Meeting on ClimateQUAL, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm, Willard Reading Room – Message from Dean Richard Clement.
- Thursday, November 8, 2018, Joint Conference of Librarians of Color (JCLC) Recap
- Cindy Pierard, Margie Montanez, and Teresa Neely led a discussion on they sessions attended including recruiting and hiring, metadata for social justice, and archiving sensitive material. Follow-up conversations included residency programs, University Libraries digital initiatives, and the need for representation of the campus-wide discussion of the Zimmerman murals on the University Libraries website.
College of the University Libraries and Learning Sciences Anti-Racism Statement
As the flagship university for New Mexico, we at the College of the University Libraries and Learning Sciences (CULLS) recognize that a majority of the positions of power remain held by a white majority, despite UNM's status as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) with a significant population of Native American students, staff, and faculty. We recognize this structure enables racism, and we acknowledge the historical legacy of exclusion and marginalization of people of color in higher education. We expect that every member of the CULLS community will work to combat racism - which occurs with and without malicious intent, often as a result of unconscious bias - and dedicate themselves to this goal. CULLS is committed to fostering an environment in which students, faculty, and staff from all races and ethnicities can live, work, and learn free from the insidious and debilitating effects of racism, prejudice, discrimination, and marginalization. Racism is antithetical to this commitment.
We condemn racism (a social construct) in all of its forms: see definitions. We recognize that the effects of racism are caused not only by the isolated actions of individuals, but also through institutional policies and practices. Whether intentional or unintentional, individual or institutional, racism is harmful and dehumanizing and has adverse effects on our community.
We commit to helping our community identify and challenge discrimination and marginalization of any sort. UNM's and CULLS’ policies and practices deserve particular scrutiny, including but not limited to the recruitment and retention of students of color (undergraduate and graduate); the recruitment, hiring, retention, and professional development of a racially diverse faculty, staff, and administration; curriculum and pedagogy; health care and other support services; and overall campus climate. Additionally, we support the removal of racist, sexist, and dehumanizing symbols in our buildings as well as throughout UNM campuses. We at CULLS affirm our responsibility to continuously learn about and disrupt systems of privilege, inequality, and oppression, and to reform our policies and practices in accordance with this responsibility.
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Finalized July 7th, 2020 by Diversity Statement Group of the CULLS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Taskforce: Glenn Koelling (Chair), Monica Dorame, Sarah Kostelecky, Brett Nafziger, and Teresa Y. Neely. Adapted from Reed College’s “Anti-Racism Statement”.
