Presidents of King's and Brescia release report on campus racial climate
November 22, 2021
A message from Dr. David Malloy, President, King's University College and Dr. Lauretta Frederking, President, Brescia University College:
We write to update you on the status of the work done by the King’s/Brescia Anti-Racism Working Group (KB-ARWG). As the presidents of Brescia and King’s, we worked together to call for the formation of this group.
We want to thank the KB-ARWG for taking on an incredibly important task with such high regard for the wellness of our communities. The group was created in the summer of 2020, with a mandate to provide a report that includes recommendations on where we, as communities and institutions of higher education, can create positive change and inform a campus culture that does not tolerate racism and discrimination.
The KB-ARWG has been diligently meeting with stakeholders from across our communities, along with completing a Campus Racial Climate Assessment Survey earlier this year. Many members of our community participated. This qualitative survey helped to collect data to make recommendations for both King’s and Brescia’s campuses that will help us create safer, more respectful, and more equitable environments in which to study, teach, research, work and live.
It is not acceptable that racism exists on our campuses. We acknowledge that there is more work to be done to stop racism in our communities at both Brescia and King’s.
Through the hard work of the KB-ARWG we are now ready to release of the report “They think you are exaggerating”: Report on Campus Racial Climate at King’s and Brescia. The Report contains eight recommendations. We have a lot of work to do and commit to it being done. This work will contribute to our shared responsibility of creating campuses that are truly safe and free of racism and discrimination. Some of this work has already begun at both Brescia and King’s. (Please see below for a community message specific to King’s). Other recommendations will take some time to implement; the work will be on-going. Sadly, these issues are not easy to eradicate.
We have met with the co-leads of the KB-ARWG and agreed that the KB-ARWG will continue to exist in its current form, so that we can all be accountable for making changes on our campuses.
As Catholic universities with a shared set of social justice values, Brescia and King’s are committed to continuing this important work so that we listen, learn and respond to our mission of fostering inclusive communities built on compassion, empathy and social justice. It is our shared responsibility to stop all forms of racism on our campuses.
Recommendations for King's University College
Immediate and three-month steps to address some recommendations in the KB-ARWG report (2021).
- Create a context and opportunities for discussing race and racism openly yet respectfully: bring in experts and speakers, create positive projects (e.g., removal of unspoken biases in a policy; consultative overhauling of a syllabus; a One Book project; King’s Hour, Agents of Change safe spaces programming at Brescia.
- Combat ignorance about racism by engaging the campus community - students, all employees including senior administrators, and Board members -in anti-bias discussions and “training.”
- Encourage the Board to use Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Decolonization (EDID) progress, and anti-racism initiatives as one of the metrics by which senior administrators are assessed.
- Endorsing and acting upon the Scarborough Charter (2021).
- Provide students with channels to request redress for racism; ensure that Black, Indigenous, and racialized persons are well represented within these channels. Ensure that channels for reporting racism are well publicized, fully accessible, and confidential, and protect complainants from retaliation. Respond to reports or incidents of racism, including complaints against their own practices or class materials, promptly, fairly, and supportively.
- Ensure training in Indigenous research protocols and anti-racism for members of the research ethics committees.
- Require all Student Affairs staff and student leaders to participate in anti-racism training.
- Promote Indigenous Services and Supports for Racialized Students at Western.
Media Coverage:
CBC News: King's and Brescia examine racial climate on campuses, find lack of diversity
CBC London Morning: King's University College study of racism on campus