From: NYU's President- Provost- Deans and University Senate Leaders
To: NYU Community
Date: Thursday, November 12, 2015

Dear Fellow Members of the NYU Community,

We suspect that, like all of us, many of you have been watching events unfold at campuses around the country in recent days, as they grapple with pressing issues of racial inequality in university life, and in our broader culture. If you have been following this news, you have no doubt shared the sense of frustration and distress felt by the members of those communities as they try both to hold their universities to the high ideals they proclaim and to understand why these institutions have not fully lived up to them.

The anguish — particularly among students of color — is palpable, a consequence of falling short of our ambitions for achieving true diversity, inclusiveness, and respect. That gap between aspiration and reality fills itself with disappointment and hurt.

These incidents provide an important occasion for us to take stock. When we apply the requisite honesty in examining our own campus, we acknowledge that there is much work still to be done. We are committed to making NYU an institution where every member of our community can thrive and succeed.

The university is a place where the difficult and urgently needed conversations about race and diversity can and ought to take place. We owe it to ourselves to deepen and expand the existing conversation here at NYU — to listen carefully, to speak truthfully and respectfully, to come to understand what matters, and to figure out how we make progress.

While many of us have been in dialogue on these issues, next Wednesday, November 18 at 2:00 p.m., we will hold a University-wide conversation led by deans and others in the Coles Sports and Recreation Center to surface issues, explore possible responses, and move us forward as an institution.

Our attention to this effort is important for all of us. We hope each and every one of you will participate.

Sincerely,
John Sexton, President
David McLaughlin, Provost
Roger Bagnall, Director, ISAW
Gerard Ben Arous, Director, Courant
Charles Bertolami, Dean, Dentistry
Dominic Brewer, Dean, Steinhardt
Tom Carew, Dean, FAS
Joy Connolly, Dean for Humanities, FAS
Dennis DiLorenzo, Dean, SPS
Sherry Glied, Dean, Wagner
Allyson Green, Dean, Tisch
Robert Grossman, Dean, Medicine
Anna Harvey, Dean, GSAS
Cheryl Healton, Dean, Global Public Health
Peter Henry, Dean, Stern
Michael Laver, Dean for Social Sciences, FAS
Carol Mandel, Dean, Libraries
Geeta Menon, Dean, Undergraduate College, Stern
Trevor Morrison, Dean, Law
Michael Purugganan, Dean for Science, FAS
Pat Rubin, Director, IFA
Fred Schwarzbach, Dean, Liberal Studies
Katepalli Sreenivasan, Dean, Engineering
Gabrielle Starr, Dean, CAS
Eileen Sullivan-Marx, Dean, Nursing
Lynn Videka, Dean, Social Work
Susanne Wofford, Dean, Gallatin
Fred Carl, Chair, Full Time Continuing Contract Faculty Senators Council
Michael Hengerer, Chair, Student Senators Council
Allen Mincer, Chair, Tenured and Tenure Track Faculty Senators Council
David Vintinner, Chair, Administrative Management Council