BYU announces new vice president-level position to lead inclusion efforts

BYU President Kevin Worthen announced the university will hire a new vice president-level official of inclusion during the annual University Conference session at the Marriott Center on Monday, Aug. 23, 2021. | BYU.edu

Vice president level position was recommended by the campus Committee on Race, Equity & Belonging

Brigham Young University soon will hire a key administrator of inclusion.

The new position was announced Monday by BYU President Kevin Worthen at the annual University Conference for faculty and staff during the general session in the Marriott Center.

The new vice president-level position will join Worthen’s Cabinet, the President’s Council, and oversee a new Office of Belonging.

Worthen announced the move six months after it was recommended by the official campus Committee on Race, Equity & Belonging.

He presented what he called a constitution of efforts to evaluate and implement the committee’s 26 recommendations. He also said it was a guide for addressing the needs of all and creating a community and environment of belonging.

“The office will focus on helping campus members achieve the community of belonging, outlined in the statement of belonging,” he said. “Using the guiding principles it sets forth, the office will not only be core to our efforts to root out racism, it will also help us combat prejudice of any kind, including that based on race, ethnicity, nationality, tribe, gender, age, disability, socio-economic status, religious belief and sexual orientation.”

BYU.edu

BYU President Council’s vision statement of guiding principles for evaluating and implementing recommendations of the Committee on Race, Equity & Belonging.

The committee issued 26 recommendations with a 63-page report that found “the BYU community has not been immune to the detrimental effects of racism. In ways that have been both individual and systemic, intentional and unintentional, we have seen evidence that the painful sting of racism has diminished the experience and the sense of safety and belonging of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and other people of color) communities at BYU.”

The reports executive summary found that:

“To date, there has been inadequate accountability and coordination in the university’s efforts to address these needs. The BYU community must work expeditiously and without delay to lead out in identifying and rooting out racism at Brigham Young University.”

Monday’s opening general session of the University Conference that precedes the start of school on Aug. 31 was conducted by Vern Heperi, a native Maori who serves as assistant to the president for student success and inclusion.

The program included a Native American dance by Kiona Lucio and Kelina Anderson, two members of the Living Legends, a student group that celebrates the native cultural heritage of North and South America and the South Pacific.

Worthen and others noted that BYU will return to a more traditional academic calendar and product this fall after a year of disruption caused by COVID-19. Masks were required in the Marriott Center for Monday’s conference.

“Unfortunately, the ongoing effects of the pandemic continue to affect our planning and efforts,” Worthen said. “We are pleased that due to the vaccination efforts of those in our university community, we can offer more of the blessings of a traditional BYU experience than we did last year. Yet that optimism is still tempered by the continuing presence and vagaries of the coronavirus, so we must remain vigilant and flexible.”

Shafkat Anowar, Deseret News

BYU President Kevin Worthen attends an event where he announced the university will hire a new vice president-level official of inclusion during the annual University Conference session at the Marriott Center on Monday, Aug. 23, 2021.

from Deseret News https://ift.tt/3kbemNa