Standing Firm in Support of Anti-racist education and DEI

Originally posted on Rowan Today

Rowan University is an academic community that recognizes the rights of its students, faculty and staff guaranteed by the Constitutions of the United States and the State of New Jersey. These include the freedom of speech, expression, inquiry, assembly and peaceful pursuit of an education. 

The Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping issued by the White House on September 22 has raised many questions on our campus and elsewhere about its impact on the important work that we as a university and a country are doing to encourage open dialogue about racism, gender equity, and bias.  The Executive Order contemplates additional guidance and we will carefully monitor additional information from the federal government on this Executive Order and share it with you as it becomes available.   

Our responsibility

As an institution of higher education, Rowan has the responsibility to expose students to educational opportunities that promote growth, development and appreciation of diverse perspectives through coursework, experiences, and programming. Further, we promote inclusive professional development for faculty and staff.  We are committed to encouraging intellectual, academic and social interaction and engagement across our campuses.

Examples of our university-wide efforts to provide educational programming include:

• The 1619 Project @Rowan sponsored by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences in collaboration with the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and College of Performing Arts,
• The Rowan Center for the Study of Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights, which centers the atrocities of the Holocaust to educate and investigate issues such as racism, ethnic hatred, other forms of bigotry and human rights, and 
• The efforts of the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to provide professional development to faculty and staff through the DEI Certificate and student programming through the Office of Social Justice, Inclusion and Conflict Resolution (SJICR). 

In closing, Rowan University remains undeterred in our collective efforts to promote free speech and academic freedom as well as engage in critical discourse, which we believe results in a more educated and just society.

Monika Williams Shealey, Ph.D.

Senior Vice President

Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion