Faculty Statement on Belonging 2025

As faculty of the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, we commit ourselves to creating an inclusive and supportive academic community where all students feel welcomed, valued, and empowered. Every person’s sense of belonging and well-being within our campus community matters. You matter.

As educator, civil rights activist, feminist, and FDR Presidential advisor Mary McLeod Bethune once said, “Education is the great American adventure, the world’s most colossal democratic experiment.” Whether you are processing the outcomes of the most recent election, seeking reassurance, or looking for ways to engage and act, we want our campus to be a place where you are respected, heard, and welcomed.

We affirm our dedication to fostering an environment where all students feel safe and heard, just as we did on July 1, 2020 in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and so many other Black people and members of marginalized groups. It is at the core of who we are as an institution – a place dedicated to “hearing keenly and sensitively the voices of persons” and “respecting each person regardless of class or background,” while we “work toward a just order,” “offering warmth, acceptance, and joy in welcoming others,” as we strive every day to become “who we are in our relationships with others.”

We are holding space for your reactions, your questions, your voice. We want you to know that as educators, our commitment goes beyond words. It is why we teach, mentor, and show up every day. When you need guidance, support, or reassurance, reach out. You’re not alone. We’re here to help. Here are some resources available to you on campus:

Resources Available:

• Mental Health Support: Wellbeing Center • Academic Support: The Study, Academic Advising, and Student Accessibility Services. • Community and Belonging Resources: Multicultural Student Services, Queer Proud Lavendar Union for Students (Q+), Advocates for Inclusive Mentoring (AIM), Senior Diversity Officer’s Office, Johnnie Development Institute, Sister Nancy Hynes’ Institute for Women’s Leadership, CSB Campus Ministry, SJU Campus Ministry, and Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict Spirituality Center, and Support for International Students • Basic Needs Assistance: Student Emergency Fund Assistance, Resources for Food Assistance, and the Financial Aid Office • Reporting Concerns and Ensuring Accountability: Bias and Hate Reporting Tool and Title IX Reporting Tool • Civic Engagement and Empowerment: McCarthy Center and XPD • Information seeking: The Libraries provide free subscriptions to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and The Economist. Find out how to activate your subscription here. • Legal and Advocacy Assistance: Multicultural Student Services can connect you.

This statement, however, is not just another statement of solidarity and information. We work every day to promote understanding, build connections, and create an academic community where everyone belongs. This work matters. While the work is never over, since 2020 we have implemented changes in our hiring practices, classroom pedagogy, rank and tenure review process, institutional committee structures, and strategic plan that reflects a commitment to doing our best to enhance diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, accessibility, and belonging on our campuses.

We now reaffirm our commitment to creating a space where intellectual curiosity and mutual care meet. Together, we will ensure that care, dignity, and justice aren’t just ideals, but realities we create and live on our campuses. President Brian Bruess’s words guide us: “We do all this because it is good and right. We do this because our mission calls us. We do this for individual and collective human flourishing.” As such, our commitment includes:

– Continuing to Advance Belonging and Inclusion: We commit to combatting racism, bigotry, and discrimination in all forms, both in our classrooms and across campus. We will continue to ensure that faculty have access to inclusive professional development opportunities. Throughout our curriculum, we will continue to highlight and emphasize that the mission and values of CSB and SJU not only stand directly against racism and bigotry, but also positively foster inclusivity, equity and justice for all persons, regardless of ethnicity, religion, color, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or place of origin. Our curriculum, pedagogy, strategic initiatives, and other community work will reflect this, centering equity and justice.

– Creating Spaces for Open Dialogue: We remain committed to creating spaces for open dialogue in the classroom, including facilitating respectful, constructive conversations about political and social topics, if course appropriate. We will honor diverse perspectives and worldviews, teaching and practicing active listening and empathy. That being said, we also commit to making sure that all students feel that their personhood and dignity is respected in the classroom.

– Trauma-Informed Pedagogy: We will continue to grow and expand professional development opportunities for trauma-informed teaching that prioritizes empathy, flexibility, and the mental health of our students.

– Upholding Academic Freedom: We are dedicated to preserving academic freedom as an integral part of higher education, including the freedom to engage with complex ideas. This fosters a climate where students and faculty can explore, question, learn, and discuss without fear of censorship.

– Protecting from Threats: We will not tolerate harassment, intimidation, or harm targeting any member of our community. If able, we will protect students (or any member of our community) from individuals who seek to do them harm.

In solidarity with students:

– We call on the institution to make clear our commitments to all community members and communicate how we are preparing to take on potential upcoming threats to our students, academic freedom, and to higher education in general — like AAUP President Todd Wolfson and Wesleyan President Michael Roth did on Nov. 6, 2024.

– We call on the institution to prioritize helping students and employees in need, including but not limited to our most vulnerable community members like LGBTQ+ community members and immigrant community members, who are current targets with actions such as:

o Adopting policies that are flexible and adaptable for students facing changed circumstances due to new governmental policies or threats so that their education can continue without disruption or delay.

o Providing free or low-cost legal advice on immigration-related issues (or partner with a local organization that can).

o Providing access to a queer-trained mental health professional at the well-being center

– We urge institutional leaders to continue to publicly support future Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, Accessibility, and Belonging initiatives, including but not limited to culturally responsive teaching, student support services, diverse hiring practices, and programming that promotes dialogue and understanding, despite any future potential pressure to shutter DEIJ initiatives. They are mission-centered and foundational to fostering a thriving, inclusive community where everyone can learn, grow, and succeed.

– We call for more investment in and fundraising for high impact practices that enhance multicultural student experiences, like the Center for Global Education, the Multicultural Student Services Center, internships for first-gen and BIPOC students, and initiatives that take seriously student mental health and wellbeing. Our community should first and foremost be here to uplift one another. Together, we can ensure that our campus remains a supportive and empowering place for all.

With respect and commitment.