Aug. 28, 2020
Dear Campus Community,
As we look to this new academic year, I want you to know that my personal and professional commitment to inclusive excellence through equity, diversity, and inclusion runs deep and strong. I also want to remind us of the mission and core values that help ensure that the University of Lynchburg is a place where all can prosper — citizenship, inclusion, civility, diversity. In our 2020 plus strategic plan update, we affirm the core values and guiding principles of collaboration and respect for our communities, free and open to the interchange of ideas, cultural diversity, and equal opportunity. We cannot achieve our mission and values without our collective and conscious work toward equity, diversity, and inclusion. We will intentionally create a meaningful and robust learning and working environment in which everyone succeeds. The start of a new academic year seems an appropriate time to make this reaffirmation.
As we embark on this new academic year, I ask that we also take some time to reflect on these core values and aspire to live them. Make it a priority to remember that our University values diversity in all forms, including diversity of thought, viewpoints, backgrounds, and experiences. And remember that these sentiments are not new for us. Remember with pride that Lynchburg was founded on solid principles of coeducation, which in and of themselves embody diversity and inclusion, and 117 years later, we are still welcoming and celebrating the growth of diversity at our beloved University.
Our University has much to be proud of, and every member of our community deserves our support and respect. We know also that we are not always perfect. When we fail to live up to our community standards — and we will from time to time — we must not turn away. Campus leadership joins me in renewing our commitment to respond, as appropriate, to issues and incidents that negatively impact members of our campus community. You have my promise that I will not avoid or ignore issues that have an adverse impact on our community. This is my pledge for the coming year, and I invite you to join me in this promise.
I wish you all a productive and positive year. Please join me in making sure that the University of Lynchburg is a community free from all forms of discrimination and disrespect, a community where all Hornets feel welcome and all opinions are respected. Remember, We Are Lynchburg!
Sincerely,
Alison Morrison-Shetlar
President
