Month: April 2013

Resolution Accepts President’s Apology

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At its final meeting of the year, on April 16, the Faculty Council voted to pass a resolution acknowledging the hurt caused by President James Wagner’s use of the three-fifths compromise clause in his column in the Winter 2013 Emory Magazine, yet also accepting his apology. “While his words were insensitive, they were not malicious in intent, and discussion of them has revealed failures throughout our community to live up to the diverse and inclusive ideal to which we aspire,” the resolution reads. “President Wagner’s reference to the three-fifths compromise was particularly unfortunate because it detracts from many endeavors Emory University has initiated under his leadership. . . . Furthermore, James Wagner has shown dedicated leadership in setting forth a vision for the future and heading a successful campaign to raise much needed resources to fund Emory’s mission of creating, preserving, teaching, and applying knowledge in the service of humanity. President Wagner has indicated his intentions to continue such efforts with renewed emphasis. . . . We state our firm support for his continued leadership in the years ahead to continue the work yet to be done.” To read the full text of the resolution, click here.


 

Emory Policy on Email Searches Explained

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In light of recent news reports of secret email account searches at Harvard, in April the Council heard a report about Emory’s policies on responding to requests for access to monitor email accounts or other network communications of students or employees. Emory’s Chief Information Security Officer Brad Sanford explained that the IT Conditions of Use Policy states, “Authorized Emory staff may without notice monitor, inspect, or copy network communications, IT resources, and the data they contain. Use of the Emory network and/or IT resources constitutes consent to such monitoring.” He added, however, that “this is not a routine or continuous process.” Rather, it is an uncommon practice that is “only done in certain special circumstances where we feel that either the law or Emory policies are being violated, or Emory business processes are being threatened.” Written requests for searching email must detail specifics, including purpose, and are only approved by consensus among general counsel and several enterprise-wide senior officers of the university.

 

Connecting Faculty and Campus Life

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Senior Vice President and Dean of Campus Life Ajay Nair spoke to the Council in April on his division’s increasing efforts to strengthen the connections between academic and campus life. “How do we create a seamless, interdisciplinary learning community?” he began. Nair described a range of new initiatives in Campus Life that aim to bring in-class and out-of-class experiences closer together. Those initiatives include a stronger programmatic vision for the DUC, improved support for international students, a developing “intervention services team” for students with complex psychosocial needs, the drafting of a protest and dissent policy for Emory, efforts to build a “living laboratory” in residential life by “connecting the classroom to the community,” addressing critical issues of diversity on campus, and growth opportunities for sorority and fraternity life around intellectual pursuits, service, character development, and social responsibility

 

Resolution of Emory University Faculty Council, April 16, 2013

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We acknowledge the hurt to our community caused by President James Wagner’s use of the three-fifths compromise clause in his column in the Winter, 2013, issue of the Emory Magazine. He has sincerely apologized for this mistake in multiple venues, and he has held many listening sessions to hear concerns from the community. We as the University Faculty Council accept his apology. While his words were insensitive, they were not malicious in intent, and discussion of them has revealed failures throughout our community to live up to the diverse and inclusive ideal to which we aspire.

President Wagner’s reference to the three-fifths compromise was particularly unfortunate because it detracts from many endeavors Emory University has initiated under his leadership. Emory has apologized for the role of slavery in building the institution, hosted the “Slavery and the University” conference which drew attendees from across the U.S., and created the Transforming Community Project in which people from across the University engaged with our history and current experiences of race, gender, sexuality, and other forms of human difference. Furthermore, James Wagner has shown dedicated leadership in setting forth a vision for the future and heading a successful campaign to raise much needed resources to fund Emory’s mission of creating, preserving, teaching, and applying knowledge in the service of humanity.

President Wagner has indicated his intentions to continue such efforts with renewed emphasis. His April 15, 2013 open letter to the Emory Community especially outlined his intentions to emphasize Emory’s commitment to social justice, shared governance and accountability, and academic excellence in the liberal arts, and it reaffirmed Emory’s values of diversity, inclusivity, justice, and respect. We state our firm support for his continued leadership in the years ahead to continue the work yet to be done.