Academic Letters
Over the past months we have seen increased calls for inclusion, diversity, and equity from members of academic institutions. From fine art to liberal art colleges and universities, students, faculty, and alumni have created open letters and demands aimed at pushing administrators and faculty members to change the culture of higher education.
The Photographer’s Green Book sees these letters as a resource for understanding the institutions many students and practitioners are a member of. We hope this resource can help us better understand these institutions and the steps that are necessary for them to become spaces that don’t prioritize whiteness in education. In addition, we hope that this serves as a resource for others writing similar letters to question what should be asked and how to ask it.
Below you will find metrics of all 20 colleges and universities that we found who had such open calls and letters. As well as a link to the original letters and materials used for creating our data. The presentation of this material as sociological in form, or as a researcher, is done in both earnest and satire. In earnest because we truly think this presentation has value for reading and understand the information we collected. In satire, because in the normal western tradition of such a sociological endeavor the amount of gathered letters is statistically irrelevant. Judging by the overall need to write such letters, there are institution which treat members of its community as statistically irrelevant. How we are educated to look at the world influences how we later interpret and act within that same world.
We also know that these letters have been a rallying points for broader communities with members associated with far more universities then those presented here. In recognition of them, we can assume these 20 colleges and universities are very much like a institution near you.
*Like all resources in the Photographer’s Green Book this list is constantly being updated and changed. If you have an open letter that you know of please send it our way.
It’s this sliding scale where we are asking for more diverse faculty but not equally the same amount of administrators and students.
Of the 20 letters, 15 called for an increase in faculty diversity, 8 called for an increase in administrative positions, and 6 called for an increase in student diversity.
Of the 10 letters calling for an increase in faculty diversity, 4 had specified amounts for that increase: Appalachian State University asked for 25%, Dartmouth asked for 50%, International Center for Photography asked for 30% over 2 years, and Trinity University asked for 15%
Of the 8 letters letters calling for an increase in administrative diversity, 2 had specified amounts for that increase: Appalachian State University asked for 25% and International Center for Photography asked for 30% over 2 years.
Of the 6 letters calling for an increase in student diversity, 3 had specified amounts for that increase: International Center for Photography asked for 30% over 2 years, and Trinity University along with the University of Arizona asked for a 10% increase.
*One letter was collectively written by members of the many state universities of New York know as SUNY which include 64 campuses. They are listed as one system since their letter was written collectively.
We are specifically looking for collectively what were common demands in the 20 letters. The only exception was made in terms of endowments and scholarships, which was asked in 1 letter, but it seemed important since financial support for students are an important tool for equity and inclusion for diverse student who might disproportionately have economic needs.
From the information presented here we wanted to ask:
I. What are the points of common ground between all of the letters?
II. Of the points that had common ground, even when only a minority of the letters had them, how can we understand something about the culture of the university that we imagine to be the most just.
The following two graphs look at calls for reform in relationship to issues concerning student life on campus. It is important to note that some calls had specific ask that were associated with their university and these were not added to our list.
Only one university asked for endowments and scholarships for student tuition. Students pay for an education system which is equally hazardous, if not more, as their faculty. Their existence becomes the feat of learning from those who overtly and subversively disregard their inclusion and safety. Such insults are compounded when students must pay for such conditions to be included in the cultural norms needed to enter certain social and economic circles. Many of those circles are filled with groups like faculty members, people who went through the current education system which needs vast reform. They are those that paid their institution and endured their isolation for the accolades.
They now find they must work in the same conditions that they were educated under.
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Of the 20 letters, 9 called for the development of curriculum which reflects inclusion, diversity, and equity, 3 called for changes in Campus Culture and Leadership which included but not limited to the restructure of student involvement with university policy, support of BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ student organization, as well as these student’s individual needs for affirmation and understanding through organized action, 2 called for reform of economic and social policies and culture within athletic programs.
Of the 20 letters, 8 called for an increased development of health services to Support BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ Students' Mental and Physical health which centered heavily on hiring of diverse health providers, 13 called for the development of recruitment and retention actions for diverse students which included support services like alumni and student listervs, mentorship, and career services.
Of the 8 letters calling for an increase in student diversity, 3 had specified amounts for that increase: International Center for Photography asked for 30% over 2 years, and Trinity University along with the University of Arizona asked for a 10% increase.
*One letter was collectively written by members of the many state universities of New York know as SUNY which include 64 campuses. They are listed as one system since their letter was written collectively.
Emotional labor is the mental result, with physical repercussions, of the actions the body is submitted to.
As we look at the scope of request here, and imagine the best offer, a 50% increase in faculty at a university will mean that all new hires will equally be engaged in the changing of the culture which is embodied in the letters. If the currents administrative systems that these new faculty members must contend with are hazardous, then we admit they are being brought into volatile working conditions. Such actions at a minimum should require restitution by the institution that commits half its faculty to such abuse.
Administrators influence the university culture, priorities, and policies. This is often done in association with a board, which we contend is a site also needing equal reform.
Of the 20 letters, 10 called for an increased development of recruitment and retention policies for diverse faculty, administration, and staff, 3 called for payment of BIOPOC/LGBTQIA+ faculty for emotional labor. 12 called for commitments to changing organizational culture which included but not limited to transparency by administration towards emerging issues concerning marginalized identities, promotion of those already "doing the work", changing from standardized testing, cultural responsive training, and development of official and implemented Title VI policy. 14 called for the creation or increase in centers, offices, departments, and positions focusing on anti-racism.
Of the 12 letters calling for the creation or increase in centers, offices, departments, and positions focusing on anti-racism, 4 had specified between 2 and 5 such request and the remaining 8 had one request.
*One letter was collectively written by members of the many state universities of New York know as SUNY which include 64 campuses. They are listed as one system since their letter was written collectively.
We propose that the current situation necessitates equitable diversity and inclusion be enacted across every aspect of an institution. The situation also shows that there are fundamental issues with the governing and authoritative figures within educational systems. The top of the structure form must be changed equal to the change in students, staff, faculty. Currently institutions are engulfed in a culture of exclusion and inequity. That after all is how so many people ended up writing a letter, a demand, a hopeful jolting of the moral fabric of the people who create and uphold the status quo. They uphold even while seeing the calls from members of their fellow institutions for actions they know they also willingly commit. They wait till those most valiant amongst us say no more.
We, at this moment, are still saying no more. We are all waiting for institutions and their benefactors to weigh the possible outcomes between relinquishing power and resources, and the moral and social consequences that they will have to endure for continuing to deny the humanity of their fellow human. From these 20 letters the question that continues to resonate, and by far was not in agreement, is how long are we willing to continue to wait?
Collected Academic Letters
*Please note that letters listed on the google drive and the metrics may have a level of discrepancy depending on when we receive new letters and when the metrics are updated. Also, for some sort of consistency in comparison, we haven’t included colleges and universities outside of the United States in the metrics. As we receive more of these in the future we hope to create metrics for additional countries, but we thought it was important to still include them in the collection of letters.