In the most recent episode of the , 亚洲AV President Gregory Washington joined Wendi Manuel-Scott, a history professor in the , and Shernita Parker, an assistant vice president for Human Resources at Mason, via Zoom to discuss the work being done by the university鈥檚 .
Manuel-Scott and Parker co-chair the task force of more than 130 Mason faculty, staff and students. The creation of the task force was one of Washington鈥檚 first initiatives when he joined Mason in July 2020 as its president.
鈥淢y goal for Mason is very simple,鈥 Washington said. 鈥淢ason enters this dialogue with an impressive record in anti-racism and inclusive excellence already, but my goal is to propel it to be a national leader in this effort.鈥
He points out Mason is not alone in these efforts. Since George Floyd鈥檚 death, more than 250 U.S. colleges and universities have created anti-racism programs.
鈥淭his is a movement,鈥 said Washington. 鈥淎nd Mason is a part of that.鈥
鈥淭he shift extends far beyond institutions in the United States,鈥 said Manuel-Scott. 鈥淚t is a bit of a global awakening. It鈥檚 exciting to see the various ways that institutions are grappling with systems of inequality that existed in the past and continue to have a footprint in present.鈥
鈥淭he conversations are important, the research is important, but at some point, there has to be action,鈥 said Parker during the hour-long discussion. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 always a commitment we have at Mason鈥攖o take action. Putting ourselves into an issue鈥 and really attacking the problems.鈥
The task force鈥檚 six committees鈥擴niversity Policies and Practices, Training and Development, Curriculum and Pedagogy, Student Voice, Research, and Campus and Community Engagement鈥攈ave worked hard over the past months and are ready to share their initial recommendations for the Mason community's feedback and consideration.听They will be making recommendations to President Washington and university community in the first of two virtual town hall meetings on Tuesday from 2-3:30 p.m.
Registrations to participate in the town hall via Zoom have reached capacity, and the university community is encouraged to tune in to the event live through GMU-TV at .
The, and there is a听.