Dear St. Olaf Community,

The Working Group on Equity and Inclusion is continuing to meet and learn from campus leadership. On our conference call today, we prepared for meetings next week with Dean of Students Roz Eaton and Provost Marci Sortor. We are also planning to brief the Board of Regents during their meeting next week and seek their feedback. Next month, Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington will return to campus. Preparations are underway to make productive use of his visit on February 23.

We have received the results of the Campus Living, Learning, and Working Environment (CLLWE) survey that was administered to St. Olaf students, faculty, and staff in November and December 2017. Here are links to the executive summary and full survey results. While the results provide some insight, the Working Group recognizes that many in our community felt that the survey tool itself was problematic in the way it framed questions about incidents of discrimination. We interpret these results with caution and know that statistics alone cannot accurately reflect the lived experiences of racism and discrimination. This survey and the critical feedback we received in response to it are just one of many data points the Working Group will consider as we focus on developing solutions to create a more inclusive campus climate at St. Olaf.

Respectfully submitted,

Glenn Taylor ’73 and Phil Milne ’81
Chairs, Working Group on Equity and Inclusion