The following message is from Michael Reed, sent to williams-students and williams-personnel:

To the Williams Community,

Williams has made some changes in how we work on issues of diversity and inclusion that I would like to inform you about.

I am particularly pleased that Wendy Raymond, Associate Professor of Biology, has agreed to serve in the new position of Associate Dean for Institutional Diversity. While continuing her teaching and research, Wendy will use course-release time to work with my office as we assist departments and offices across campus in making Williams a place where everyone, whatever their background, can thrive. She is already known on campus and nationally for her work on developing ways to support students from underrepresented minority groups in the sciences. I very much look forward to having her be part of our Office for Strategic Planning and Institutional Diversity.


To advance the coordination of the College’s work on diversity and
inclusion, our office, beginning this summer, will oversee the Multicultural
Center and the Office of the Coordinator of Special Academic Programs. They
have been part of the operations of the Office of the Dean of the College.
As part of this switch, we’ve begun discussions with the MCC Advisory
Committee of the Center’s purpose and direction to ensure that it’s as fully
engaged as it can be with the College’s academic life. The Coordinator of
Special Academic Programs runs, among other things, the Mellon Mays
Undergraduate Fellowship Program and the Williams Undergraduate Fellowship
Program. Molly Magavern currently serves in that role, though we are in the
process of appointing an interim coordinator for the coming academic year,
when Molly will be on leave.

An important contributor to the College’s efforts on these issues has been
the faculty-student-staff Committee on Diversity and Community (CDC). As
effective as this group has been, some of its members have felt that it
could be more so if there was greater alignment between the activities of
the CDC and the objectives of this office. To achieve this outcome, the CDC
will work in close collaboration with our office to best address the goals
of creating a more diverse and inclusive college.

Finally, to coordinate the many efforts at inclusion throughout the College,
we have formed a Links Committee. This group will play a role similar to
that of the Coordinating Committee of the College’s recent Diversity
Initiatives–to minimize duplication and maximize cooperation. In addition
to me and the Associate Dean for Institutional Diversity, the group will
include representatives of the following offices, departments, and programs:

Two Academic Departments and Two Academic Programs
Admission
Alumni Relations and Development
Athletics
Dean of the College
Dean of the Faculty
Exploring Diversity Initiative
Financial Aid
Human Resources
Multicultural Center
Provost
Vice President for Operations

Our thanks go to all who have agreed to serve in these capacities and to the
very many people on campus who have contributed over the years to making
Williams a more inclusive community of learning. Over my first year in this
position, I’ve been pleased to see how much Williams has done to open itself
to the increasingly diverse society the College exists to serve and how much
stronger those changes have made Williams itself. I am equally convinced,
however, that, as shown in the Diversity Initiative’s Self-Study and reports
from two consulting groups, we have much more work to do. With the changes
described here, I believe we’ll be in a stronger position to advance. I’m
honored to be in a position to work on issues I care so much about at an
institution that means so much to me. And I look forward to being a partner
with you all in this effort.

Regards,

Mike Reed
Vice President for Strategic Planning and Institutional Diversity