With graduation behind us, and summer beginning, this is not the time of year the Dean’s Office would normally send a message to the community. However, we feel compelled to reach out to faculty, staff, and students in the college in response to the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many others, and the systemic racism that led to these tragedies.
Statement From the College
Dear members of the SLU CAS community,
These acts of violence horrify and grieve us, and they provide a vivid and immediate reminder of the grave and deadly consequences of racism, bigotry, and hate in our country. We acknowledge the anguish and despair that many of us are feeling right now. To our Black students and colleagues, we recognize this is a part of your everyday lived experience and want to acknowledge the pain and exhaustion you must feel. There are no words to say that will make this better; we can simply say that we hear you, we value you and we stand with you.
We are a College of Arts and Sciences at a Jesuit University. We rightly claim to be central to Saint Louis University’s Mission. It is a Mission that calls us to not just be for those on society’s margins, but to be with them. Our Mission calls us to educate our students and ourselves about society’s great injustices, and make certain we all understand the responsibility to be part of the solution. We know we have been down this road before, too many times. We know that words are not enough, but we cannot be silent in the face of injustice and racism and oppression. As President Pestello said in his message today, institutional leaders are working with students toward intentional next steps.
Please know that we are here for you, despite our physical distance.
Michael Lewis, Interim Provost
Donna LaVoie, Interim Dean
Gary Barker, April Trees, Associate Deans
College of Arts and Sciences
Message from the Chairs and Directors
The chairs and directors support the Message to the SLU Community of Chris Tinson, Ph.D.
Statements from Departments and Programs in the College
University Student Resources
Department/Program Resources
- The Diversity and Inclusion Journal Club in Biology
The club has two focuses: (1) learning about ways to make science more inclusive and (2) implementing change personally and broadly in the department and at SLU.