Indiana Tech’s statement on diversity, inclusion and justice

June 17, 2020

Dear Fellow Warriors:

As the leadership team at Indiana Tech and as daughters, sons, wives, husbands, mothers, and fathers, we humbly call out their names: George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, Atatiana Jefferson and the list goes on. These senseless killings sparked an outrage in the public and the resurgence in the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

As we call out their names and the names of so many like them, we also call out the names of our Black students, faculty and staff who could, in an instant, become a hashtag. That injustice is one that we cannot bring ourselves to fathom, so we call each of your names—our Warrior family members and external partners—and ask that you, too, rise and unite with us in solidarity to eradicate injustice.

Intentions matter, and good intentions informed our past efforts. At the same time, now more than ever, it is vital that we be completely honest with ourselves and acknowledge that all of us could be doing more, could be doing things faster, and could be doing things better. Our students, colleagues and community deserve our best, and our ongoing commitment to doing better.

It is difficult to acknowledge that in 2020 we as a country are still experiencing systemic racism. While words pack power, actions display real commitment and solidify our efforts. Knowing that we have work to do, we at Indiana Tech, with great intentionality, commit to the following. We will:

• Create a Black employee resource group to support our Warriors within our predominantly white work environment.
• Offer monthly Diversity- and Social Justice-related professional development opportunities for all employees of Indiana Tech. (Supervisors will require their direct reports to attend at least one session during the academic year.)
• Begin the fall semester with a series of town hall meetings for our students and alumni to make certain that their voices are heard.
• Review fall course content and offerings and make adjustments to engage our students in topics related to current conflicts and challenges, including community and social movements, crisis leadership and communication, criminal justice challenges, socially-responsible leadership, and others.
• Involve our Chief Diversity Officer’s input on the hiring and dismissal of all employees of color.
• Utilize local and national diverse networks and publications to ensure a more multi-cultural candidate pool for all open positions at Indiana Tech.
• Develop a plan to increase the number of African- American employees (full-time faculty and staff and regular part-time employees) in the Warrior community by 40% within the next 12 months.

These initiatives will begin to be implemented within the next thirty days and will continue on an ongoing basis. In the meantime, please reach out to any one of us or our Chief Diversity Officer, Lisa D. Givan, to provide feedback and offer input on how we can make Warrior Nation better.

Remember, we are all in this together.

Best regards,

Karl W. Einolf, Ph.D., President
Jessie Biggs, Director of Athletics
Brian Engelhart, Vice President for Marketing and Communication
Lisa D. Givan, Chief Diversity Officer
Dan Grigg, Vice President for Institutional Advancement
Julie Hendryx, Director of Human Resources
Steve Herendeen, Vice President for Enrollment Management
Dr. Tom Kaplan, Vice President for Academic Affairs
Judy Roy, Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration
Dr. Dan Stoker, Vice President for Student Affairs