SAY HER NAME: VISIBLE STATEMENT RECOGNIZING SYSTEMIC RACISM

Adapted from: Leibnitz, G. (June 11, 2020).  Say Her Name: A Working Statement by the ADVANCE Implementation Mentors (AIM) Network about Intersectionality and Equity

As members of the national ADVANCE community, we stand in recognition of the systemic racism that permeates academia, STEM, and our broader communities and systems of power.  We stand in recognition of the intersectionality (Kimberlé Crenshaw, 1989) of race, gender and gender identity that results in unique experiences for Black women, especially discrimination that can compound experiences of marginalization and invisibility.  We reject the silence that has implied complicity with violence against people of color.  We say the names of young women of color whose lives were recently cut short during encounters with police—Breonna Taylor, Tanisha Anderson and Atatiana Jefferson.  

As members of the Villanova community, we embrace our Augustinian values of Veritas, Unitas and Caritas and bear witness to the pain of our Black colleagues and friends.  We commit to work to address issues of inequity on our campus and to actively build a campus culture where communities of color are heard, supported, and thrive. We commit with the proponents of Black Lives Matter “to struggle together, and to imagine and create a world free of anti-Blackness, where every Black person has the social, economic, and political power to thrive.”  

As people privileged by education and opportunity, we collectively pledge to act against bias and injustice, and pursue equity and inclusion, not just during times of crisis but in daily acts of courage.

The VISIBLE program exists to support inclusiveness and build leaders. At Villanova, leadership for equity and inclusion is integral to the University’s Augustinian mission and strategic plan, Rooted. Restless. We will engage with the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as a partner in its Living Race—Transforming Community campaign. We will support intersectionality in our community building projects. And we will prioritize continuous self-education, developing self-awareness, and speaking for equity and inclusion, with an intersectional lens, at every level of the organization. 

Amanda Grannas, Vice Provost for Research,  Chief Research Officer; Principal Investigator, Villanova ADVANCE

Teresa Nance, Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Chief Diversity Officer; Co-Principal Investigator, Villanova ADVANCE

Noelle Comolli, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs; Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, College of Engineering; Co-Principal Investigator, Villanova ADVANCE

Narda Quigley, Professor of Management; Co-Principal Investigator, Villanova ADVANCE

Teresa Boyer, Assistant Vice Provost of Centers and Institutes; Director of Anne Welsh McNulty Institute for Women's Leadership; Associate Professor of Education and Counseling; Program Partner, Villanova Advance

Seth Matthew Fishman, Assistant Dean of Curriculum and Assessment, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences; Associate Teaching Professor of Education and Counseling; Internal Evaluator, Villanova Advance

Elizabeth Svenson, Program Director, VISIBLE

Adam Smith, Associate Program Director, VISIBLE

Kristin Broussard, Postdoctoral Scholar for ADVANCE, VISIBLE

Priscilla Futema, Administrative Assistant, VISIBLE