NTID Antiracism and Social Justice Plan Background

In fall semester 2015, members of NTID’s Ebony Club raised concerns about a lack of focus on all aspects of diversity at NTID in a letter to NTID President Gerry Buckley. President Buckley met with representatives of Ebony Club on several occasions to discuss their concerns and communicated with the NTID community at large regarding the students’ concerns and plans for addressing them.

View a summary of how NTID responded at the time to each concern raised by the Ebony Club.

Since 2015, NTID has taken additional steps to combat racism and enhance diversity, equity and inclusion in our campus community. Learn more about these NTID initiatives.

We recognize there is more to do. As President Munson has noted “we must find ways to begin to repair 400 years of racism and oppression.” President Munson has called on each of us “to be accountable and to expect accountability from those with the power to truly bring change.”

Action and change are at the heart of NTID’s Antiracism and Social Justice Plan. In June 2020, President Buckley announced that the NTID Administrative Council would draft a plan for addressing systemic bias and racism and enhancing diversity and inclusion in specific and measurable ways within the NTID community. NTID released a draft of the plan to members of the NTID community for feedback.

On July 29, 2020 the NTID Alumni Association Board submitted an open letter to President Buckley and requested a response by October 7, 2020. President Buckley responded to the board and noted NTID’s anti-racism and social justice work requires on-going commitment and support from everyone in the NTID community.

The goals and action steps in this plan build on NTID’s response to recommendations made by the Ebony Club in 2015 and on NTID’s response to recommendations made by the NTID Alumni Association Board in July 2020. We are grateful to those organizations and all of the individuals and groups who have shared their concerns, ideas, feedback, and support as we have developed this plan. NTID has received feedback from students, faculty and staff—individually and through NTID governance groups and organizations, including NTID Faculty Congress, NTID Staff Senate, the NTID Diversity Group, the NTID Alumni Association Board, the NTID Foundation Board, and the NTID National Advisory Group.

NTID is moving forward in a spirit of collaboration, respect, and unity to identify and eradicate systemic racism within our community and ensure a welcoming, inclusive, vibrant and accessible environment for everyone.