Message from the Chief Diversity Officer
Dear App State Community,
In 2021, in response to student and employee feedback through surveys and other channels, Chancellor Sheri Everts charged an App State working group to study the need for a formal process to report bias-related incidents and hate incidents that do not rise to the level of policy or code violations.
After assessing campus feedback, analyzing our current campus environments and studying reporting processes at peer institutions, the working group developed a protocol for our university: App State’s Campus Climate Support Program.
What is it?
The Campus Climate Support Program is a formal process for reporting and addressing bias-related and hate incidents on our campuses. The program is designed to educate App State Community members on these kinds of incidents, offer support resources for students and employees who experience them and create a pathway for free speech-related conversations. The program webpage provides information about what constitutes a hate incident or a bias-related incident, as well as an online form for reporting such incidents and an explanation about how the university will assess and handle reported incidents.
Why did we create this program?
By recognizing, reporting and preventing bias-related and hate incidents, we can foster an even more inclusive campus community where all members feel welcomed and supported. In this respect, the Campus Climate Support Program is a key element in supporting App State’s Strategic Plan 2022-2027, which prioritizes cultivating and supporting a welcoming university community.
How you can learn more
If you would like to learn more about the Campus Climate Support Program, please visit the program webpage or contact the Office of Diversity at diversity@appstate.edu.
I would like to thank Chancellor Everts for her commitment to this important initiative. I am also grateful to members of the working group and other campus partners who did the hard work of developing the Campus Climate Support Program.
I look forward to engaging our campus in this important program and working together to create an even more inclusive campus environment where all members feel welcomed, supported and accountable to one another.
Sincerely,
Jamie Parson, J.D.
Chief Diversity Officer