An editorial in Emory University’s student newspaper calls on newly-appointed president Gregory Fenves to “protect students, faculty and staff of color.”
Fenves, currently president of the University of Texas at Austin, was named Emory president on April 7. He begins his new position on August 1.
Gregory L. Fenves“As we welcome Fenves to the Emory community and introduce him to the student body, we implore him to prioritize diversity and inclusion, and in doing so, encourage students, staff and faculty of color to lead University-wide diversity initiatives,” said the editorial in The Emory Wheel.
The editorial cited a 2016 Class and Labor Report, which reported that women and racial minorities are significantly underrepresented in Emory’s tenure-track faculty. Therefore, the editorial said, Fenves must “create space for marginalized groups at Emory to help implement diversity initiatives like hiring more faculty of color, effectively addressing minority and low-income student concerns and implementing faculty implicit bias training.”
The editorial highlighted some of Fenves’ diversity initiatives from when he was president of the University of Texas at Austin.
“Fenves’s response to student protests surrounding sexual misconduct and his defense of race-inclusive admissions is promising. We hope he translates these lessons to Emory,” said the editorial.
