January 2021

Dear Colleagues,

In September we launched a series of conversations around the community's vision of what we were then calling a culturally affirming, inclusive and anti-racist curriculum.  Though this had been part of our strategic plan, it took on urgency in the wake of events in the summer of 2020 and our students' fierce advocacy that we do better by them.  

As college leaders we see it as our role to facilitate and lead this process that frames the principles and values of our curricular and pedagogical approaches, but are quite clear that the curriculum belongs to, and is a reflection of, the faculty.  This is why it has been thrilling to talk with so many brilliant and thoughtful faculty members about how they approach their curriculum, how they are reflecting and making changes to their curriculum, and how their pedagogical approaches match a more just vision of higher education at a Hispanic- and Minority-Serving Institution. 

Through our conversations with dozens of faculty members, we have created a draft of a Framework for a Culturally Responsive, Inclusive, and Anti-Racist Framework (attached) that lays out the principles for how, what, and why we teach what we teach at John Jay.  This is a draft and we need your feedback and improvements on it to make it a living document that can guide our curricular choices, our faculty development priorities, and our learning goals into the future.

ACTION REQUIRED: we ask you to read this document and join us next Thursday, January 28 during the Community-Wide Conversation on Faculty Development Day (12:45-1:45 pm) to share your thoughts on whether these principles capture the teaching and learning you want John Jay to deliver. To register for FDD click here: https://doitapps2.jjay.cuny.edu/facultyWorkshop/login.php?tr_id=FDD21. If you are unable to join us please visit the Inside John Jay page on the Framework and leave your comments on the feedback form.

There is so much fantastic work to revise the curriculum already underway - we look forward to sharing some of that with you, and to hearing about more from you, on January 28.

Sincerely,

Dara and Allison

Dara N. Byrne, Ph.D. Associate Provost for Undergraduate Retention and Dean of Undergraduate Studies

Allison Pease, Ph.D. Associate Provost for Institutional Effectiveness