Bentley Community Members, 

We write to you today to share an update on the progress of Bentley’s Racial Justice Task Force (RJTF). As previously announced, more than 100 faculty, staff, students and alumni volunteered to serve on the task force. The outpouring of engagement speaks volumes about our community and our collective desire to create a more actively anti-racist culture. The members of the task force held our first full meetings on July 16 and 17 to discuss our mission, participate in reflective exercises and discussions and form committees to guide our work. A smaller group of 15 task force members were selected to serve as the core team, which will lead the committees and assist in guiding the work of the overall work of task force. The core team and the committees have met and will begin to engage the community as we start the fall trimester.  

Q&A and Feedback Session 

The Racial Justice Task Force will be hosting a Q&A and community feedback session on Monday, August 10 from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. This session will provide an opportunity for campus stakeholders to give direct feedback to the task force co-chairs. To register and submit questions in advance, please click here. To allow as much time as possible for Q&A and dialogue, we invite everyone to view a brief webinar before participating in the session. The webinar introduces the task force and shares the goals, approaches and committee structure, as well as the definition of some key terms that will be helpful to understand as you consider the work of the task force. To access the video please visit our web page at bentley.edu/racialjustice. 

Task Force Structure and Approach 

The work of the task force will take place in three phases, which will be informed by existing frameworks and guided by a philosophical approach that prioritizes restorative and brave engagement, systemic inquiry and equity-based decision-making. There will be opportunities for the larger community to provide input during each phase of this effort. The committee structure supports these phases and will feature initiatives including community engagement, communications, tool-kit creation and assessment committees. 

Communication 

The Racial Justice Task Force is dedicated to ensuring consistent and transparent communication with the entire Bentley community. To this end, a SharePoint site (Racial Justice Task Force) and university webpage (bentley.edu/racialjustice) have been created which contain more information including dates for community engagement events, resources for reflection and updates on our progress. In addition, these platforms can be used to submit feedback, questions and ideas. Please refer to these resources often, as they will be updated frequently. 

The Racial Justice Task Force is only one mechanism for addressing systemic racism in our community. For real, lasting change to occur, we must all actively work to identify any inequity that exists in the areas we influence and then take steps to address them. We invite everyone in this community to act now. Reach out to us directly or through racialjustice@bentley.edu to access resources, share ideas, and look for ways to partner. We look forward to engaging with all of you as we work to create a more just and inclusive campus community and hope to see as many of you as possible at the Q&A session.  

Sincerely, 

Donna Maria Blancero, RJTF Co-Chair 

Katie Lampley, RJTF Co-Chair