As a first year student at the University of Virginia, you are seated on the Lawn facing the Rotunda, marking your entrance into the community.
I entered the University of Virginia in the fall of 1981,
- only three decades after the beginnings of desegregation in higher education,- just twenty-six years after Brown v. Board, and
- a mere eleven years after women were granted full admission as undergraduates.
More time has elapsed since my graduation in 1985 than between my matriculation and the end of UVa's status as a "gentleman's university".
Against this backdrop of history, I hope you can understand my dismay and frustration at your recent decision to eliminate the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the University.
In the fall of my second year, 1982, I found my calling in education policy and public service in a course on State and Local government. It was in that class that I began to understand that government in general, and high quality public education in particular, can be a force for good and is an essential building block of a strong, democratic society.
In 1805 Mr. Jefferson wrote to to Littleton Waller Tazewell that he was
"Convinced that the people are the only safe depositories of their own liberty, and that they are not safe unless enlightened to a certain degree, I have looked on our present state of liberty as a short-lived possession unless the mass of the people could be informed to a certain degree."
I completed a Bachelor of Arts in American Government, including a senior thesis on Thurgood Marshall's dissent in the San Antonio v Rodriguez (1973) case. I then came to Texas, where I earned a Master of Public Affairs degree from the LBJ School at UT Austin. I have spent my entire adult life working on and teaching about the benefits of access to high quality public education for all students.
It had been quite some time since I had visited UVa, when I returned two years ago and saw the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers. I spent an afternoon at the Memorial, reading each of the stones, and appreciating that without those who built the University I would not have had the opportunities I enjoyed while I was a student. Acknowledging and owning this dark part of UVa's history gives us all an opportunity to learn and grow, and standing at the edge of Grounds, I'm not sure I've ever been more proud of my alma mater (including when we won the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship).
The University needs to reflect, celebrate and serve all Virginians. As a community and as a nation, we are better and stronger when we acknowledge our history and use it to inform our progress. Your decision to eliminate the Office of DEI hurts the University, its faculty, staff, students, and alumni and devalues us all.
In the 40 years since I left Charlottesville, I have been a financial supporter of The University. I could not have successfully completed my degree without the support of the staff at (then) Alderman Library, and have happily contributed to the Library Fund. I was unaware of the total of my contributions (I simply made them every year) until I learned that my name is on the donor wall at the newly renovated Shannon library.
I love UVa, and have always been a proud supporter. However, I will be withholding all future donations until the Board of Visitors acknowledges that diversity, equity and inclusion are essential to the mission of the University.
Respectfully,
Debra Haas
CLAS 1985
Against this backdrop of history, I hope you can understand my dismay and frustration at your recent decision to eliminate the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the University.
In the fall of my second year, 1982, I found my calling in education policy and public service in a course on State and Local government. It was in that class that I began to understand that government in general, and high quality public education in particular, can be a force for good and is an essential building block of a strong, democratic society.
In 1805 Mr. Jefferson wrote to to Littleton Waller Tazewell that he was
"Convinced that the people are the only safe depositories of their own liberty, and that they are not safe unless enlightened to a certain degree, I have looked on our present state of liberty as a short-lived possession unless the mass of the people could be informed to a certain degree."
I completed a Bachelor of Arts in American Government, including a senior thesis on Thurgood Marshall's dissent in the San Antonio v Rodriguez (1973) case. I then came to Texas, where I earned a Master of Public Affairs degree from the LBJ School at UT Austin. I have spent my entire adult life working on and teaching about the benefits of access to high quality public education for all students.
It had been quite some time since I had visited UVa, when I returned two years ago and saw the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers. I spent an afternoon at the Memorial, reading each of the stones, and appreciating that without those who built the University I would not have had the opportunities I enjoyed while I was a student. Acknowledging and owning this dark part of UVa's history gives us all an opportunity to learn and grow, and standing at the edge of Grounds, I'm not sure I've ever been more proud of my alma mater (including when we won the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship).
The University needs to reflect, celebrate and serve all Virginians. As a community and as a nation, we are better and stronger when we acknowledge our history and use it to inform our progress. Your decision to eliminate the Office of DEI hurts the University, its faculty, staff, students, and alumni and devalues us all.
In the 40 years since I left Charlottesville, I have been a financial supporter of The University. I could not have successfully completed my degree without the support of the staff at (then) Alderman Library, and have happily contributed to the Library Fund. I was unaware of the total of my contributions (I simply made them every year) until I learned that my name is on the donor wall at the newly renovated Shannon library.
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Respectfully,
Debra Haas
CLAS 1985
At graduation, you are seated on the Lawn facing Cabell Hall (away from the Rotunda) marking your departure from the University and your entrance into the larger world.
