Penn State president asks for ‘time and grace’ to meet diversity, inclusion goals

Penn State’s top official on Friday met with a handful of faculty to discuss concerns over the administration’s controversial decision to slash plans for a center designed to promote diversity and equality on campus.

President Neeli Bendapudi participated in an online town hall-style meeting with six members of the faculty - four of whom were Black or brown - to address the concerns that have been expressed by faculty and students over her decision last month to cancel plans for the Center for Racial Justice.

The modified and closed-access meeting played out as more than 400 faculty signed on to a letter critical of the administration’s decision.

In addition, in a separate letter members of the Students United for Racial Justice at Penn State this week voiced anger and disappointment with the administration and its decision. The letter from students was not mentioned during the meeting.

Throughout the meeting, Bendapudi, who has been on the job just six months, asked to be held accountable - but stressed that she needed time and “grace” to accomplish her goal of addressing inequities and inequalities.

“To me the better path was to hold ourselves accountable to something measurable, something that everybody could see and that we could put it out there and talk about it every year,” Bendapudi said.

As planned, the center would have widely addressed issues impacting marginalized sectors of the university’s academic community.

Throughout the hour-long meeting, Bendapudi reiterated her commitment to a plan that would focus on measurable metrics, including retention and graduation rates of Black students, promotion and tenure of Black faculty, professional development of Black staff, and most importantly, she said, fostering a sense of belonging to the Black members of the university community.

Rather than invest in a new asset, Bendapudi argued, Penn State should continue supporting and lifting the work of the people already invested in the Penn State community.

“Difficult decision. I certainly will tell you that every minute that I’m here I will do my best to prioritize equity and racial justice, as well as access and affordability,” she said. “My best decision is that we have to invest in people already here doing the work. Otherwise someone else will come and poach them and we will say, ‘why did we lose that individual?’”

Bendapudi’s decision to slash plans to establish a Center for Racial Justice in recent weeks generated wide outcry from faculty and staff.

She also came under fire earlier this month when university officials initially approved events featuring two far-right activists from the Proud Boys white nationalist group. University officials canceled the event at the last minute, but it was too late to stave off a violent clash that drew police, some mounted on horseback, who pepper spray on students.

Julio Palma, an assistant professor of chemistry at Penn State Fayette, noted he had received a lot of feedback and questions from members of the faculty ahead of the town hall. Ultimately, the panel only addressed a handful of questions.

Palma questioned the optics presented by cancelation of the center as well as the initial decision on the Proud Boys event.

“How do we attract people from underrepresented communities when right now the optics seem as if we are moving to the other direction?” Palma asked.

Bendapudi stressed she was genuinely committed to the shared goals of promoting diversity, inclusion and equity.

Palma further challenged her noting that the idea for the center came out of more than a year’s worth of faculty consultation based on research and scholarly work.

“This is a recommendation of our own faculty,” Palma said. “What do you tell all that faculty that put in a lot of service work and scholarly work?

Bendapudi noted that the university already had scholarly initiatives in place addressing anti-racism and racial justice.

“I am genuinely committed to the same goals we all espouse,” she said. “Hold me accountable to the outcomes. I made my best judgment. I know that I’m asking you to give me time. Give me a little grace. The timing of the whole thing was terrible. I know how much pain it has cost but my heart is in this work. My commitment is in this work.”

Marinda Harrell Levy, an associate professor of human development and family studies at Penn State Brandywine, noted that while she liked the idea of an annual progress report, she pressed the president to expound on how she planned to share specific commitments and a timeline regarding her plans.

Harrell Levy noted that Temple University was rolling out a center similar to the slashed Penn State program, and asked Bendapudi under what circumstances she would reconsider her decision.

Bendapudi pledged that by early 2023 she would come back to faculty with an update on progress.

“My concern is that every single university that has established these centers… I worry that this is not necessarily what would move the needle for us on this,” she said. “I would say my focus now is on moving the needle on the four outcomes.”

Closing the gaps that would be measured by the faculty, staff and student metrics would ultimately accomplish her goal: “That is doing the work of anti-racism.”

While Palma noted the significant number of questions submitted by faculty, only of a few of which were addressed, no mention was made of the letter to university administration from members of the Students United for Racial Justice at Penn State.

In the letter, students voiced anger and disappointment with the administration and its decision.

”’(We are)’ is more than a sports chant,” reads the letter, which was obtained by PennLive. “It is a phrase meant to represent the unity of the community built at the Pennsylvania State University. Instead, it has further lost its meaning in light of the administration’s recent cancellation of the Center for Racial Justice and their enablement of white supremacist Proud Boy members and other hate groups being invited on campus.”

The students noted that as a result of Penn State’s avowed commitment to inclusivity and diversity, “many students of color have entrusted” the university with their futures. However, they say that the university has failed in keeping that promise, laying out a list of events and responses that demonstrate that assessment.

Among them the students noted what they characterized as: the university’s inadequate response to the so-called Village student protests of 2001; its avoidance of accountability for the environment created by hate speech and symbols; and the 2021 Zoom bombings targeting the Black Caucus.

“Penn State administration never fails to demonstrate their lack of regard for the well-being of students of color, and they have consistently dishonored their commitment to supporting students, faculty, and staff,” the students wrote in the letter. “We, the Students, say enough is enough.”

The students charged the Penn State administration with refusing to protect students physically, emotionally, and mentally against hateful and violent rhetoric.

“The news of the refusal to fund a Center for Racial Justice was just another example of this active negligence towards students of color,” they wrote in the letter.