Focus on racial justice

Ohio State established a university task force to provide tangible recommendations to create a more equitable, healthy, supportive, and nurturing community. This 17-member group, which includes students, faculty and staff, will be engaging broadly with the Ohio State community to identify and propose action steps.

The co-chairs of the task force — James L. Moore III, vice provost for diversity and inclusion and chief diversity officer, and Tom Gregoire, dean of the College of Social Work — have committed to work that is focused on engagement and action. The task force has been asked to propose “serious, achievable action steps that will advance principles of and promote an equitable, healthy, supportive and nurturing university community.”

Other elements of the charge include hosting inclusive, candid conversations about racism; identifying aspects of Ohio State that contribute to inequities and differential outcomes; identifying effective practices that address these problems, and transcending prior approaches.

Vice Provost Moore and Dean Gregoire are working with the task force members to begin their work and develop a process that invites the broader Ohio State community to participate in the discussion.

“We will seize this moment by leveraging our Buckeye community to make lasting change. We are committed to engaging our Ohio State community and searching for meaningful action,” Vice Provost Moore and Dean Gregoire said.

See the task force website for the full charge and list of members.

The Office of Research has partnered with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion to establish a $1 million fund to provide seed grants for interdisciplinary research and creative work that can contribute to the elimination of racism and solve its underlying causes and consequences. With an emphasis on impact, projects will be required to include substantive involvement of community partners.

The $1 million Seed Fund for Racial Justice has a clear call to action: “Ohio State has both the opportunity and the responsibility to lead reconciliation and drive transformational and sustainable change at this pivotal moment in our nation's history.”

The first set of grants will be awarded in December 2020. Ohio State will issue grants of up to $50,000 in two phases over the next two years.

To review the request for proposals and apply, see the Office of Research website.

President Michael V. Drake has told Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther, City Council President Shannon Hardin and others in city leadership that he supports the creation of an independent Citizens Review Board to review instances of alleged police misconduct, as recommended by the Columbus Community Safety Advisory Commission. President Drake has asked that this board include an Ohio State student representative.

The Wexner Medical Center and health science colleges have made “anti-racism efforts our very foundation” in declaring racism a social determinant of health that is damaging to our community, patients, faculty, staff and trainees. The Anti-Racism Action Plan will accelerate structural and systemic change supporting equity in health and well-being.

The plan involves five key actions: to elevate the cause of anti-racism; engage our faculty, staff, students, patients and communities with opportunities to learn and participate; equip team members with tools, resources and communication channels; empower people to address racism; and evaluate and review efforts regularly.

For more information, see the Anti-Racism Action Plan website.

Additionally, on June 1, former President Michael V. Drake testified in support of a Columbus City Council resolution that declared racism a public health crisis. The resolution passed and joined a previous declaration by the Franklin County Board of Commissioners. President Drake also expressed his support for a similar resolution under consideration by the Ohio Senate.

• The Annie E. Casey Foundation: Race Equity and Inclusion Guide
• APM Reports: Black at Mizzou - Confronting race on campus
• Center for Ethics and Human Values: COMPAS 2016 Inequality
• Center for Ethics and Human Values: COMPAS 2019 What is America
• CNN with Don Lemon: Silence is Not an Option
• College of the Arts and Sciences: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Certificate
• College of Education and Human Ecology: Racial Justice and Equity in EHE
• College of Nursing: Resources to Address Racial Tensions
• College of Public Health: Diversity, Equity and Inclusive Excellence Student, Faculty and Staff Resources
• College of Social Work: Resource Guide
• Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy: Recommended Reading
• Department of English: Readings and Essays
• University Institute for Teaching and Learning: Drake Institute for Teaching and Learning Resources for Teaching for Racial Justice
• Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity: Implicit Bias and Active Bystander Training
• University Libraries: Antiracism Resources for Research, Advocacy, & Activism
• Multicultural Center: Community Kit on Race
• Office of Diversity and Inclusion: Racial Justice Resources
• Office of Diversity and Inclusion: List of Ohio State Diversity Education Resources
• The Ohio State University at Newark: National Cultural Resources
• PBS: Abolitionist Frederick Douglass' July 5, 1852 speech: “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”
• Regional Campus Libraries: Anti-Racism Resources
• The National Museum of African American History and Culture: Upcoming Events
• Wexner Center for the Arts: Resources to Support Racial Equality
• Wexner Medical Center: Resources for Taking Action against Racism
• WOSU Public Media: Racial Injustice

• President Drake: Ohio State supports resolution declaring racism a public health crisis
• President Drake: A call for renewed effort to address racial injustice
• Office of Academic Affairs: A statement from Provost McPheron
• Alumni Association: Letter from Molly Calhoun
• Department of Athletics: Letter from Gene Smith
• Office of Business and Finance: Letter from Michael Papadakis
• Office of Diversity and Inclusion: Letter from James L. Moore III
• Office of Diversity and Inclusion: Celebrating Juneteenth James L. Moore III
• Office of Human Resources: Letter from Susan Basso
• Office of International Affairs: Statement by Gil Latz
• Office of Outreach and Engagement: Letter from Ryan Schmiesing to the university community
• Department of Public Safety: Letter from Monica Moll and Kimberly Spears-McNatt
• Office of Student Academic Success : Statement from Beth Hume
• Office of Student Life: Letters from Melissa Shivers, May 30, June 2
• Office of University Compliance and Integrity: Letter from Gates Garrity-Rokous
• Student Life Counseling and Consultation Service: Statement Regarding Recent Tragic Events of Racial Violence and Discrimination
• University Libraries: Statement Supporting Black Lives Matter
• Wexner Medical Center: Letter from Harold L. Paz
• Wexner Medical Center: Statement of support for declaring racism a public health crisis in Columbus

• Area Studies Centers Statement
• Bell National Resource Center: A message to our BNRC Scholars

• Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center: Diversity and Inclusion

• Center for Aviation Studies: Commitment to Change
• Center for Ethics and Human Values: CEHV Supports the Black Lives Matter Movement
• Dennis Learning Center: Statement on Racism, Equity and Diversity
• Drake Institute for Teaching and Learning: Read, Watch, Listen, Act, Teach
• Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity: Statement in Solidarity with Black Lives Matter
• Schoenbaum Family Center and Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy: A Statement on Recent Events

• College of Arts and Sciences: Letters from Gretchen Ritter and Wendy Smooth
• Fisher College of Business: Shared Pain and Resolve
• College of Dentistry: Letter from Patrick Lloyd
• College of Education and Human Ecology: Letter from the Crane Center
• College of Engineering: Letter from David B. Williams and Donnie Perkins
• College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences: Letters from Cathann Cress June 2, June 5
• The Graduate School: Message from Dean Alicia Bertone
• Moritz College of Law: Message from the college
• The Ohio State University at Lima: Letter from Tim Rehner
• The Ohio State University at Mansfield: Letter from Norman Jones
• College of Medicine: Letter from James Rocco
• The Ohio State University at Newark and Central Ohio Technical College: Letter from Bill MacDonald and John Berry
• College of Nursing: Letter from Bernadette Melnyk
• College of Optometry: Letter from Karla Zadnik
• College of Pharmacy: Letter from Henry Mann
• John Glenn College of Public Affairs: Message from the college
• College of Public Health: Letter from Amy Fairchild
• College of Social Work: Statement from Tom Gregoire
• College of Veterinary Medicine: Message from the college

• Department of African American and African Studies: The 2020 Pandemic, Racism, Structural Inequalities, And Pursuits of Social Justice
• Department of Anthropology: Statement and Resources
• Department of Dance: Letter from Nadine George-Graves
• Department of Design: Designers Do – A Message from Dr. Mary Anne Beecher
• Department of English: Statement
• Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures: Statement from Robert C. Holub
• Department of History of Art: Message from Lisa Florman, Statement from the department
• Department of Human Sciences: Message from Erik Porfeli
• Department of Psychology: Statement on Racism, Equity, and Diversity
• Department of Sociology: Statement in Response to the Killing of George Floyd
• Department of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies: A Word on #BlackLivesMatter
• Knowlton School of Architecture: Message from Michael Caldwell
• Neuroscience Graduate Program: A Message from the Life Sciences Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs
• School of Communication: Diversity Statement
• School of Earth Sciences: Statement from Natt Saltzman
• School of Environment and Natural Resources: A Letter to the SENR Community
• University Libraries: Statement Supporting Black Lives Matter

• Football: Ohio State Football: Fight for Change
• The Ohio State University Marching Band: Black Lives Matter
• Organization of Hispanic/Latino Faculty and Staff: Statement
• University Staff Advisory Committee: Statement on Racial Injustice