Letter to the Editor: A Response From Evan Dobelle: Trinity is Doing Great Things, But Has Much More To Do

To The Editor: Hank Lewis's recent Tripod column deserves a thoughtful response from me. First, I believe there must have been a misunderstanding about my interview published by the Tripod. For that article, I simply responded to a series questions directed to me by the paper, and my responses were billed as remarks addressing the "state of the college." My comments during the interview reflected my views on the topics raised by reporters on that particular day, not my assessment of the critical issues facing Trinity at this time. Nevertheless, let me say that I agree strongly with the thrust of Hank Lewis's remarks. We do have a long way to go in achieving our goal of making Trinity a more diverse community, more welcoming and affirming of individuals from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, more responsive to the issues of racial and cultural difference that have so divided our society. I am proud of what the Trinity community has accomplished over the last few years in this area, and of the steps we have taken together. The upcoming Black Student Union-sponsored conference on campus next weekend ("African Americans in the Next Millennium") is one of a number of initiatives this year that mark that progress and signal a widening commitment to dialogue and action on this campus. I hope many of our students and faculty will join with students from several states and the distinguished speakers and leaders who are attending this conference. I will be there to listen and learn, and I salute the students who, with this conference and numerous other initiatives, are demonstrating such tremendous leadership. We are making progress on many fronts, although we need to do more and better. We have improved on hiring in our faculty. We have made a tremendous commitment to multicultural houses, and we are improving on diversity in admissions; but we are just now coming to terms with how much better we need to do on retention. Each step we take brings with it more responsibility, and more opportunities for action. I hope we will continue to work together to realize our common dreams of a Trinity that recognizes and sustains the dignity within and the differences between all of us. We need each other to make that vision a reality. Sincerely, Evan S. Dobelle

Letter to the Editor: A Response From Evan Dobelle: Trinity is Doing Great Things, But Has Much More To Do

To The Editor:

Hank Lewis's recent Tripod column deserves a thoughtful response from me. First, I believe there must have been a misunderstanding about my interview published by the Tripod. For that article, I simply responded to a series questions directed to me by the paper, and my responses were billed as remarks addressing the "state of the college." My comments during the interview reflected my views on the topics raised by reporters on that particular day, not my assessment of the critical issues facing Trinity at this time.

Nevertheless, let me say that I agree strongly with the thrust of Hank Lewis's remarks. We do have a long way to go in achieving our goal of making Trinity a more diverse community, more welcoming and affirming of individuals from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, more responsive to the issues of racial and cultural difference that have so divided our society. I am proud of what the Trinity community has accomplished over the last few years in this area, and of the steps we have taken together. The upcoming Black Student Union-sponsored conference on campus next weekend ("African Americans in the Next Millennium") is one of a number of initiatives this year that mark that progress and signal a widening commitment to dialogue and action on this campus. I hope many of our students and faculty will join with students from several states and the distinguished speakers and leaders who are attending this conference. I will be there to listen and learn, and I salute the students who, with this conference and numerous other initiatives, are demonstrating such tremendous leadership.

We are making progress on many fronts, although we need to do more and better. We have improved on hiring in our faculty. We have made a tremendous commitment to multicultural houses, and we are improving on diversity in admissions; but we are just now coming to terms with how much better we need to do on retention.

Each step we take brings with it more responsibility, and more opportunities for action. I hope we will continue to work together to realize our common dreams of a Trinity that recognizes and sustains the dignity within and the differences between all of us. We need each other to make that vision a reality.

Sincerely,

Evan S. Dobelle