Dear PSYC Terps,
It's been another tough week here on the College Park campus. As we think back on the events over the last couple of months, and even couple of years, it's useful to revisit our values as a university. What are those values?
On January 26, 2017, and against the backdrop of a rising culture of division and hate in the US, President Loh penned a letter to the campus expressing those values. In it, President Loh stated
"... the University of Maryland must remain true to its core values, all of them. They ground us. We cannot learn, teach, pursue truth, and advance knowledge without academic freedom and freedom of expression, civility and respect, diversity and inclusion, openness and shared governance. Our excellence depends on these values, ..."
These core values are fundamental to our identity as a university, our roles as faculty, our goals as educators and students, and our roles as global citizens. In the coming weeks and months, our attention will no doubt shift from the turmoil of the last several months and the tragedies of the death of Jordan McNair and murder of Lieutenant Collins to the forging of a path forward under new leadership. As we undergo this transition, however, I am hopeful that we can remain mindful of our core values. These core values are about more than athletics and life on a university campus. They are about building a culture of respect and accountability, promoting civility, honesty, inclusion, and transparency, and rejecting mistreatment, hate, discrimination, racism, prejudice, and violence toward others as normative.
Michael Dougherty, Chair of Psychology
It's been another tough week here on the College Park campus. As we think back on the events over the last couple of months, and even couple of years, it's useful to revisit our values as a university. What are those values?
On January 26, 2017, and against the backdrop of a rising culture of division and hate in the US, President Loh penned a letter to the campus expressing those values. In it, President Loh stated
"... the University of Maryland must remain true to its core values, all of them. They ground us. We cannot learn, teach, pursue truth, and advance knowledge without academic freedom and freedom of expression, civility and respect, diversity and inclusion, openness and shared governance. Our excellence depends on these values, ..."
These core values are fundamental to our identity as a university, our roles as faculty, our goals as educators and students, and our roles as global citizens. In the coming weeks and months, our attention will no doubt shift from the turmoil of the last several months and the tragedies of the death of Jordan McNair and murder of Lieutenant Collins to the forging of a path forward under new leadership. As we undergo this transition, however, I am hopeful that we can remain mindful of our core values. These core values are about more than athletics and life on a university campus. They are about building a culture of respect and accountability, promoting civility, honesty, inclusion, and transparency, and rejecting mistreatment, hate, discrimination, racism, prejudice, and violence toward others as normative.
Michael Dougherty, Chair of Psychology
