The draft version of the IAGGL report is now available for public review and comment. To facilitate community feedback, two open forums will be held to discuss the draft and to answer questions regarding the data or recommendations:
- Monday, April 21, 7:30 p.m. in Colton Chapel – students
- Tuesday April 22, 4:15 p.m. in Hugel 103 – faculty, staff, and other interested members of the community
Members of the community may also submit questions and comments directly through the IAGGL website. I will respond to all questions and will incorporate the common themes that emerge from the discussions and questions into the final version of the report that will be shared with the trustees in May.
Several groups including the Faculty Committee on Student Life, Student Government, AISB, and current fraternity and sorority presidents have already discussed the draft report. We hope to meet with several other groups of students in the coming weeks. The dialogue has been collaborative and helpful, and some themes have already emerged as a result of these meetings. All discussions have focused appropriately on ways the College can support students by providing a robust and diverse residential experience that encourages all students to find their place at Lafayette. I am exceedingly grateful for the energy and good will that have been directed at these discussions and am heartened by the knowledge that faculty, staff, students. and alumni are unified in our desire to provide the best possible educational and social experiences for Lafayette students.
Some important next steps are underway even as the draft report circulates. The accreditation program that is included as a recommendation in the report has already been in use by our organizations during this academic year. The groups will present their accreditation materials during the week of April 21. If you are interested in attending those sessions please let me know via the email address below.
The College is also in the process of securing the software program to collect and disseminate information regarding men who are interested in recruitment (another recommendation in the draft report). This will allow us to have a complete understanding of membership demand. It will also help us to streamline the educational records release process so organizations can be certain that the men they recruit meet the high academic and conduct standards the groups have embraced. This means that men and women will use the same mechanism for collecting information about interested students. It is not anticipated that the recruitment process itself will change — women will continue to use a formal process and men an informal one. The software is merely a tool for creating a standard set of information about all prospective members that will help organizations get the information they need about the students interested in membership.
The draft of the IAGGL report and recommendations will be available for comment until Wednesday, April 23, 2014. The report will remain on the website after that time, but in order to compile and organize comments into related themes, this deadline is necessary. We expect to finalize the report during the next month, slightly ahead of the June 2014 deadline.
As we continue to discuss issues that are important to our community, I am hopeful that we will refine and clarify the College’s firm commitment to the highest quality experiences for our students in class, on campus, and in the wider world. If you have any additional thoughts or suggestions, please feel free to send them through the comments section of the IAGGL website or directly to me at diorioa@lafayette.edu.
Thank you.
Annette Diorio
Vice President for Campus Life and Senior Diversity Officer