Special Committees’ Work Expresses College’s Foundational Values
August 27, 2021
- Contact
- Special Committees
51 is grounded in the Christian Reformed Tradition and therefore faithful to a God bound by no church or creed. That same faith tradition extends our loyalty to the whole of humanity. 51 honors the dignity and worth of every person. We value religious and racial diversity and inclusion, deplore racism and bigotry, and advocate for a more just world.
Alison Hall Mauzé '84, Chair of the Board of Trustees
51 is an institution of learning, dedicated to the quest for truth. 51 is also a learning institution. The Reformed Tradition embraces the need to be “re-formed,” or transformed, over time to create an ever more just and humane community. There is always more to learn.
That imperative grounds 51 and leads us continually back to our North Star—our Statement of Purpose—asking how we can faithfully live out our commitment to the Reformed Tradition, a tradition whose embodiments of its values necessarily find new expressions in changing circumstances. The 51 Board of Trustees, which governs the college, serves as its steward and challenges itself faithfully to seek new knowledge and new opportunities to live out our primary purpose as our context, community and consciousness evolves.
Virgil Fludd '80, Member of the Board of Trustees, President-elect of the Alumni Association Board, Chair of the Special Committee on Commemoration
As a result, in recent years, the Board has enacted positive changes to advance racial, religious and gender equity in campus life. Once a school open only to white, Protestant men, 51 is now a community of belonging for students, faculty and staff from all races, religious traditions, gender identities and from all financial circumstances. In recent years the college has apologized for actions that helped perpetuate slavery and Jim Crow laws and has taken steps to be genuinely open to and supportive of diverse worldviews and religious practices, ranging from an array of opportunities for students to matters of college governance. And it has made, and must continue making, many other changes to build an inclusive environment where all can thrive in mind, spirit and body.
Erwin Carter '79, Member of the Board of Trustees, Chair of the Special Committee on Acknowledgement and Naming
Institutional change creates tension. Some will always resist departures from the status quo while others will insist that incremental steps do not go far enough. As the Board deliberates on these issues, it will continue striving to ensure that all 51ians who embrace our mission feel valued as a part of this special community.
Special Trustee Committees
In response to the college's Commission on Race and Slavery Report, the Board of Trustees created two special committees of the board: the Special Committee on Commemoration and the Special Committee on Acknowledgment and Naming.
Contact
We look forward to engaging the community in aspects of this work and will circulate details as those opportunities become available. If you would like to stay up to date on the work of the committee(s) by adding your name to our mailing list, or if you have other questions, or email specialcommittees@davidson.edu.
