Dear OCL Students:
We are soliciting nominations for OCL Student Representative Committee for 2021-2022. We would like to acknowledge the work of the initial ad-hoc student committee, that helped establish continued student representation within our OCL governing structure. This group was formed in response to student feedback at the June 2020 Forum where we gathered to honor and mourn the lives of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Nina Pop, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, Rayshard Brooks, and others lost due to systemic anti-Black racism and listen to student ideas about how to move toward meaningful action in the midst of our country’s racial reckoning.
In response to student desire for greater representation in decision-making structures at Rossier, the OCL Ad hoc Student Committee to Promote Racial Equity and Disrupt Anti-Blackness in the OCL Program was formed in the fall of 2020. This ad-hoc committee advised OCL Governance during the 2020-2021 school year. In this spirit of transparency and accountability to students, here is a list of the past committee’s action items, including Rossier’s progress toward meeting each goal. As one of these action items, OCL governance agreed to create a structure of sustained student advising to governance, with the input of the initial ad hoc committee.
We are a few months delayed on our agreement to soliciting nominations, which was meant to go out at the start of the fall 2021 academic year. This delay is a reflection of thoughtful internal process, including conversations with the Dean, and our capacity. This is not a reflection of our commitment to the work or our appreciation for the past group of student representatives. We look forward to working with the next group of student representatives and hope to continue to grow our accountability to students.
The link to the Call For Nominations for the 2021-2022 OCL Student Representative Committee is here: https://tinyurl.com/kzpewrkt
Kim Hirabayashi, Ph.D.
Professor of Clinical Education
Chair, Organizational Change and Leadership Program