Hanover College’s Commitment to Equity and Diversity

A STATEMENT OF SUPPORT FROM PRESIDENT LAKE LAMBERT

The events and images of recent weeks have shed a piercing light on our nation’s centuries-long legacy of racial injustice. Racial and social injustice is not a catchphrase or even a cause. It has been a defining characteristic of America’s past and present – one that seeped into every aspect and institution. And as Hanover College states to the world that black lives matter, we also say again that we must first change ourselves. And to change ourselves we must first speak truth into our own hearts.

Our collective truth as a nation is that we have, time and time again, failed the black community. In fact, it is worse than failure, which implies action was taken unsuccessfully. Rather, we have neglected the duty owed to all people – equality, fairness and justice. We must now love our nation and our college into what it needs to become.

Hanover will “stand above” and become a beacon of equity by ensuring that diversity is welcomed and honored on our campus. The College’s history and present in terms of race relations is very uneven. Limited progress interspersed among many, painful setbacks. We must hear the often-painful stories of some of our students, and then we must learn and take action.

For some time, we have been developing a comprehensive Equity and Diversity Plan that will be shared with student and staff groups for input. It is an ambitious plan – one that will take years to fully implement. But we are committed. I wanted to share the first part of the plan, which is a historical look of our efforts in the areas of diversity and inclusion. With an honest understanding and acceptance of our past and present, we will able to build a more equitable, more inclusive and more just future.

With genuine resolve,

Lake Lambert

President