A Petition to President James MacLaren and Dr. Felicia Brown-Haywood: Keep Khalil Brim at Lebanon Valley College

Purpose of this petition:

This Friday, September 29th, Khalil Brim, the DEIB Post Graduate Fellow, will be leaving LVC per his contract expiration date. We the students, demand LVC to renew Khalil’s contract for the 2023-2024 academic year. 

Who is Khalil Brim?

Khalil is a distinguished LVC alum from the Class of 2021. During his time as a student, Khalil was the President of Black Student Union, a Mosaic Mentor, and a Valley Blue Coat. Khalil has impacted the LVC community for many years. Through his work, Khalil strives to make LVC an inclusive and diverse environment. Since joining the DEIB staff, Khalil has been an integral part of rejuvenating LVC’s DEIB division. In conjunction with DEIB staff, Khalil reestablished the Mosaic Mentor Program, reinstated Community Check-Ins, restored the Summer Enrichment Program, and made the DEIB lounge a space where students feel welcomed and safe. His efforts as the DEIB Post Graduate Fellow will impact the LVC community for many years to come. 

How will Khalil’s departure impact the LVC community?

​​The decision to force Khalil out of his role at LVC will devastate the success of current and future students. To renew his contract is to invest in the future of our graduates. As LVC continues to gradually increase the number of students annually, the need for student support on campus also increases. In the last year, LVC's DEIB staff lost one out of four employees, and the position has still not been filled. Losing Khalil's contracted position shrinks the DEIB staff to just two people, serving a student population of approximately two thousand. 

Diminishing campus resources for marginalized students directly hurts their success and the institution's as a whole. Furthermore, it hurts the effectiveness of our few existing DEIB staff members. Since his arrival nine months ago, Khalil has helped Annesha Edwards-Carter (Director of Diversity, Equity, and Belonging) reinstate not one, not two, but three programs aimed at helping minority students. His contributions put a new life into our community that was lost before. Without Khalil helping Annesha pull off these events, the Mosaic Mentor program, the Community Check-Ins, and the Summer Enrichment Program will suffer. Dropping the burden of supporting so many students onto the shoulders of the remaining staff members mid-semester is a risk we cannot afford. Khalil is a valuable asset to LVC’s DEIB division and community.

Our Proposal: 

1. We demand LVC to renew Khalil Brim’s DEIB Post Graduate Fellow contract.
   • Khalil’s departure will be detrimental to the culture of LVC’s DEIB division. Losing his expertise will jeopardize the strength of LVC’s community.
2. We demand that LVC holds true to the statements made in the Imagine LVC Strategic Plan, which was signed off by the Board of Trustees on Oct. 23, 2021. With this decision, LVC has breached the following missions stated in Imperative #2 of the Imagine LVC Strategic Plan:

• “Provide institutional-level leadership of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work.”
  
  • Khalil’s absence will create another employment vacancy in the DEIB division. We believe this will ultimately lead to operational dysfunction and limit student resources. 
• “Enhance support for underrepresented students.”
  • Khalil interacts with students on a daily basis in his position.  Terminating Khalil’s contract will remove another vital resource from the students' support system.
• “Implement hiring processes to support diversity recruitment.”
  • We believe LVC is actively diminishing its BIPOC employee base with this decision.
• “Foster an inclusive community of care and well-being.”
  • LVC lists “placing students at the center of every decision” as its #1 value in the Imagine LVC Strategic Plan. However, we believe this value is dishonored through this decision. 
• Read about the Imagine LVC Strategic Plan here: https://www.lvc.edu/about/mission-strategy/imagine-lvc-strategic-plan

         3. We propose that LVC consider a new, permanent position be                             created to allow Khalil to continue making an impact here at LVC.

• • As stated above, Khalil has made a monumental impact on the LVC community. Creating a permanent position will allow him to grow and continue to serve. 

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the absence of Khalil Brim as LVC’s DEIB Post Graduate Fellow would not only be a detriment to the environment he has helped to foster, but it would also deplete the support available to students from the DEIB staff. The students of LVC demand 1) his contract to be reinstated for the remainder of the school year, 2) school compliance with the Imagine LVC Strategic Plan, and 3) a new position to be created within the DEIB department for his long-term employment.

Please sign this petition to support this cause! Every signature matters! Share this petition with your friends and family.

Sincerely, 

The Students of LVC 2023