Greetings, About two weeks ago, we updated you all with an e-mail we sent to President Favardin. Below will be the President's INITIAL e-mail he sent out to select faculty (and which we were responding to). He unfortunately does NOT seem have any plans to address the larger student body or alumni, but he did say to distribute this e-mail to all interested parties. "Dear Members of the Stevens Community, I have become aware that a petition has circulated among some members of our community regarding the gift of $20 million from Susan and Greg Gianforte ’83 and our plans to name a new, state-of-the-art academic building the Gianforte Academic Center. In light of these plans, some have questioned the University’s commitment to the principles of academic freedom and the values of diversity and inclusion. This statement aims to clarify the terms of the Gianforte gift, to elucidate the University’s position related to the Gianforte gift, and to affirm the fundamental values that underpin the mission and operations of Stevens Institute of Technology. Undeniably, academic freedom is central to the mission of the academy and is a guiding principle that permeates the entirety of our ethos and our work at Stevens. As a community of scholars engaged in advancing the frontiers of science and technology, we practice and we teach our students to value the pursuit of scientific knowledge for its own sake. On behalf of the leadership of Stevens, the Board of Trustees, and the entire Stevens community, I reaffirm the University’s commitment to academic freedom. Regarding the gift from the Gianforte Family Foundation, it is important to note that Greg Gianforte has never made any request of the University to promote specific political, religious, or other positions associated with this gift. To be clear, there are no requirements about the types of research conducted either in the planned building or on the Stevens campus, nor any discriminatory prohibitions whatsoever, attached to this gift. It is equally important to note that Stevens would never consider accepting a gift that limited academic freedom or academic expression in any way or in any location on our campus, including in the building that will bear the Gianforte name. Such limitations would violate not only the values we hold dear as a leading university of science and technology, but also our own gift acceptance policy, which precludes the acceptance of gifts of any type that are or may be in conflict with our institutional mission and values. Stevens’ mission is to provide a world-class educational environment for our students and to enable faculty to advance the frontiers of science and technology. Consistent with this mission, we will continue to seek support from a diverse set of individual, governmental and foundation donors. In seeking this broad support, we will remain committed to the values of academic freedom and nondiscrimination in all that we do. Similarly, Stevens has been and remains unrelentingly and unequivocally committed to the values of diversity and inclusion. We are a community enriched and strengthened by the talents, contributions, and engagement of each member, regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, and all other attributes protected by Stevens’ nondiscrimination policy. We have not wavered in our dedication to these principles, and we never will. We will continue to work earnestly and aggressively to provide a safe, inviting, and nurturing environment—in all aspects and in all areas of our campus—for all members of our community. We will work together to make Stevens a more diverse community that visibly demonstrates these principles that we hold dear both in words and in actions. Furthermore, I have spoken with Greg Gianforte about the concerns raised in the petition. He agrees with the values of Stevens articulated here and believes that discrimination is wrong. His gift to Stevens does not come with a political agenda. His gift to Stevens is intended to make a contribution back to his alma mater, which he believes gave so much to him, preparing him for an exceptionally successful career as an engineer, an innovator and an entrepreneur in the software industry. The Gianforte Family Foundation’s gift of $20 million—the largest single gift in our 147-year history—supports a building that addresses the University’s most urgent and highest priority infrastructure need. It will have a transformative effect on our campus. It will provide desperately needed classrooms, laboratories, and faculty offices for the Department of Computer Science and the Center for Healthcare Innovation, among others, and will position Stevens to make significant progress in many of our strategic goals. Greg Gianforte has made Stevens a major philanthropic priority; he and his family are deeply committed to Stevens and our mission. His career success, his devotion to his alma mater, and his generosity as a donor are truly exemplary. Many future generations of Stevens students and faculty will benefit as a result of this extraordinary gift. Per aspera ad astra, Nariman Farvardin President" While we do appreciate the President reaffirming Stevens' commitment to academic freedom and diversity, we thought this e-mail ultimately missed the point of this petition prompting us to send our reply which we shared with you two weeks ago. A few days ago the President responded to us, and we share with you his response below. "My apologies for the delay in responding to your email. Your email came to me prior to the Conversation with the President event last week, which I understand you attended and where I know you heard the responses to many of the questions asked in your email. I am aware that you also spoke with Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs, Marybeth Murphy, after the event, and that she volunteered to share with you the range of programs and initiatives Stevens has mobilized to increase and support diversity on our campus. I encourage you to take her up on this offer. Another resource you may wish to contact is the Executive Director of Diversity and Inclusion for Stevens, Susan Metz. I have copied both on this email. Because you have asked some good questions, we have recognized that fostering increased public awareness of Stevens' diversity and inclusion initiatives is a worthwhile endeavor. To that end, we are formulating a plan to develop an annual report on diversity and inclusion. Thank you for caring about these issues -- they are important to me, the academic leadership and the university administration as well. Regards, Nariman Farvardin President" We are still formulating our thoughts on the matter and what next steps should be taken. If anyone should have any desire to reach out to the President or any of the other administrators, they should feel free to! Additionally, if anyone has any ideas for us as to what they would like to see happen, please feel free to contact us. Our emails are jrisi256@gmail.com kylegonzalez77@gmail.com waldronandyj@gmail.com We will be posting another update in the upcoming few days. To all the students out there, good luck on finals! Take care of yourself!