We are writing this in June of 2020, at a time of great national anguish and fury over the recent murder of George Floyd by police and the deaths of so many other Black Americans at the hands of police and white vigilantes.
On June 5th Pace President Marvin Krislov shared the following commitments with the Pace community:
At Pace University, we are committed to being unbiased and anti-racist across our institution.
We are committed to hearing from all voices and empowering all parts of our community.
We are committed to standing up for what is right.
As the university librarian and campus library directors we are proud to join in the call to create a more just and equitable Pace University.
We pledge to work towards becoming better allies and we stand against oppression in all its forms. In our combined role as the library leadership we will examine how we as a library can work for racial justice in the Pace community. We will examine our workplace culture; our service to Pace students, faculty and staff; our collections and our public presence through an anti-racist lens. We will educate ourselves and collaborate with our campus community.
Black lives matter.
We must do better. We will do better.
Steve Feyl, University Librarian
Rose Gillen, Director, Edward & Doris Mortola Library
Jennifer Rosenstein, Director, Henry Birnbaum Library