Fall 2025 Updates on Campus Climate Work and Engagement Opportunities
As we move through the fall semester, we’re writing with several updates from the Campus Climate Group. Our work continues to center on fostering dialogue, strengthening institutional processes, and ensuring that Vassar remains a place where all members of our community feel seen, supported, and respected.
As a group, we do not investigate or adjudicate incidents of bias, discrimination, harassment, or violations of College policies. Instead, we convene the various offices and constituencies responsible for these areas to strengthen institutional processes, improve communication among offices, and coordinate institutional responses such as campus-wide communications, training, and additional programming.
Student Survey (same one from Sunday email)
Vassar is conducting a survey to gather perspectives on student experiences in key areas such as sense of belonging, classroom inclusivity, access to support services, campus dialogue, freedom of expression, experiences with fair treatment, and career-related opportunities. The survey takes under 5 minutes to complete. Participation is voluntary and confidential, and only aggregate results will be shared.
If you’ve already completed it, thank you! Questions? Contact Bini Tesfamariam at btesfamariam@vassar.edu.
Newly-Launched Belonging and Thriving Site
Vassar recently launched a new “Belonging and Thriving” website aimed at expressing how we foster a campus environment where everyone has a genuine place, and where structural supports exist so that we all can thrive. It also provides the roadmap (terminology, initiatives, reporting mechanisms) that connects high-level values with operational practice. It is a framework for how Vassar translates the ideal of ‘belonging’ into concrete practices, programs, and measures of climate going forward.
Over the summer, we also revised and reposted Vassar’s Statement Condemning Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and Other Demeaning Speech. The update shifts language from “Islamophobia” toward “anti-Muslim discrimination” and clarifies how federal civil rights law (Title VI) may apply when discrimination is tied to race, ethnicity, or national origin. The revised statement reflects Vassar’s ongoing commitment to clear, educational, and legally-grounded communication about bias and discrimination. It also articulates why some forms of hateful speech may constitute protected speech and thus may fall short of constituting violations of Vassar policy or federal and state laws.
Training and Education
The group has invited the Academic Engagement Network to lead a second workshop for administrators this fall on Title VI and its applications in higher education. The session will help strengthen our shared understanding of how antisemitism, anti-Muslim discrimination, and related conduct intersect with campus policy and federal law. For administrators interested in learning more about this opportunity, contact climate.group@vassar.edu.
This work builds on recent professional-development efforts, including:
- Foundational Training in Restorative Justice for Higher Education, conducted at Vassar this past summer by the University of San Diego and led by David Karp, Luis Inoa, and Amanda Munroe. The training introduced restorative frameworks for accountability, repair, and dialogue, advancing Vassar’s commitment to addressing harm through both legal clarity and compassionate practice.
- A Pedagogies in Action workshop for faculty and administrations on Dialogue Skills for Inclusive Learning Environments and Addressing Conflicts in the Classroom led by Anna Yeakley, Ph.D. and Professor Kimberky Williams Brown.
Engaged Pluralism: Upcoming Opportunities
In October, EP held an Open House to celebrate the passions and creative practices that connect us. Students, staff, faculty, and administrators were invited to host tables that highlight how their interests foster belonging and community on campus. We also hosted a Listening with Purpose Workshop. This was a professional-development opportunity for employees to strengthen communication and restorative skills across difference. The event was well-received, and we will be planning another one.
We invite everyone to engage with upcoming programs from Engaged Pluralism (EP), which continues to create space for connection, dialogue, and collaborative learning:
- Pedagogy Circles: Ongoing Wednesday lunchtime sessions exploring questions of equity and participation in the classroom.
- Intergroup Dialogue experiences through the Inclusive Pedagogy Learning Group
- Restorative Practices Learning Group supporting healing conversations and community care
For any of the above, contact ep@vassar.edu to get involved! Full details and registration links for these and other events are also available on the EP Learning Groups page. Stay tuned for the calendar of Spring activities, “Rooted in Pluralism, Growing Impossibility: Addressing Race and [Dis]Ability,” which EP will announce soon.
Improving Coordination and Response
The Campus Climate Group has worked to improve coordination among the Office for Institutional Equity, Community Expectations, Dean of the Faculty Office, and Human Resources when incidents involve overlapping concerns. These integrated approaches help ensure that cases are handled consistently and with care, while minimizing duplication. Members also continue to refine how campus offices guide students and employees to the right resources, whether through formal processes or restorative and educational options.
To continue this important work, the Office for Institutional Equity will also be establishing an Institutional Equity Student Advisory Group to ensure that student voices remain central to how we understand and respond to issues of bias and discrimination on campus. In addition, Institutional Equity is developing periodic workshops (e.g. Emotional Intelligence, Professional Boundaries, Feeling Threatened, Stress & Burnout Awareness, and other sessions), which will be identified in coordination with this new group. Interested students can contact equity@vassar.edu.
New York State Updates on Title VI Coordination
As of August 26, 2025, New York State now requires all colleges and universities to designate a Title VI Coordinator. Vassar fulfilled this requirement in advance with the appointment of Dr. Brian Van Brunt as the College’s first Institutional Equity & Title VI Coordinator in November 2024.
Situated within the Office for Institutional Equity, this role enhances visibility, ensures direct access to senior leadership, and aligns institutional practices with evolving state and federal mandates. The coordinator works closely with the AVP for Institutional Equity, the Faculty Director for Institutional Equity, the Office of Community Expectations, Campus Activities, and other student life offices within the Dean of the College division to strengthen prevention, response, and education efforts related to discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin. Feel free to contact Brian at bvanbrunt@vassar.edu or the Institutional Equity team at equity@vassar.edu.
Thank you for continuing to engage with one another in ways that uphold curiosity, compassion, and accountability. Your participation sustains the kind of community Vassar strives to be.
Sincerely,
The Campus Climate Group
climate.group@vassar.edu
vassar.edu/belonging-and-thriving-at-vassar
- Carlos Alamo Pastrana, Dean of the College and Professor of Sociology
- Carlos García, Vice President of Operations for Technology and Human Resources
- Belinda Guthrie, Assistant Vice President for Institutional Equity and Title IX Coordinator
- Luis Inoa, Associate Dean of the College for Residential Life and Wellness
- Jeffrey Schneider, Professor of German Studies and Faculty Director of Institutional Equity
- Brian Van Brunt, Institutional Equity and Title VI Coordinator
- Kimberly Williams Brown, Associate Professor of Education and Director of Engaged Pluralism