Dear City Colleges Community:
I know that many of you, like me, are angry and saddened by the acts of brutality we have seen repeatedly perpetrated against African-Americans and people of color across our country. The emotions we feel at the losses of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, and so many others, are real and natural.
City Colleges is here to support our students, faculty and staff through these challenging times.
Our colleges have always been welcoming spaces for critical conversations and we will continue to serve in that role. To effectively listen to the needs and concerns of our students, faculty and staff, I have asked our presidents, provost, and department heads to engage in dialogue in the coming days and weeks with our college communities.
Fortunately, we face these trying moments with a great strength – our diversity. We are African-American, Latino/a/x, White, Asian, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders. We hail from dozens of countries across the globe. Racism has no place at our colleges or in our communities.
Our colleges are places where we see each other in our full humanity, where we learn that we have had very different life circumstances, but also that we share many of the same goals and dreams. We must continue to nurture this culture of mutual respect and understanding in our classrooms — and in our communities.
With our talent, ingenuity, and mission, we are uniquely positioned to help our city recover and advance. Our response to the moment is to double down on what we have been doing. We must not let the circumstances around us break our resolve to better ourselves and our communities through education.
We need to be strong ourselves in order to be strong for others, so please take this time to take care of yourself too. Our wellness center counselors are available for students who need them at www.ccc.edu/vss. Faculty and staff can tap into the Employee Assistance Program.
I know many of you have reached out with questions about our facilities. They have not been damaged. However, violence and destruction are unacceptable, and will only make it harder to get Chicagoans back to work.
The safety and health of our students, faculty and staff continue to be our top priorities at this time. We welcome your thoughts on how the City Colleges of Chicago community can support our city during this period at communications@ccc.edu.
I am certain we will face these challenges together, and come out better as a result.
Thank you,
Chancellor Juan Salgado
