Dear Students, Colleagues and Friends,
I am excited to begin my tenure today as Vice President for Minority Affairs & Diversity at the University of Washington.
I do so fully understanding that I am starting from a place of strength. President Ana Mari Cauce, Provost Jerry Baldasty, my predecessors in this role, staff in the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity and many others have worked diligently to advance access and inclusive excellence at UW. I look forward to working with all of you – students, faculty, staff, senior leaders, alumni and external communities – to build on the strong foundation that is already in place.
One of the most important lessons I have learned in many years of doing this work is you have to put context before content. In order to get a sense of the context of UW, the state and the region, I plan to spend dedicated time over the next six months listening and learning – both on the three UW campuses and off. What I learn will help shape our efforts moving forward.
I am thrilled to be a part of the UW and Seattle communities. I am confident we will do good and important work together, and look forward to the opportunity to highlight some of that work during the 2016–2017 academic year. Thoughts and suggestions can be emailed to me at vpomad@uw.edu.
Sincerely,
Rickey Hall
Vice President for Minority Affairs & Diversity