Posted

Dear Moore community:

The alarming surge in abuse, harassment and violence perpetrated against Asians and Asian Americans in our country, leading up to the devastating and senseless events of the past week, has been an appalling trend throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Moore College of Art & Design condemns these and all heinous acts of racialized hate, violence and discrimination. We thrive in a culture of kindness and respect. As we note in our core values: Diversity can only be a strength; mutual respect and civility are expected among all Moore stakeholders. We do not tolerate racism or bias in any form.

We stand firm in solidarity with students, faculty, staff and alumni of Asian descent and anyone who may live in fear due to backlash for their race, ethnicity, gender identity or religion. We also reassert our ongoing commitment to creating a safe, diverse, inclusive and highly generative learning environment for emerging creative leaders from all backgrounds. For our faculty, we invite you to take some time in upcoming classes to respectfully acknowledge recent painful events, either by creating time for students to share out loud or by silently reflecting together.

As a reminder of our non-discrimination policy, we invite you to visit our Inclusivity & Support page on the Moore website, which includes contact information for inquiries related to this policy and a link to our Bias Incident Reporting Form. We encourage you to use this form if you have been a target of a bias incident or witnessed such an incident either on the Moore campus or at an off-campus event sponsored by Moore. Any faculty or staff who experience or witness a bias incident should report the event to Rachel Phillips, Director of Human Resources, at 215.965.4025 or rphillips@moore.edu.

For those who wish to speak with someone about feelings of emotional distress or anxiety due to recent news and events, the following resources are available:

Mental Health Counselor appointments (for students only), available Monday through Friday

Guardian Insurance’s Confidential Employee Assistance Program (for Moore employees)

Please know that we stand beside you and know that you have the care and respect of the entire Moore community behind you.

Most sincerely,

Cecelia Fitzgibbon
President