To: Katrice A. Albert, Vice President of the Office of Equity and Diversity (University of Minnesota) and Shakeer Abdulla, Assistant Vice President of the Office of Equity and Diversity (University of Minnesota)

APIs for Equity and Diversity

Develop fuller engagement with concrete, tangible goals centered on the success of Hmong, Southeast Asian, and Asian American communities at the University of Minnesota.

Increase the transparency of the Office of Equity & Diversity, especially on issues affecting Hmong, Southeast Asian, and Asian American students, faculty, and staff.

Create fuller representation of Hmong, Southeast Asian, and Asian American staff and faculty across varying university departments.

Why is this important?

On August 21, 2015, Juavah Lee's 24-year run as a key leader for the Hmong, Southeast Asian, and Asian American populations at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities ended despite receiving a contract renewal in mid-June. On August 7, less than two months after receiving a renewal contract, he received a non-renewal notice of his position. Although Juavah pursued reassignment to another department/position, his request to be reassigned was denied by the Office of Equity & Diversity (OED).

What OED failed to consider when they decided to push Juavah out of the Multicultural Center for Academic Excellence (MCAE) was that he not only served as the Assistant Director of the center, but was a role model, a mentor, and a father to many. He was the bridge connecting generations of Hmong and Southeast Asian families to the University experience. Moreover, he was a representation of the University administration that we trusted.

He served as one of the strongest advocates and voices for Hmong, Southeast Asian, and Asian American students at the administrative level. And while he wasn’t the only one, through his actions and his initiatives, his leadership always took into consideration the everyday experiences of Hmong, Southeast Asian, and Asian American students. With his absence, a crucial voice for our community has been silenced.

Furthermore, Juavah’s non-renewal brings to light other changes that OED has begun to implement within its own programming particularly with the MCAE, changes which were made abruptly and with little to no tangible input from the student body, bringing into question issues of transparency within the OED as well as its leadership. Their actions demonstrate that they care little about the input of the student body they serve when making substantial and extensive changes across departments.

The new vision for MCAE, "MCAE Forward," is one the structural changes OED has implemented. We believe that the new theoretical model "MCAE Forward" is in line with the university’s paradigm of institutional change founded on a crippling colorblind diversity and an equally damaging black-white binary that further marginalizes Hmong, Southeast Asian, Asian American students, as well as other communities of color who don't fit neatly into those two binaries.

Ultimately we firmly believe that the leadership of the OED is thoroughly disconnected from the everyday experiences of Hmong, Southeast Asian, and Asian American students at the University of Minnesota. We have yet to see any concrete plans or discussions on how to develop Hmong, Southeast Asian, or Asian American-specific led initiatives, and this is a problem.