Steering Committee of the Faculty Senate and University Assembly
University of Missouri – St. Louis
R E S O L U T I O N
Passed unanimously, February 4, 2017
We are gravely concerned about President Trump's recent executive order temporarily banning citizens of seven countries from entering the United States and banning refugees.
We are a community of scholars. The pursuit and sharing of knowledge are core aspects of our mission and purpose. However, we know we can only achieve this mission when people - and the energy, ideals, and perspectives that they bring - are allowed to travel and communicate freely. We recognize the need to address concerns about national security. However, the actions demanded by the executive order, which prevent many students and scholars from attending or returning to Universities in the United States, threaten the free exchange of ideas and perspectives upon which true scholarship is based.
We are also part of a city that has become home to many generations of immigrants and refugees, and their presence has made this city stronger, richer, and more vibrant. Adolphus Busch, who helped found Anheuser-Busch, was a German immigrant. St. Louis is home to one of the largest and most dynamic Bosnian communities in the country. It contributes significantly to the culture and economy of the city as a whole. Many of the first Bosnians who came to St. Louis in the 1990s were refugees fleeing the war that followed the breakup of Yugoslavia. Immigrants and refugees, and the children of immigrants and refugees, are valued UMSL students, faculty, and staff. They are an integral part of who we are, and their contributions make our community stronger.
Therefore, current or future actions that indiscriminately bar the entry of new members of our community or that deny welcome to those fleeing war and persecution contradict the principles of inclusion and opportunity on which our University is founded. They also threaten to reduce our ability to serve our community and to achieve our educational mission.
We affirm that we will seek to ensure that our University continues to welcome all of those who seek knowledge and who desire to use that knowledge to build a better world, regardless of nationality, race, ethnicity, or religion. Furthermore, as educators, we urge our elected representatives to consider the lessons that our actions of today will hold for the students of tomorrow. There are some actions that will make future generations proud and that are seen by history as making the world as a whole a better place. However, some moments in history will make later generations ashamed, when we let fear rule us and set aside thought, care, and empathy. We should not allow this to become one of those moments.
Alice Hall, Ph.D., Associate Professor & Chair of Communication & Media Dept.
Secretary of the Faculty Senate and University Assembly
Pamela S. Stuerke, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Accounting
Chair of the Faculty Senate and University Assembly
Erika Gibb, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy
Susan Kashubeck-West, Ph.D., Professor of Counseling and Family Therapy
Joseph Pickard, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Social Work
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