A personal statement from Dean Martin-Vega for the College of Engineering community

Less than a year ago, the world watched in sadness, anger, and disbelief at the murder of Mr. George Floyd. His death sparked a national and global movement as millions of people protested and spoke out against systemic racism and called for justice. The Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) community has breathed air tense with anticipation and angst during the months since the video of Mr. Floyd’s death surfaced. Like many of you, I followed the trial hoping that justice would be served for Mr. Floyd’s family. On Tuesday, April 20, 2021, a jury of his peers found Mr. Chauvin guilty on all counts of the murder of Mr. Floyd. While many may feel that some sense of closure and accountability has occurred because of this verdict, events in North Carolina and other parts of our country in days immediately after the verdict are poignant and tragic reminders of the continued assault on Black Lives. The reality is that no verdict can return the life lost or completely heal our nation. Nonetheless, I am hopeful that this verdict will eventually represent important progress on the road to addressing racial inequity and bias of all forms. 

The Chancellor’s statement to the NC State community entitled Standing in Solidarity and Support: Chauvin Trial Response also clearly addresses this reality when it states that, “Although many across our university and nation are relieved to hear today’s guilty verdicts, NC State’s leadership and I acknowledge that many members of our NC State community also remain exhausted, angry and uncertain. We know this is painful and difficult, most especially for our BIPOC students, faculty, staff and alumni.” Equally important, it also states that while “We also realize that there is nothing we can write or say that will take those feelings away, please know that NC State cares about you, stands in solidarity with you and is committed to supporting you.” 

With this in mind, I urge all faculty, staff and students to utilize the free support resources available through our NC State Counseling Center for students (virtual appointments are available), and through the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program for employees as needed. NC State Prevention Services hosts virtual drop-in spaces as well. 

NC State’s strength comes from all of its amazing people and their diversity of thought and lived experiences. Our College is committed to developing a culture that is unbiased with welcoming learning and work environments that allow each and every person to be their authentic self, bring in their life experiences and creativity, and learn and work without experiencing racism and bias. We are also committed to creating safe spaces and positive solutions based on the ability to share diverse perspectives to arrive at a reasoned decision to move forward. As hard as we work in our domain expertise, we need to work equally hard to build positive human relationships with our colleagues, our students, and the communities that we serve. We all need to pledge to continue to promote and support inclusivity and promote the diversity of cultures and perspectives in our professions. 

Our university’s new strategic plan has as one of its major goals to be a champion in developing a culture of equity, diversity, inclusion, belonging and well-being in all that we do at NC State. It means that we must all accept, understand and value diversity. We must all be inclusive and welcoming of the contributions from every individual who wants to learn, share, and communicate their creativity without fearing that they will not be heard or that they will be silenced by others. It also means that when we witness biases and racism that we will not be silent and that we will speak out for those who may feel that they do not have a voice. These thoughts should not be just words on a page. They should be the lifeblood of our actions. NC State University must be creative and innovative in its efforts to provide access, promote retention and enhance the success of all its faculty, staff and students. 

The bottom line is that we must all continue to be committed to doing the hard work to heal the divide that breaks us and to lead with empathy and compassion for others. As I have often said and will continue to say, we will never be the College, University or country that we should aspire to be until we have all become “one” with equal opportunity for all and bias toward none. The College of Engineering will continue to make this work our highest priority.