The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford recently hired a chief diversity and inclusion officer. As a state-related university, Pitt receives state funding — our tax dollars should not be used to fund this agenda.
This is not about the person, it’s about the position. When you hire only like-minded administrators and staff you are not encouraging diversity, you are stifling it.
On Aug. 28, 1963 (same year as UPB was founded), Martin Luther King delivered his “I have a dream” speech; his hope was his children would “not be judged by the color of their skin but the content of their character.”
This movement does the opposite: You are chosen because you fit the diversity and inclusion criteria. You should stand out and be selected based upon your own merit and whether you qualify for the position.
Several months ago, Pitt-Bradford’s president, Dr. Catherine Koverola, made reference to “systemic racism” in our town and at the university. To profess or even infer that she knows what any individual believes in their heart and soul is beyond absurd.
This narrative at colleges and universities, and the communities in which they exist, is further dividing this country, not uniting it. In all of my years and association with Pitt-Bradford, I have never witnessed systemic racism or noninclusive behavior. Same goes for a lifetime of living in Bradford, our town.
It is my opinion that Pitt-Bradford is creating positions and solutions to problems that do not exist on any scale or level that the narrative suggests.
While researching, I came upon the Universities Bias Incident Response System and Bias Report form. When did Pitt-Bradford become the arbiter of what is and is not acceptable based upon its definition of a bias incident? These reports can be anonymous.
Students are over age 18. They can vote, they can fight for our country; they should certainly have the right to learn and grow, make mistakes, build character, become young men and women and be productive citizens without fear of a Bias Response Team coming down on even heated political discussion.
We have watched Pitt-Bradford grow into a fine university with many highly-qualified and skilled employees, administrators and professors. Don’t allow this new culture and agenda to tear down everything that has been built the last 58 years.
Stop sowing the seeds of discontent and division in our community and on our campus.
Don Cummins Bradford
