President Qayoumi names Judge LaDoris H. Cordell to lead a task force that will review all the facts and propose recommendations for nurturing a safe, welcoming, tolerant community. (Photo: Christina Olivas)
President Qayoumi emailed the following statement to all faculty, staff and students regarding alleged hate crimes in SJSU’s student housing complex. A website summarizing all relevant reports, updates and messages has been established.
Dear Spartans,
I’m touching base to share additional information about the efforts to move the campus forward toward healing and recovery from the alleged race-related incident that occurred this fall in one of our residence halls.
Last week, I promised to initiate an independent review of the facts. I’m pleased to report that Judge LaDoris H. Cordell (retired) has agreed to lead a special task force that will have two goals:
- Review all of the facts.
- Propose recommendations for ensuring that San Jose State is a safe, welcoming, tolerant community.
Judge Cordell served the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara, for 19 years before becoming the independent police auditor for the City of San Jose in 2010. Throughout her career, Judge Cordell has sought to give a voice to the unheard. I am grateful that she is willing and available to serve in this critical role.
The work of the special task force will be informed by an independent fact-finding effort. Myron “Mike” D. Moye, a partner at law firm Hanson Bridgett LLP, has been retained to conduct the fact-finding effort and produce a report that will be presented to the special task force. Moye has extensive experience in cases involving harassment, discrimination, ethics and regulatory compliance.
The fact finding will begin immediately and seeks to:
- Determine, to the extent possible, what happened, when it happened, and who the alleged perpetrators are.
- Determine when and how the campus knew of the alleged incident, or should have known of it.
- Determine how and when the campus administration responded to the alleged incident.
- Determine whether the campus or any of its employees violated any existing campus or systemwide policies in responding to the alleged incident. Determine the extent to which such policies, procedures and practices were followed.
Moye has been asked to produce his report by January 31, 2014. The special task force will receive the report and begin its work in February, and issue a final public report by April 30. Task force members will include a diverse mixture of SJSU students, faculty and staff members and alumni; subject-matter experts within the California State University; and community members. Its membership will be finalized by January 15.
Let me also update you on two related matters.
As many of you know, San Jose State has undertaken previous efforts to make diversity an intentional, holistic element of our teaching and learning mission. In spring 2013, we solicited nominations for a Commission on Diversity. Its members were appointed in August 2013 and the group met for the first time this fall. The commission will meet again this month and will have the opportunity to consider the recommendations of the special task force in its work going forward.
In an earlier message to you, I outlined plans for a forum on racial intolerance to be held on campus in the first two weeks of December. After consultation with student groups, we are postponing this event to early next year in order to maximize participation. We need students to play a prominent role in planning the gathering, and there is insufficient time to do this now as they are preparing for final exams.
I appreciate the many ways our community has responded in the last two weeks. Much work lies ahead. A website summarizing all relevant reports, updates and messages has been established. Please continue to reach out to me, and to one another.
Sincerely,
Mohammad Qayoumi
President