ECE alumnus tapped to chair Purdue’s Equity Task Force
The Purdue Board of Trustees has approved the creation of a task force focused on achieving equality for all members of the Boilermaker community. ECE alumnus and university trustee Don Thompson (BSEE ’84) will chair the Equity Task Force.
Trustees first proposed the formation of a system-wide task force to examine racial inequality at their June meeting in response to the death of George Floyd and other incidents of racial injustice. Student Trustee Noah Scott opened the discussion in remarks during the board’s Academic and Student Affairs Committee meeting.
“Everything that we say, and everything that I'm saying right now will be forever inscribed in the board minutes for as long as Purdue's history goes,” Scott said. “With that in mind, I want to say with my whole heart Black lives matter. Black lives matter. Black lives matter. I stand with you, we stand with you, and we together will need to come together as a campus and a country to build a better world for tomorrow.”
Purdue President Mitch Daniels and Trustees Chair Mike Berghoff endorsed Scott’s statement and agreed that the University needs to look closely at issues across the Purdue system that stand in the way of the success of Purdue faculty, staff and students of color and other diverse groups.
At the August meeting of the Trustees, Berghoff motioned to approve the task force's creation with board member Don Thompson, the only trustee of color, as its chair.
"The goal is, by end of this semester, (to) have a comprehensive list of not just thoughts," Thompson said, "but solutions to be acted upon to improve opportunities on campus for all."
Source: ECE alumnus tapped to chair Purdue’s Equity Task Force