Cindy Pickart

Dear 2020 Graduates,

We began our journey at Lawrence together. It is hard to believe, but many of the circumstances that characterized that time four years ago are with us today. I started my work here in the wake of student protests around the country, and on our campus, calling for more diversity, equity and inclusion at colleges and universities and for the end of racist policing practices. The nation was also in the midst of a divisive presidential campaign. Today, as you mark this significant milestone of college graduation, people are once again in the streets voicing their protests while we prepare to elect the next president of the United States.

As you begin the next phase of your lives, these circumstances have only intensified. Struggles to reform policing continue and have come to a boiling point. President Trump has taken divisiveness in office to a level that I have not known in my lifetime. And a pandemic for which we have no effective treatment or vaccine is ravaging communities around the world. Something must change. 

Equipped with your Lawrence education, ushered into adulthood in a time of unprecedented social and economic disruption, you are uniquely qualified to make the changes we need. I have witnessed your ability to learn and create new knowledge, to serve others and yes, to share your grievances. More than anything else I have seen your ability to respond to the suffering of others with both caring and strategic action. This is what it will take to transform our workplaces and communities into the just society most of us desire. So congratulations on this monumental accomplishment. Enjoy it and be proud. Then set about being the change the world needs. I am counting on it. 

Kimberly Barrett, Ph.D.
Vice President for Diversity
and Inclusion and Associate Dean of the Faculty

A virtual hug is an online gesture of personal connection that acknowledges our interdependence while we are apart.

Quote For the Week:
“The changes we dread most may contain our salvation.”
Barbara Kingsolver

Tip for Inclusion Online:
This is a recommendation for inclusion and more effective problem solving during the pandemic, not just as it relates to COVID-19, but also, as we continue to address deep rooted social problems like racism. You could characterize most of the tips I have shared as part of my virtual hugs in this way. Because as we address the immediate threat of the virus, we are simultaneously plagued by systemic oppression and marginalization. My tip for you today is to practice compassion, for ourselves, our communities and each other.

Many of us mistake compassion as some ethereal idea about being nice but it is much more than that. It is empathy paired with altruism; deep understanding of another’s suffering that motivates us to act. It is one of the things a liberal education prepares us to do. This type of education arms us with the skills to investigate and understand a problem. And, then to come up with creative solutions that focus, not just on what we want, but on what is actually needed. In an unprecedented crisis like this one, as well as, our ongoing fight to end oppression, when the decisions we make as individuals directly impact the very survival of others, compassion is our most powerful tool. 

Something that brings me joy…
Lately, sitting on the back deck listening to chimes and bird songs brings me joy. Simply taking the opportunity to do nothing for a while and reflect on what the world and I have experienced over the last few months. This video shares a brief moment of the serenity I have experienced… 

I’d love to hear about some of the things that are bringing you joy while we are learning, working and living at a distance. Feel free to send me an email, kimberly.a.barrett@lawrence.edu, about what brings you comfort and some measure of happiness in these difficult times. Pictures are always appreciated.

With warm regards for your continued health and well being!

Kimberly Barrett, Ph.D.
Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion
and Associate Dean of the Faculty

A virtual hug is an online gesture of personal connection that acknowledges our interdependence while we are apart.

Quote For the Week:
“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced”.
James Baldwin

Tip for Inclusion Online:
Be exquisitely present. During this time when we are being physically distant due to the pandemic, it is especially important to show others that they are fully seen and appreciated. I came across this concept in an article entitled “How to Be a Remarkable Boss during Lockdown”.  Even if you aren’t a boss, for your own sense of well-being as well as that of others, we need to be more intentional in forming connections by being exquisitely present with our peers, colleagues and students as we congregate online.

Something that brings me joy…
At the moment I am enjoying some new music. I am really grooving to this band I just learned about, Thao And The Get Down Stay Down. Love their new song Phenom. I am so grateful for the art and creativity that lifts our spirits even in perilous times.

I’d love to hear about some of the things that are bringing you joy while we are learning, working and living at a distance. Feel free to send me an email, kimberly.a.barrett@lawrence.edu, about what brings you comfort and some measure of happiness in these difficult times. Pictures are always appreciated.

With warm regards for your continued health and well being!

Kimberly Barrett, Ph.D.
Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion
and Associate Dean of the Faculty

The Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion, Dr. Kimberly Barrett, will continue to provide opportunities for students to meet with her this term via Zoom. Dates and times are listed below:

SPRING TERM 6 P M – 8 P M

• May 14
• May 28

Please, contact Cindy Pickart, cindy.j.pickart@lawrence.edu for an appointment and zoom link information. Individual meetings will occur on a first come, first served basis.

A virtual hug is an online gesture of personal connection that acknowledges our interdependence while we are apart.

Quote For the Week:
“In order to succeed, people need a sense of self-efficacy, to struggle together with resilience to meet the inevitable obstacles and inequities of life.” 
Albert Bandura

Tip for Inclusion Online:
Respect the privacy of others. We all know how easy it is to forward something to a friend, who forwards it to a friend, and before you know it your email or other information might be shared with people you don’t know or, worse yet, someone you explicitly would prefer not have it. So, don’t forward information without asking the sender’s permission, particularly if the information is sensitive or contains personal photos or video shared with you privately. Also avoid adding people to groups without asking first. Finally, when on Zoom, respect a person‘s choice regarding how they present (video, alternate background, picture or simply their name), unless of course a class assignment requires a particular presentation.

Something that brings me joy…
These days watching the birds return to the bird feeders we have in our backyard brings me joy. I need only look out of the kitchen window to see a fascinating display of Humming birds, Cardinals, Robins, Red Winged Black Birds and more.

I’d love to hear about some of the things that are bringing you joy while we are learning, working and living at a distance. Feel free to send me an email, kimberly.a.barrett@lawrence.edu, about what brings you comfort and some measure of happiness in these difficult times. Pictures are always appreciated.

With warm regards for your continued health and well being!

Kimberly Barrett, Ph.D.
Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion
and Associate Dean of the Faculty

The Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion, Dr. Kimberly Barrett, will continue to provide opportunities for students to meet with her this term via Zoom. Dates and times are listed below:

SPRING TERM 6 P M – 8 P M

• May 14
• May 28

Please, contact Cindy Pickart, cindy.j.pickart@lawrence.edu for an appointment and zoom link information. Individual meetings will occur on a first come, first served basis.

A virtual hug is an online gesture of personal connection that acknowledges our interdependence while we are apart.

Quote For the Week:
“The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope”.
Barack Obama 

Tip for Inclusion Online:
Unplug regularly. Constant Zooming for class, meetings and social connection at a distance can cause a significant amount of fatigue, particularly when done in the midst of a world-wide health crisis. So it is important to spend time offline in order to be at our intellectual and emotional best. Routinely take time to read a physical book, spend time in nature even if that entails simply opening a window, and doing something physical like exercise or enjoying a quiet moment of reflection. Self-care is key to well-being anytime but especially during times like these.

Resources for emotional well-being and self-care:

Greater Good’s Guide to Well-Being During Coronavirus

National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Resources

Lawrence University Wellness Services

Something that brings me joy…
Taking advantage of warm weather that allows for a short visit with my son outside at his new home in the country a few miles from Madison. Even if it must be socially distant, we still feel the love six feet (or cities) apart. 

I’d love to hear about some of the things that are bringing you joy while we are learning, working and living at a distance. Feel free to send me an email, kimberly.a.barrett@lawrence.edu, about what brings you comfort and some measure of happiness in these difficult times. Pictures are always appreciated.

With warm regards for your continued health and well-being!

Kimberly Barrett, Ph.D.
Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion
and Associate Dean of the Faculty

A virtual hug is an online gesture of personal connection that acknowledges our interdependence while we are apart.

Quote For the Week:
“ The sharing of joy, whether physical, emotional, psychic or intellectual, forms a bridge between the sharers which can be the basis for understanding much of what is not shared between them and lessens the threat of their differences.“
Audre Lorde

Tip for Inclusion Online:
Act as if words matter. We communicate best online when our writing is simple, clear and factual. Avoid sarcasm, idiosyncratic colloquialisms and all capital letters. In addition, remember just because you are not physically sharing the same space with someone does not mean it is acceptable to be rude, engage in name calling or be intentionally offensive. Recently, people have won significant financial settlements in the courts for being harassed online. So, if you wouldn’t say it in person don’t say it online. 

If you are a target of harassment, report it here.

Something that brings me joy…
Although I am being very intentional about eating healthy these days, my husband’s homemade triple chocolate cookies brought me guilty pleasure this weekend. He made them with ingredients he happened to find in the pantry. 

I’d love to hear about some of the things that are bringing you joy while we are learning, working and living at a distance. Feel free to send me an email, kimberly.a.barrett@lawrence.edu, about what brings you comfort and some measure of happiness in these difficult times. Pictures are always appreciated.

With warm regards for your continued health and well being!

Kimberly Barrett, Ph.D.
Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion
and Associate Dean of the Faculty