Lawrence University President Mark Burstein has joined 109 of his colleagues in signing an open letter to President-elect Donald Trump urging him to condemn and work to prevent the harassment, hate and acts of violence that are being perpetrated across the country.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, more than 430 incidents of hateful harassment and intimidation were reported in the first five days following the election, with 67 of those occurring on college and university campuses and another 99 happening in K–12 schools.
The letter calls for a reaffirmation of the nation’s core values of democracy: human decency, equal rights, freedom of expression and freedom from discrimination.
Burstein was one of only two college/university presidents in Wisconsin to sign the letter. Liberal arts college presidents represent the majority of the letter signers, while seven presidents lead historically black colleges. The signers include the president of one Canadian university.
Two other signers have ties to Lawrence. Macalester President Brian Rosenberg served as dean of the faculty at Lawrence from 1998-2003 and James Gandre, president of Manhattan School of Music, is a 1981 Lawrence graduate.
The letter and its signers follows.
Dear President-elect Trump,
As do you, we “seek common ground, not hostility; partnership, not conflict.” In order to maintain the trust required for such productive engagement, it is essential that we immediately reaffirm the core values of our democratic nation: human decency, equal rights, freedom of expression, and freedom from discrimination. As college and university presidents, we commit ourselves to promoting these values on our campuses and in our communities, and we stand alongside the business, nonprofit, religious, and civic leaders who are doing the same in organizations large and small.
In light of your pledge to be “President for all Americans,” we urge you to condemn and work to prevent the harassment, hate, and acts of violence that are being perpetrated across our nation, sometimes in your name which is now synonymous with our nation’s highest office. In our schools, on job sites and college campuses, on public streets and in coffee shops, members of our communities, our children, our families, our neighbors, our students, and our employees are facing very real threats, and are frightened.
One of the roles of leaders is to protect and empower the most vulnerable. As President-elect, this responsibility rests heavily on you. Let this be a mark of your leadership.
President
Adler UniversityMauri Ditzler
President
Albion CollegeMark Zupan
President
Alfred UniversityJeff Abernathy
President
Alma College
Biddy Martin
President
Amherst College
William R. Groves
Chancellor
Antioch University
John M Sullivan
President
Art Academy of Cincinnati
Paul C. Pribbenow
President
Augsburg College
Steven Bahls
President
Augustana College
Marjorie Hass
President
Austin College
Leon Botstein
President
Bard College
Mac Powell
President
Bastyr University
Scott Bierman
President
Beloit College
Mariko Silver
President
Bennington College
David C. Joyce
President
Brevard College
Kimberly Wright Cassidy
President
Bryn Mawr College
Nancy Blattner
President
Caldwell University
Donald J. Laackman
President
Champlain College
Frank G. Pogue
Interim President
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania
David McInally
President
Coe College
Brian W. Casey
President
Colgate University
Helen J. Streubert
President
College of Saint Elizabeth
Philip L. Boroughs, S.J.
President
College of the Holy Cross
Jonathan Brand
President
Cornell College
Jann Weitzel
President
Cottey College
Carol Quillen
President
Davidson College
Mark McCoy
President
DePauw University
Walter M. Kimbrough
President
Dillard University
MaryAnn Baenninger
President
Drew University
Donald Eastman
President
Eckerd College
Carl J Strikwerda
President
Elizabethtown College
Jake B. Schrum
President
Emory & Henry College
James A. Anderson
Chancellor & Professor of Psychology
Fayetteville State University
Michael Pressimone
President
Fontbonne University
Daniel Porterfield
President
Franklin & Marshall College
Elizabeth Davis
President
Furman University
Janet Morgan Riggs
President
Gettysburg College
Robert Kenny
President
Goddard College
Mark Scheinberg
President
Goodwin College
Jose Antonio Bowen
President
Goucher College
Raynard S. Kington
President
Grinnell College
Jane K. Fernandes
President
Guilford College
Rebecca M. Bergman
President
Gustavus Adolphus College
John J. “Ski” Sygielski
President
HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College
Margaret L. Drugovich
President
Hartwick College
Kimberly Benston
President
Haverford College
Lori Varlotta
President
Hiram College
Mark D. Gearan
President
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Andrea Chapdelaine
President
Hood College
Shirley A. Mullen
President
Houghton College
Lisa A. Rossbacher
President
Humboldt State University
Alison Byerly
President
Lafayette College
Dan McAlexander
President
LaGrange College
Michael B. Alexander
President
Lasell College
Mark Burstein
President
Lawrence University
President
Lewis & Clark CollegeRichard Green
President
Lincoln University, PennsylvaniaBrian F. Linnane, S.J.
President
Loyola University MarylandKenneth R. Garren
President
Lynchburg College
Brian Rosenberg
President
Macalester College
Stuart Kestenbaum
President
Maine College of Art
James Gandre
President
Manhattan School of Music
Kevin F. F. Quigley
President
Marlboro College
Kerry Walk
President
Marymount Manhattan College
Laurie Patton
President
Middlebury College
Bryon Grigsby
President
Moravian College
John Silvanus Wilson, Jr.
President
Morehouse College
David Wilson
President
Morgan State University
Stanley J. Pritchett, Sr.
President
Morris Brown College
Sonya Stephens
Acting President
Mount Holyoke College
Timothy E. Trainor
President
Mount St. Mary’s University
John I. Williams, Jr.
President
Muhlenberg College
Kent Devereaux
President
New Hampshire Institute of Art
Richard Helldobler
Interim President
Northeastern Illinois University
Lawrence Schall
President
Oglethorpe University
David W. Oxtoby
President
Pomona College
Debbie Sydow
President
Richard Bland College
Allan Cahoon
President and Vice Chancellor
Royal Roads University
Rachel Schreiber
Interim President
San Francisco Art Institute
Karen R. Lawrence
President
Sarah Lawrence College
Tracy Fitzsimmons
President
Shenandoah University
Susan E. Henking
President
Shimer College
Peg Albert
President
Siena Heights University
Joe Bertolino
President
Southern Connecticut State University
David Rees Evans
President
Southern Vermont College
Edward B. Burger
President
Southwestern University
John A. Pieper
President
St. Louis College of Pharmacy
Kevin J. Manning
President
Stevenson University
Valerie Smith
President
Swarthmore College
Susan C. Scrimshaw
President
The Sage Colleges
John M. McCardell, Jr.
Vice-Chancellor and President
The University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee
Joanne Berger-Sweeney
President
Trinity College (Hartford)
Stephen C. Ainlay
President
Union College
Thomas W. Keefe
President
University of Dallas
Quint Thurman
President
University of the Southwest
Jonathan Chenette
President
Vassar College
Thomas Christopher Greene
President
Vermont College of Fine Arts
Scott D. Miller
President
Virginia Wesleyan College
Tori Haring-Smith
President
Washington & Jefferson College
Weymouth Spence
President
Washington Adventist University
Joseph Kline
President
Watkins College
Jonathan Gibralter
President
Wells College
Michael S. Roth
President
Wesleyan University
Dennis Hanno
President
Wheaton College (Massachusetts)
David J. Chard
President
Wheelock College
Sharon Herzberger
President
Whittier College
Stephen E. Thorsett
President
Willamette University
Elizabeth MacLeod Walls
President
William Jewell College
Adam Falk
President
Williams College
Barbara K. Mistick
President
Wilson College
About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.
