Recent Blog Posts

Today is the 155^th anniversary when black slaves received the news in Texas of their freedom from Federal soldiers; two and half years after the Civil War ended and the Emancipation Proclamation.  Really not that long ago. There have been additional amendments and legislation to secure other freedoms including the 13^th Amendment (to abolish slavery, Dec. 1865) and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Even though proclamations, declarations, and legislation have been passed to free slaves, grant equal protections and right to vote, only true freedom and equality will be achieved when racial bias and beliefs of superiority are removed from hearts and minds. It is difficult because often these beliefs or implicit biases are hidden and affect our thoughts and actions in an unconscious manner. Together in ACEL through education, communication, and leadership we will work to promote anti-racism that fosters racial equality and justice. 

The recent CFAES update from Dean Kress and educational guide from Dr. Dickerson (see attachment) provides helpful insight and perspective for Juneteenth. 

“June 19^th is known as Juneteenth, it’s also known as Jubilee Day, Black Independence Day, and Cel-Liberation Day, and is an American holiday that celebrates the emancipation of the last remaining enslaved African Americans in the Confederacy. Learn more about this African American tradition that has been around since the late 19^th century. On this historical day take time to consider one’s own bias by reading, listening or watching a video. Resources can be found on the OSU Focus on Racial Justice website as well as the Smithsonian Magazine website.” (Dean Kress, CFAES Update)

ACEL stands in support and solidarity with our Black, Indigenous, and people of color students, staff, faculty, and stakeholders.

-Dr. Scott D. Scheer, Interim Chair & Professor, Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership

"One of the key components of the vulnerability decision is the willingness to openly acknowledge and then embrace your flaws. This can be very difficult because, again many leaders perceive this as a kind of weakness. They believe this will make them seem fallible, and thus they will lose their authority and respect. But if done in the right way, being open about one's imperfections has the opposite effect, and the best leaders know how to do this.

Admitting your flaws accomplishes several goals. First, it allows you to admit there is room for improvement. How can you change if you think you're already perfect? If you can get past yourself and see that you - as a human being and a leader - are more of a work-in-progress than you are a final product, then you'll set the stage to make the kind of changes necessary to take yourself - and your team - to the next level. 

  
Second, being transparent about your imperfections inspires a tremendous sense of trust in you from your team. The truth is that those who work with and for you already know that you're not, and if your colleagues and staff know that you are conscious of your gaps, they can fully trust that you'll take responsibility for them. It may sound counterintuitive, but it works (p. 139-140)."

From: Lesser, M. (2019).  Seven practices of a mindful leader.  Novato: CA: New World Library.

Dear ACEL Community, 

The tragic deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor (only three of the many unjust deaths in the BIPOC community) over the last several months have amplified the long history of systemic racism in this country. Please know this message comes from a genuine place of care and concern; also that words alone cannot solve or address the racial injustices in the U.S., rather this work will involve our daily intentions, actions, and behaviors. 

This quote from Kareem Abdul Jabbar rings true, “Racism in America is like dust in the air. It seems invisible — even if you’re choking on it — until you let the sun in. Then you see it’s everywhere. As long as we keep shining that light, we have a chance of cleaning it wherever it lands. But we have to stay vigilant, because it’s always still in the air.” Link for full article: LATimesOpEd

ACEL stands in support and solidarity with our students, staff, and faculty in the black, indigenous, and people of color community (BIPOC). ACEL can and must be part of the solution to ensure that black lives matter and to help create a society free of injustices and racial disparities (manifesting in the areas of education, health, income, poverty, COVID-19, employment, to name a few.). 

It will be critical for all of us in ACEL to use our strengths of education, communication, and leadership to work together in support and solidarity to stop racism, injustice, and violence. Our ACEL committee on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has been making positive change to advance DEI, challenging ACEL to do the difficult work to acknowledge positionality and privilege. ACEL will be working closely with Dr. Patrice Dickerson, our new Assistant Dean and Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for CFAES, to continue these critical efforts. 

We know more work needs to be done to recognize that personal and systemic prejudice and racism are pervasive realities in our society past and present.  We are committed to find additional strategies and places to shine light on these challenges so everyone in ACEL (faculty, staff and students) and all stakeholders we serve and engage with can learn and grow individually while they contribute to an equitable and inclusive system.  Making sure all members of our society are both seen and heard as we work toward a better future together will remain a key priority for our ACEL family.  We welcome suggestions and engagement as we strive towards inclusion and safety for everyone.

Your voice is important, so please reach out to me directly or any of our faculty and staff to share your concerns and input. It will take all us. Our incoming chair, Dr. Shannon Washburn is fully devoted to this effort and will be an advocate and leader for us as we work together. 

ACEL stands in support and solidarity with our BIPOC students, staff, faculty, and stakeholders.

Dr. Scott Scheer, Interim Chair & Professor, Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership

As we start our Monday after such an emotionally charged weekend, I wanted to acknowledge the range of emotions that spans our community from this last week’s events – sadness, confusion, hurt, and anger. I want to ensure we are taking care of each other during this time and thought it was timely to remind you of an important resource for your wellbeing. The Ohio State University has a robust Employee Assistance Program (EAP) that is here to support all employees with a host of resources. The EAP is available 24 hours a day, call 1-800-678-6265 to talk to a live person, or click here and type in username "buckeyes" to view expanded services. 

The unjust death of George Floyd is yet another example of where we must do better. I recognize that there is a broad continuum of reactions and many of those will be represented across the breadth of our college community. President Drake sent a message this weekend calling on renewed efforts to address racial injustice. He states, “we must seriously and concretely redouble our efforts to end abuse, discrimination, bigotry, and hatred.”

I look forward to Dr. Patrice Dickerson’s leadership as our Assistant Dean and Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in helping us move forward as a community, together, to elevate our current standards and practices to be more equitable and inclusive. I am grateful we were able to finalize our search and garner her commitment to serve in this role. Associate Dean Kitchel has been very clear that our Assistant Dean and the DEI team cannot do this work alone. It will require our collective efforts. However, I am encouraged that we were both able to recruit Dr. Dickerson to our community and even more encouraged that we took the time to have meaningful conversations and affirm that diversity is a top value of our college.

Dr. James Moore, Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion in a message sent late last week stated:

“I believe in the power of education. We have an immense opportunity to transform the lives of our students and colleagues as we put our stamp on the next generation of leaders. The next generation will take on these issues that have bedeviled us and build on the work that previous generations have done.”

While recent events are discouraging, I share Dr. Moore’s conviction that each of us can add to the needed change and must continue to find the resolve to do so. Our college has not only affirmed our value for diversity, we are unified in our mission to sustain life. Accepting that mission, we must also recognize there is much more to it than growing food or ensuring the safety of our food or water—we are continually challenged to consider the community we wish to build together.

Dr. Cathann Kress, Vice President for Agricultural Administration & Dean, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences