Body: 

From: Office of the President

OSU Community Members,

Violence in Gaza and Israel has resulted in the loss of lives, destruction and suffering that many members of the OSU community have felt personally and profoundly.

As our community continues to navigate this crisis and the impacts it is having near and far, the university has engaged students, employees, student organizations and shared governance partners to respond to urgent community concerns by outlining a series of actions to make a positive impact through engagement and accountability, consistent with the university’s public mission and core values.

I am aware that participants in an overnight encampment on the Valley Library Quad have made additional demands of the university, several of which are at odds with our public mission and commitment to academic freedom and free expression. In developing these actions, the university took seriously the concerns expressed by representatives of the encampment and consistently invited encampment participants to join with others in the OSU community in contributing to implementation and to disband the overnight encampment. At this time, these invitations have not been accepted by encampment representatives.

Nonetheless, the time has come to move forward as a university community.

The actions outlined below, designed to foster ongoing dialogue, learning and critical inquiry, are an essential part of how we as a public university respond to events that affect all of us.

I invite all members of the OSU community to work with us in the implementation of these actions:

  1. OSU has provided information about its investments on its website and will update these disclosures annually. The OSU Foundation provides information about its investments on its website and updates these disclosures annually.
  1. OSU is establishing a Task Force on Responsible Investing charged with evaluating the alignment of institutional investment policies with institutional values and priorities, while maintaining compliance with relevant laws and regulations. The task force will recommend appropriate revisions, if any, to investment policies to the OSU Board of Trustees for their consideration and potential adoption. The task force, which will launch by fall term 2024 and engage the OSU community widely, will allow for dialogue, consensus-based decision making and open communication while adhering to established shared governance principles. It will complete its work by the end of the 2024-25 academic year. All OSU community members with strong interest in this topic will be considered for membership on this task force.
  1. OSU is establishing a Task Force on Responsible Procurement charged with evaluating the alignment of institutional procurement with institutional values and priorities, while maintaining compliance with relevant laws and regulations. The task force will recommend appropriate revisions, if any, to procurement policies to the OSU President for consideration and potential adoption. The task force, which will launch by fall term 2024 and engage the OSU community widely, will facilitate dialogue, consensus-based decision making and open communication while adhering to established shared governance principles. It will complete its work by the end of the 2024-25 academic year. All OSU community members with strong interest in this topic will be considered for membership on this task force.
  1. OSU is developing a new program of scholarly events and activities supported by the Office of the Provost, College of Liberal Arts and PRAx to engage humanists, artists, scientists and other scholars from a variety of backgrounds to advance greater understanding and awareness of history, conflict and diaspora in Palestine, Israel and the Middle East. All OSU community members with strong interest in these topics will be considered for membership on the steering committee for this program.
  1. With assistance from OSU Libraries, the university is developing a “library guide” that will contextualize the complex and interwoven incidents of displacement and violence that characterize the history and present of Palestine, Israel and the region. This guide will help OSU community members and the public to engage these topics with a critical lens to understand implications for the OSU community. The intent is to complete this work by the end of fall term 2024, at which time the guide will be made publicly and widely available. OSU invites all interested OSU community members to participate in this process.
  1. To contribute to the alleviation of civilian suffering in the region, OSU will support a university effort to raise funds for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, which provides medical and humanitarian relief collectively and individually to children throughout the Levant, regardless of their nationality or religion, as well as the International Committee of the Red Cross, which has worked in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel since 1967 in partnership with the Palestine Red Crescent Society and Magen David Adom to provide direct humanitarian aid and advocate for humanitarian protections.
  1. OSU is dedicating grant aid to eligible students whose academic course of study has been disrupted by violence and conflict. Over the next three years, applications for this grant aid from students whose course of study has been impacted by violence in Gaza and Israel will be given substantial consideration for support.
  1. As a standing member of the Scholars at Risk Network, OSU can host scholars who have been displaced by violence and conflict. Over the next three years, applications for scholar hosting opportunities from scholars impacted by violence in Gaza and Israel will be given substantial consideration for support.

I invite all OSU community members to indicate their interest in participating in the implementation of these actions through this new website, which will also be used to track progress and provide updates to the OSU community.

In addition to these actions, OSU will continue enforcing university policies prohibiting discriminatory and harassing conduct, including prohibited anti-Palestinian and anti-Semitic behavior. OSU will also continue to vigorously protect the free expression and academic freedom rights of all OSU community members, including resisting any attempt to interfere with the academic freedom of any faculty member. Finally, OSU staff will continue to engage OSU community members who wish to learn more about these policies and how to convey their opinions and viewpoints consistent with their rights, responsibilities and university policies.

I am immensely grateful for the time, advocacy and expertise many in our community have already contributed to determining this path forward. I know this is a challenging and stressful time for the OSU community. I encourage all to continue engaging the many support resources available to you at the university.

Sincerely,

Jayathi Murthy, President

Send Date: 
Monday, June 3, 2024