City Council Agrees to Reschedule Diversity Discussion
President Brown will meet in person
In a move that resolves a short-lived conflict between the University and Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson, attorneys for both parties have agreed that University President Robert A. Brown will meet with the City Council on December 19 to discuss diversity among BU students and employees. The agreement was reached yesterday morning, shortly before attorneys for the University and the city were scheduled to appear before a Suffolk Superior Court judge to determine the status of a summons issued by Jackson demanding that Brown appear before the council’s education committee today.
BU’s exchange with Jackson began in October, when Brown and representatives from Northeastern University were asked to appear before the council’s education committee on October 24. Because Brown was unavailable to meet, the University provided detailed written testimony describing its efforts to foster a diverse, multicultural campus, and outlining special efforts made by the University to recruit and maintain minority faculty. Jackson, chair of the council’s education committee, responded by issuing a summons demanding that Brown appear before the group on December 2. Jackson did not summon Northeastern officials, who neither appeared before the council nor provided testimony.
In a subsequent letter to Jackson, Brown explained prior commitments would prevent his appearance on that date and offered to send a panel of senior University officials to meet with the council. Brown also offered to testify in person when he returned from a long-scheduled trip. Last Wednesday, the University petitioned a Suffolk Superior Court judge to amend the summons to change the date of the meeting or to allow the University to send persons other than Brown.
Stephen Burgay, senior vice president for external affairs, said that shortly before the scheduled hearing, attorneys for the city and the University agreed to move the meeting with Brown to December 19. Burgay said the University’s objection was never about Brown’s willingness to testify; it was always about finding a time that worked for everybody. He said the University has a deep and lasting commitment to diversity and is eager to discuss efforts made to recruit and retain minority students, staff, and faculty.
The Boston Globe reports that Councilor Jackson said he is pleased with the arrangement and “looks forward to a robust conversation around this important topic.”
Comments & Discussion
Boston University moderates comments to facilitate an informed, substantive, civil conversation. Abusive, profane, self-promotional, misleading, incoherent or off-topic comments will be rejected. Moderators are staffed during regular business hours (EST) and can only accept comments written in English. Statistics or facts must include a citation or a link to the citation.