Thank You For Your Resilience and Dedication

December 19, 2018

Dear Colleague,

I want to thank you for your extraordinary dedication to the success and well-being of our students as we responded to multiple threats against our campus. As most students have completed finals, I know that the accommodations faculty provided presented considerable challenges. In addition, staff maintained services in support of students, faculty and campus operations. I truly appreciate your flexibility, resourcefulness and understanding for what was an exceedingly difficult situation.

While the threats to campus safety grabbed the headlines, we cannot and will not accept the vile expressions of hate and bigotry that have specifically targeted African-American and Jewish members of our community. We will actively counter discriminatory actions against our campus. CSUN is proud to be one of the most diverse universities in the nation, and we will never yield to threats and acts of intimidation directed towards members of our campus community. I have asked our Chief Diversity Officer to review the incidents and bring forward additional solutions for consideration. CSUN Police continue to investigate these incidents to the fullest extent possible in order to bring any perpetrators of these despicable acts to justice.

Throughout this period, we have received many reactions and perceptions from our campus community - ranging from thanks to concern, which we will be evaluating to see what might further assist us all when we navigate challenging circumstances in the future. 

Please connect with your supervisor should you have questions regarding any time out of the office last week. I want to remind you that all faculty and staff have access to our Employee Assistance Program, LifeMatters. Employees can call LifeMatters at 1-800-367-7474 or visit www.mylifematters.com (password: Matadors), 24 hours/7 days a week. You may also find helpful the resources for those coping with ongoing traumatic eventsthat University Counseling Services has collected.

Thank you once again for your dedication and resilience. I will continue efforts to collaborate with faculty and staff so that we may lift our students and ourselves to even greater heights.

I wish you a peaceful and relaxing winter break.

Sincerely,

Dianne F. Harrison, Ph.D.
President