About CenSUs: Everyone Counts
On June 12, 2020, President Jonathan Green issued a call to action for Susquehanna University to become an actively antiracist community, and to that end established the CenSUs: Everyone Counts Taskforce, co-chaired by Associate Professor of Anthropology Shari Jacobson and Professor of Economics Olu Onafowora. The taskforce comprised thirteen students, twenty-five staff members, seventeen members of the faculty, and one member of the Board of Trustees. The taskforce was charged to develop a series of action steps to be undertaken this summer and in the coming year to make our campus a supportive community in which all members are safe, valued, and provided with opportunities to thrive and flourish.
Work began with an examination of fourteen documents shared by President Green and Provost Dave Ramsaran with the taskforce co-chairs. These documents included surveys, an action plan produced by a consultant, reports from ad hoc committees, and individual observations. Taken as a whole, they pointed to five broad areas of concern, which turned into the five core committees of the taskforce: Faculty and Staff Issues; Plant and Facilities; Public Safety and Law Enforcement; Student-Centered Education; and the Website and Social Media.
