November 28, 2016

Dear President Roth, Board of Trustees, and members of the Wesleyan community,

On November 7, the day before the 2016 presidential election, President Roth held a meeting with members of Academic Affairs and the faculty. The purpose of this “Beyond 2020” conversation was to explore ways in which we might invest Wesleyan’s resources in the years to come.

In the week following the election results, it became painfully clear to all of us that a top priority must be making Wesleyan University a sanctuary campus for members of the community who do not hold US citizenship. The faculty has witnessed first-hand the negative effects the anticipation of a Trump presidency has already had on Wesleyan students: Some have been the object of racist slurs, others have been harassed on the basis of their gender, and many fear for their own safety and that of their family and friends. Although we foresee that different groups will require different forms of assistance, we believe that establishing Wesleyan as a sanctuary campus will benefit every member of our community, and will serve as a public statement of our commitment to building a “diverse and energetic community of students, faculty, and staff” (Wesleyan University Mission Statement).

We applaud and support President Roth’s decision to “declare that Wesleyan University is a sanctuary campus” (blog post, November 20, 2016). But the vital work of becoming a sanctuary campus, and making such a campus a living, welcoming and safe community, must not end there. Becoming a true sanctuary campus must be an ongoing and communal project and we urge every member of the Wesleyan community to contribute toward a collective effort to make our campus a place where international and undocumented students, faculty, and staff receive legal, physical, and emotional support. To this end, we propose:

1) That as a “sanctuary center of higher education,” Wesleyan commit to safeguarding to the best of its abilities the members of its community from deportation, mandatory registration, surveillance, or other intimidation; and commit to providing them with legal, emotional, and financial support.

2) That the University make a public promise to refuse to comply with immigration authorities regarding deportations or raids, and to refuse to release information regarding the immigration status of its students, staff, faculty to any government agency.

3) That Wesleyan commit itself to providing either on- or off-campus legal assistance to members of the community and their families who may be facing deportation or similar hardships due to citizenship status.

4) That the University hire a full-time director, preferably a person of color, with expertise in immigration law and services, to create and lead an undocumented persons program that will offer, at a minimum: safe spaces across the campus where those who feel threatened can seek refuge and protection; free access to legal counsel and funds to assist undocumented students, their family members, and faculty and staff’; and information and support for medical and mental health concerns.

5) That the administration establish an ad hoc committee composed of faculty, students, and administrators that will assure communication across segments of our community; examine proposals and requests; and make recommendations to President Roth and the broader community.

6) That President Roth investigate the possibility of establishing an alliance with other institutions of higher education that are sanctuary campuses, for the purposes of political, legal, and communal strength.

7) That Wesleyan helps to establish Middletown as a sanctuary city and explores the possibility of assisting Middletown public schools in becoming sanctuary schools.

8) That the entire Wesleyan community–faculty, staff, students, and alumni–commit itself to building a campus of mutual respect and protection, free from hostilities, aggression, or intimidation based on immigration status.

Respectfully and in solidarity, Wesleyan University Faculty

1. Richie Adelstein, Woodhouse/Sysco Professor of Economics

2. Jane Alden, Associate Professor of Music

3. Calvin Anderson, Visiting Assistant Professor of Theater

4. Hyejoo Back, Visiting Assistant Professor of East Asian Studies

5. Noah Baerman, Jazz Ensemble Coach

6. Martin Baeumel, Visiting Assistant Professor of German

7. Jonathan Best, Professor of East Asian Art History, Emeritus

8. Peggy Carey Best, Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology

9. Abigail Boggs, Assistant Professor of Sociology 10. Iris Bork-Goldfield, Adjunct Professor of German

11. Neely Bruce, John Spencer Camp Professor of Music

12. Douglas Charles, Professor of Archeology

13. Joan Cho, Assistant Professor of East Asian Studies

14. Fredrick M. Cohan, Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies

15. David Constantine, Assistant Professor of Mathematics

16. Logan Dancey, Assistant Professor of Government

17. Lisa Dombrowski, Associate Professor of Film Studies

18. John E. Finn, Professor of Government

19. Douglas C. Foyle, Associate Professor of Government

20. Courtney Fullilove, Assistant Professor of History

21. Martha Gilmore, Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences

22. Megan Glick, Assistant Professor of American Studies

23. Lori Gruen, Professor of Philosophy and FGSS 24. Mary Alice Haddad, Professor of Government and Environmental Studies

25. Alice B. Hadler, Adjunct Instructor in English and Associate Dean of International Student Affairs

26. Nathaniel Heneghan, Visiting Assistant Professor of East Asian Studies

27. Manju Hingorani, Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry

28. Abigail Hornstein, Associate Professor of Economics 29. Meredith Hughes, Assistant Professor of Astronomy

30. Elizabeth Jackson, Adjunct Associate Professor of Portuguese

31. Ron Jenkins, Professor of Theater

32. Kerwin Kaye, Assistant Professor of Sociology

33. Roy Kilgard, Research Associate Professor of Astronomy

34. Jin Hi Kim, Visiting Assistant Professor of Music

35. Natasha Korda, Professor of English

36. Abigail Levine, Visiting Instructor in Dance

37. Psyche Loui, Assistant Professor of Psychology

38. Clark Maines, Kenan Professor of the Humanities, Professor of Medieval Art and Architecture, and Professor of Archaeology

39. Peter Mark, Professor of Art History

40. Naho Maruta, Assistant Professor of the Practice of East Asian Studies

41. Emy Matesan, Assistant Professor of Government

42. Sean McCann, Professor of English

43. Louise C. Neary, Adjunct Associate Professor of Spanish

44. Rich Olson, Associate Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry

45. Maria Ospina, Assistant Professor of Spanish

46. Marcela Oteiza, Assistant Professor of Dance

47. Ana Perez-Girones, Adjunct Professor of Spanish

48. Ulrich Plass, Associate Professor of German and College of Letters

49. Catherine Poisson, Associate Professor of French

50. Stéphanie Ponsavady, Assistant Professor of French

51. Justine Quijada, Assistant Professor of Religion

52. Mike Robinson, Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and Behavior

53. Patricia M. Rodriguez Mosquera, Associate Professor of Psychology

54. Rob Rosenthal, John E. Andrus Professor of Sociology

55. Mary-Jane Rubenstein, Professor of Religion

56. Yoshiko Samuel, Professor of Asian Languages and Literatures, Emerita

57. Jeanette Samyn, Andrew Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for the Humanities

58. Kathleen Schmidt, Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology

59. Anu Sharma, Associate Professor of Anthropology

60. Meng-Ju (Renee) Sher, Assistant Professor of Physics

61. Keiji Shinohara, Artist-in-Residence in Art and East Asian Studies

62. Anna Shusterman, Associate Professor of Psychology

63. Robert S. Steele, Professor of Psychology

64. Lori Stether, Emerging Technologies Librarian

65. Andrew Szegedy-Maszak, Professor of Classical Studies

66. Ying Jia Tan, Assistant Professor of History

67. Cláudia Tatinge Nascimento, Professor of Theater

68. Elizabeth Traub, Professor of Anthropology

69. Jennifer Tucker, Associate Professor of History

70. Gina Athena Ulysse, Professor of Anthropology and FGSS

71. Phillip B. Wagoner, Professor of Art History

72. Kim Weild, Visiting Associate Professor of Theater

73. Margot Weiss, Associate Professor of Anthropology and American Studies

74. Clara Wilkins, Assistant Professor of Psychology

75. Liza B. Williams, Visiting Assistant Professor of Government

76. Xiaomiao Zhu, Adjunct Professor of East Asian Studies