Last week, President William Lahey and Director of Equity and Community Supports Karen Mutyabule delivered a presentation at the second session of the Scarborough Charter in Action Conversation Series, a virtual forum that brings together institutional leaders across Canada to share how they are advancing their Scarborough Charter commitments to equity and Black inclusion across higher education.
The conversation brought together 39 senior leaders from various post-secondary institutions to discuss the theme “From Vision to Practice: Laying the Foundation for the Advancement of Black Inclusion.”
It was an honour for King’s to be recognized for the progress we’ve made as an institution of this size and to be asked to share our story with the larger group.
President Lahey spoke to King’s continued commitment to the Scarborough Charter since signing, in the context of financial pressures facing higher education, the leadership values and motivations that sustain inclusion and equity work and more, while Mutyabule shared an overview of King’s Office of Equity and Community Supports, its progress and early outcomes to date, along with anticipated challenges and strategies for mitigation. She also emphasized “how the involvement, partnership and collaborative efforts with the African Nova Scotian community through the PREP Academy and Black Cultural Centre Advisory Committee have been a key aspect in moving this work forward.”
“One of the things Bill said that really moved the audience,” says Mutyabule, “Is that sometimes equity-related work can be treated as an afterthought, or for when we have time/money/capacity. He encouraged everyone to have a mindset shift from ‘can we afford to’ to ‘can we afford not to.’ There are grave consequences when we do not lean into equity work, and that needs to be the focus.”
Left: President Lahey signing the Scarborough Charter in 2022
Right: Director of Equity and Community Supports Karen Mutyabule
