Open Letter to The Ohio State University

We, the undersigned, stand united in opposition to the recent wave of intimidation and violence on campus and declare that:

All students deserve a safe campus environment, which includes assurance that bigotry against students because of their race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, immigration status, gender or sexual identity, or ability status will not be tolerated.

We take a non-negotiable stand against all forms of racism and bigotry and insist on mutual dignity. As educators, we are committed to fighting ignorance and fear in all parts of our shared university and society. We believe in speaking up against discrimination and ethical injustice, and call on all professors, administrators, staff, and students to do the same.

We pledge to stand up for and support the most vulnerable among us, particularly those deliberately targeted in the lead up to the recent presidential election. We are prepared to defend those who are now victims of hate in the election's wake–members of our community who are undocumented, people of color, LGBTQ people, Muslims (and other religious minorities), immigrants, the differently abled, and women.

The University administration must ensure a safe environment and take action against bigoted acts of intimidation and violence. The University administration should support faculty in their roles as educators who play a vital role in combating bigotry.

Creating a safe environment requires not only standing against acts of bigotry, but empowering marginalized groups on campus and listening to what they need to make OSU accessible to all. It also requires an environment in which students are free to exercise their freedom of speech and assembly without fear of assault or intimidation.

Franco Barchiesi, Associate Professor, African American and African Studies
Leslie Alexander, Associate Professor, African American and African Studies
Patricia Enciso, Professor, Dept. of Teaching and Learning
Amna Akbar, Assistant Professor, Moritz College of Law
Pablo Tanguay, Department of English
Mytheli Sreenivas, Associate Professor, History and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Jill Galvan, Associate Professor and Vice Chair, English
Barry Shank, Professor & Chair, Department of Comparative Studies
Wendy Smooth, Associate Professor, Women's Gender & Sexuality Studies
Mat Coleman, Associate Professor, Department of Geography
Benjamin McKean, Assistant Professor, Political Science
Ryan Skinner, Associate Professor, Music and African American and African Studies
Jennifer Suchland, Associate Professor, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies; Slavic and East European Languages & Cultures
Curtis Austin, Associate Professor, African American and African Studies
Shannon Winnubst, Professor & Chair, Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Maurice Stevens, Associate Professor, Comparative Studies
Katherine Marino, Assistant Professor, History and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Reed Kurtz, PhD Candidate, Department of Political Science
Margot E. Kaminski, Assistant Professor, Moritz College of Law
Jian Chen, Assistant Professor, English
Darla Munroe, Professor, Department of Geography
Rebeka Campos-Astorkiza, Associate Professor, Spanish and Portuguese
Johanna Sellman, Assistant Professor, Near Eastern Languages and Cultures
Namiko Kunimoto, Assistant Professor, History of Art
Martin Joseph Ponce, Associate Professor, English
Max D Woodworth, Assistant Professor, Geography
Mary Thomas, Associate Professor, Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Pedro Pereira, Associate Professor, Department of Spanish and Portuguese
Lynn Kaye, Assistant Professor, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures
Christian Kleinbub, Associate Professor, History of Art
Sarah Van Beurden, Associate Professor, African-American and African Studies
Pierluigi (Enrico) Bonello, Professor, Department of Plant Pathology
Ann Marie L. Davis, Assistant Professor, OSU Libraries
Andrew Shelton, Professor, History of Art
Daniel Roberts, Assistant Professor, Dance
Andre Palmer, Professor and Chair, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Francesca Hand, Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Pathology
Philip C. Brown, Professor, Department of History
Monika Brodnicka, Assistant Professor, African American and African Studies
Barbara Haeger, Associate Professor, History of Art
Robin Judd, Associate Professor, Department of History
Ken Lee, Professor and Director, Food Innovation Center
Alessandra Faggian, Professor, Agricultural, Environmental & Development Economics
Larry C. Brown, Professor, Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Sheryl Barringer, Professor and Chair, Food Science and Technology
Dan Herms, Professor, Department of Entomology
Naomi Fukumori, Associate Professor, Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures
Kelly Jo Fulkerson Dikuua, PhD Candidate, Department of African-American and African Studies
Lucy E. Murphy, Professor, Department of History
Virginia Cope, Associate Professor, English
Mollie Blackburn, Professor, Teaching & Learning
Linda James Myers, Professor, African American and African Studies
Robert J. Gustafson, Professor Emeritus, Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Kristin Mercer, Associate Professor, Horticulture and Crop Science
Donnie Perkins, Chief Diversity Officer
Joel Wainwright, Associate Professor, Department of Geography
Amanda Robinson, Assistant Professor, Political Science
Tiyi Morris, Associate Professor, African American and African Studies
Etsuyo Yuasa, Associate Professor, East Asian Languages and Literatures
Caitlin McGurk, Assistant Professor, OSU Libraries
Alcira Dueñas Associate Professor, History
Richard Fletcher, Associate Professor, Classics
Navid Farnia, PhD candidate, African American & African Studies
Sally A. Miller, Professor, Plant Pathology
Alison Merzel, Senior Director of Graduate Recruiting and Admissions, Fisher College of Business
Margaret (Peg) McMahon, Associate Professor Emeritus, Horticulture and Crop Science
Monica Lewandowski
Melvin Pascall, Professor, Food Science and Technology
Hilary Bussell, Assistant Professor, University Libraries
Linda Lobao, Professor, Rural Sociology, School of Environment and Natural Resources
Katherine Borland, Associate Professor, Comparative Studies in the Humanities
Margaret C. Flinn, Associate Professor, French & Italian
Jared Gardner, Professor, English
Tom Hawkins, Associate Professor, Classics
Emily Neumeier, Postdoctoral Fellow, History of Art
William T. McDaniel, Professor Emeritus, African American & African Studies and Music
Erica Levin, Assistant Professor, History of Art
Elizabeth Hewitt, Professor, English
Robert J. Gates, Associate Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Management, School of Environment and Natural Resources
Sarah Gallo, Assistant Professor, Teaching & Learning
Cynthia A. Tyson, Professor, Dept. of Teaching and Learning
Clayton Howard, Assistant Professor, History
Ruth Colker, Professor, Moritz College of Law
Alia Dietsch, Assistant Professor, School of Environment and Natural Resources
Jennifer Siegel, Professor, History
Mark Loux, Professor, Horticulture and Crop Science
Dana Renga, Associate Professor, French and Italian
David Kraybill, Professor, Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics
Danielle Marx-Scouras, Professor, French and Italian
Jennifer Willging, Associate Professor, French and Italian
Ashley Hope Pérez, Assistant Professor, Comparative Studies
John Cardina, Professor, Horticulture and Crop Science
Suzanne Gray, Assistant Professor, School of Environment and Natural Resources
David Mackey, Professor, Horticulture and Crop Science
G. Matt Davies, Assistant Professor, School of Environment and Natural Resources
Cathy A. Rakowski, Associate Professor, School of Environment and Natural Resources
Kerry Ard, Assistant Professor, School of Environment and Natural Resources
Cheikh Thiam, Associate Professor, African American and African Studies
Ramiro Berardo, Assistant Professor, School of Environment and Natural Resources
Salome Fouts, Senior Lecturer, African American and African Studies
Kenneth W. Goings, Professor, African American and African Studies
Stephanie A. Smith, Lecturer, Food Science & Technology
Joyce J. Chen, Assistant Professor, Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics
Elena Irwin, Professor, Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics
Robyn S. Wilson, Associate Professor, School of Environment and Natural Resources
Leah Bevis, Assistant Professor, Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics
Ian Sheldon, Professor, Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics
Shari Speer, Professor & Chair, Linguistics