PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS AND WRITINGS

Dear Merrimack College Community,

Late last week, in a major decision implicating higher education, the Supreme Court of the United States banned the explicit consideration of race within the college admissions process. The decision reverses a practice that many elite, highly selective colleges and universities have been using for more than four decades to build diversity among their student bodies. Since last week’s decision, there have been new court filings that challenge other college admissions practices.

At this point, we know very little about how this decision will ultimately impact diversity in colleges and universities across the United States. What we do know from watching the range of reactions from a variety of stakeholders, is that no matter your views or opinions on affirmative action, this decision will bring change to college admissions. And we also know that last week’s ruling and other decisions that may come will not impact the trajectory of diversity in our country or the responsibility we have as a College to continue to prepare our students for a life of professional success, personal flourishing and informed citizenship.

It is therefore important that we remind the Merrimack College community of our mission and why we believe in the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion now and going forward. 

Our mission to enlighten minds, engage hearts and empower lives is rooted in our Catholic faith and Augustinian values. A core value of our Catholic Augustinian tradition is to build a community of scholars welcoming and respecting a diversity of backgrounds, experiences, beliefs and perspectives. This is who we are, who we have been and who we will continue to be. We take great pride in our mission and values and do our best to live by them on a daily basis and, because of this, every member of our community is here because they earned it and because they belong. 

Unlike the institutions involved in the Supreme Court cases, Merrimack does not consider race as a factor in its admissions process, and our application pool and freshman class continue to grow in diversity. Each year, we welcome a new class of students who are more diverse and more talented than ever. We welcome new faculty and staff who contribute to our culture in numerous ways, offering continuous opportunities to learn from one another and the different perspectives and experiences we each bring.  

Change is inevitable, but every institution of higher education must have a mission that inspires and empowers as its bedrock. Merrimack College’s mission, rooted in our Catholic faith and Augustinian values, should bring comfort and confidence to our alumni, students, faculty, and staff that our goal is to be more – more diverse, more inclusive and more focused on creating opportunities for diverse students. 

We have been committed to being and will continue to be a leader in creating educational opportunities to make higher education more accessible to all students. From our early college programs to the Unity House to our investments in student aid and our advocacy for innovative initiatives like a three-year degree, the College remains committed to fostering an environment where everyone is welcome, known, valued and supported. This commitment is what makes Merrimack such an exceptional community and why more than 14,000 high school and transfer students of varying diverse backgrounds applied to join our incoming class this fall. 

We will continue to grow as a community that embraces and affirms our diversity of students and will continue to thrive and prosper as the world around us changes because our mission, values and faith tells us so.

God bless, be well, and be safe.

Best,

Dr. Christopher E. Hopey

President

Dr. Michael Mobley

Special Assistant to the President for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Mr. Peter Rojas

Co-Chair, President’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Advisory Council

Dr. Jimmy Franco

Co-Chair, President’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Advisory Council

Dear Merrimack Community,

Christians around the world are gathering to celebrate Holy Week and Easter Sunday, commemorating and giving thanks for Jesus Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection, events that invite us to deepen our trust in God’s plan of salvation for the world; embrace the power of faith, hope and love; and renew our collective commitment to alleviating suffering and working on behalf of the marginalized.

While the season of Easter lasts for 50 days until Pentecost Sunday, I would encourage all members of our community to use the next few days while classes are in recess and administrative offices are closed to take time to pause, reflect, rest and rejuvenate. The Christian belief in the Resurrection is an acknowledgment of the power of life over death, good over evil and light over darkness.

As an Augustinian Catholic community, we are called during this holiest of times to reaffirm our commitment to bringing light to the world, respecting the dignity and diversity of individuals and fostering a more just, peaceful and sustainable world.

At the very front of our campus, we have the Collegiate Church of Christ the Teacher, the name of which and statue of whom draws on an image used by our patron Saint Augustine of Hippo. For Augustine, it is Christ who helps illuminate knowledge for the apprehension of the human mind. We also find on our campus, facing Austin Hall on the quad between Sullivan and Cushing Halls, a statue of Augustine the Learner, whose lifelong pursuit of knowledge and pilgrimage to the truth serve as an example to us all.

For Christians, this pursuit can be an expression of an inner pilgrimage with Christ the Teacher; for adherents of all faiths, a part of the search for God; and for everyone a journey of hope and community amid our shared human experience.

The Augustinian intellectual and spiritual tradition brings learning and love to the academic and vocational experience, developing students who are more self-aware, compassionate, responsible and ethical leaders.

The Easter season is also very special this year because it marks the completion of Merrimack’s 75th anniversary. On March 27, 1947, now more than seven and half decades ago, Fr. Vincent McQuade, O.S.A, Merrimack’s founding president and a Lawrence native, signed the charter along with his Augustinian confreres who formed our first Board of Trustees.

Fr. McQuade and his confreres embedded into the new college Augustinian values and traditions that began more than 75 years ago and date themselves back to the origins and traditions of European universities beginning with the University of Bologna in 1088 and the founding of the Order of Saint Augustine in the mid-13th century from the hills of northern Italy, when hermits committed to lives of prayer and study moved to the cities to respond to the needs of a rapidly growing urban population.

More proximate to our own time, the Augustinians arrived in the United States in 1796 when an Irish friar named Matthew Carr landed in Philadelphia and his successors took up ministries in schools and parishes, including founding Villanova University in 1842. And the service of the Augustinians to the Merrimack Valley began when friars came north and settled in Lawrence, founding St. Mary’s Parish in 1848, to which Merrimack can trace its own lineage.

We stand as an institution at the confluence of a number of long and deep streams of traditions and values. Whether measured on the scale of ancient universities as a whole, the Augustinian traditions started in the 13th century or the presence of the Order in the United States over the past 225 years, even though our modern history may be only 75 years old, our traditions and our values stretch back centuries and across continents to provide us with a solid foundation for the future as they will serve us well during the next 75 years.

Let this Easter Sunday and the celebration of the whole season be an opportunity for reflection. Upon returning from the spot that would become Merrimack for the first time, Fr. McQuade wrote that the Augustinians at St. Mary’s “seemed to be enthusiastic and believed the College would go.” And go we have. We are proud to follow after him and be part of centuries of global traditions. We draw on them to anchor us in our mission and as a source of our community’s aspirations.

I am thankful to be a part of such a strong, dedicated community at Merrimack, one whose history, traditions and values are so important to our identity and our ethos.

It is my hope that each of you, and your families and friends, are safe and healthy.

Happy Easter.

God Bless,

Christopher E. Hopey, Ph.D.

President

Dear Merrimack College Community,

Almost 60 years ago, in a narrow jail cell in Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. penned a letter that became a core text of the civil rights movement and indeed an intellectual reflection on the nature of justice. Dr. King wrote the Letter from Birmingham Jail on April 16, 1963, in response to white clergymen’s criticism of the Birmingham Campaign, a nonviolent campaign against the city’s systemic segregation.

The letter was Dr. King’s edict on the importance of nonviolent, direct action in the face of injustice. It would become widely circulated and republished, and held as one of the many examples of the incredible power Dr. King’s words held.

In the letter, Dr. King references a thinker with whom we in the Merrimack community are very familiar. “I would agree with St. Augustine that ‘An unjust law is no law at all,’” wrote Dr. King. Whether it is laws, actions or statements, that which is unjust is fundamentally destructive to society. Discrimination, oppression and social injustices are barriers that have caused too much pain, and have limited our country from realizing its greatest potential.

It is also through the traditions of St. Augustine that we as a Catholic college community understand the importance of seeking truth through inquiry and dialogue. This also sits at the core of Dr. King’s words in the Letter from Birmingham Jail and in his actions as a civil rights leader.

In explaining that a goal of direct action is to lead to negotiation, King wrote, “Too long has our beloved Southland been bogged down in the tragic attempt to live in monologue rather than dialogue.”

Just as it was in 1963, today dialogue is a vital component of ensuring equity for all people. It is through dialogue we as a society can work together to foster a just, peaceful and sustainable world. Dialogue informs the wisdom in which society bases its decisions.

As we honor Dr. King’s legacy this day, let us affirm our commitment to dialogue and inquiry that will hearten our community’s ongoing work to value, nurture and respect all identities and differences.

To further honor the life and legacy of Dr. King, the Merrimack community is invited to “Breaking Bread: A conversation and dinner focusing on our “beloved community” on Wednesday, Jan. 18, at 6 p.m. at the Unity House. If you have any questions please contact unityhouse@merrimack.edu.

And if you are able today, stop by the Office of Intercultural Initiatives and Athletics information table that will bring awareness to the legacy of Dr. King by providing resources and a reading list on the civil rights movement. They will be set up at Hammel Court prior to the women’s basketball (5 p.m.) and men’s basketball (7:30 p.m.) MLK Day doubleheader.

Be safe, be well and God bless.

Christopher E. Hopey, Ph.D.
President

Dear Merrimack College Community,

The past few weeks have laid heavy on our hearts and minds. Unprovoked and senseless attacks have again stolen the lives of too many people simply going about their days.

Citizens in Ukraine, patrons in a Buffalo grocery store, parishioners at a church in Laguna Woods, California and now children and teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, are the latest victims of horrific acts of violence that we condemn in the strongest possible sense.

Hate and violence against one is hate and violence against all. Hatred cannot be allowed to define who we are as a society. All of us have a responsibility to uphold decency, tend to the suffering and call out wrongs perpetrated against others. Society only functions when we individually and collectively condemn violence and work to address its root causes.

Merrimack’s mission as a Catholic and Augustinian college demands that as we go about the work of enlightening minds, engaging hearts and empowering lives, we do so with attention to the inherent dignity of every human being. In that sense, ours is not only a task about committing to work towards social betterment and change. We also bear the responsibility of treating each other with respect, dignity and charity; of working person to person, neighbor to neighbor to bring light to places of darkness, to counter despair with the virtue of hope.

We also know the power of prayer. And that is where we hold these victims, their families and communities. Let us call upon God for wisdom as we work to process our sorrow and anger and confusion, as well as for support for the loved ones suffering unimaginable loss. As we grieve and cope as a campus community and a nation, we must trust the memories and spirits of these victims will live on in those who will miss them the most.

I would be remiss if I did not reiterate the College’s commitment to the safety of each and every person in our community and on our campus. We continue to work to expand our efforts and deepen our impact in areas of wellness, mental health, outreach and campus safety.

I encourage anyone who needs assistance processing these difficult events to please contact the Counseling Center (978-837-5444). And please know that the Merrimack College Police Department is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to keep our campus and community safe. They can be reached at 978-837-5555.

Be safe, be well and look out for each other.

God Bless.

Christopher E. Hopey, Ph.D.
President

Dear Merrimack College Community-

The past year has been challenging and difficult. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed a range of systemic problems and social and economic vulnerabilities, including health disparities, food insecurity, affordable housing, income inequality and gaps in access to quality education.

The tragic killing of George Floyd in May 2020 has further exposed systemic racism in our society, and has added a layer of anguish and anger to the suffering and frustration experienced by many members of ethnic, racial and other marginalized and underserved communities. George Floyd’s death, and the senseless deaths that followed, have ignited mass protests calling for change and accountability across our society.

This afternoon’s guilty verdict in the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin is a just and moral outcome for the killing of George Floyd. Our hearts and prayers are with George Floyd, his family and friends and all of those who have faced injustice and discrimination. Today’s verdict provides members of our community with the opportunity to support with passion and conviction those who have been historically harmed by racial prejudice, and to pledge our longstanding commitment to eradicate injustice everywhere.

In recent weeks, we have witnessed rising violence against Asian, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, a dozen demoralizing mass shooting events and deaths, and continued tragic and senseless killings. The entire Merrimack community mourns the recent loss of lives, and stands in compassion and solidarity with the families and communities impacted by these tragedies.

The escalation in violence across the United States is a harsh reminder that the problems facing us do not have quick-fix solutions. These violent acts remind us how far we have to go, and how much work we must all do to change the trajectory of our society to make it more equitable, fair and just for all.

Merrimack’s Augustinian Catholic values, and unwavering determination to nurture a culturally and racially diverse community, anchored in justice and respect for all will continue to guide us as we come together to confront the challenges facing us. The College’s commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) is now a pillar of our new five year strategic plan, the Agenda for the Future (AFF).

The College is planning two events as the spring semester comes to an end to address recent events and their implications for our ongoing DEI, and to inspire hope:

A virtual open forum on racial justice and other systemic problems will be held on Thursday, April 22, from noon-1 p.m. Zoom Link

An in-person socially distanced vigil will be held on Thursday, April 22, at 1:15 p.m. by the pond outside Palmisano Hall. The vigil is intended to bring together campus members to reflect on the tragedies, and collectively mourn the loss of so many people over the past year.

Additional forums will be scheduled over the summer.

We hope you will participate in one or more of these events over the next few weeks and into the summer.

Be safe, be well and look out for each other. God Bless.

Christopher E. Hopey, Ph.D.
President

John “Sean” Condon, Ph.D.
Interim Provost

Jeffrey Doggett, Ed.D.
Executive Vice President
Chief Financial and Operating Officer

Simona Sharoni, Ph.D.
Special Assistant to the President for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Dear Merrimack College Community,

Violence and prejudice directed at members of Asian, Asian-American, and Pacific Islander communities (AAPI) have been on the rise, escalating as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic. These horrendous acts go against Merrimack College’s core values of building and nurturing a culturally, racially diverse community, anchored in intersectional justice and respect for all identities and differences.

The entire Merrimack community mourns the recent loss of innocent lives in Atlanta; we condemn all acts of violence motivated by prejudice and stand in solidarity with the AAPI community. At this difficult moment in our Nation’s history, we must stand together to affirm our institutional commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We will continue to invest in nurturing an inclusive learning and working environment where everyone is welcomed, respected, and supported.

To the Asian, Asian-American, and Pacific Islander members of our community: we stand with you in friendship and support. Our values and actions – and how we treat one another – define who we are as a community. We encourage all members of the Merrimack community to continue to model the actions of a just society.

On Monday, March 22, at Noon we will gather for a virtual community forum designed to offer healing, safety and to discuss the rise of anti-Asian violence during COVID-19 and reflect on how Merrimack College can be a part of positive change.

Finally, I remind all members of our community that Merrimack College offers a range of resources for any member of our community who is experiencing anxiety, stress or harassment as a result of prejudice. These resources are available to you at any time. These resources include:

Counseling Center

(counseling@merrimack.edu or 978-837-5444)
Offers 24/7 confidential mental health and therapy services. These include services with on-campus counselors and through the BeWell@MC 24/7 Support Link.

Residence Life

(reslife@merrimack.edu or 978-837-5507)
Offers 24/7 support to students who are living on-campus. There are Resident Advisors and professional staff members here to support you.

Student Involvement

(osi@merrimack.edu or 978-837-5508)
Offers engagement opportunities for students and is the home for our affinity student organizations.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Initiative

(diversity@merrimack.edu)
Offers educational opportunities and resources on nurturing a sense of community and belonging with an unwavering commitment to and respect for diversity and the plurality of identities and experiences.

Campus Ministry

(campusmin@merrimack.edu)
Helps Merrimack students develop spiritually and become more self-aware, compassionate, responsible and ethical leaders.

Dean of Students

(deanofstudents@merrimack.edu or 978-837-5175) 
Provides students with resources, services and opportunities to get involved in community building and wellness on campus.

Merrimack Campus Police Department 

(978-837-5555)
Offers 24/7 support to ensure that our community and students are healthy and safe.

Merrimack will continue to fulfill its promises to promote inclusivity and diversity across its campus and the world. We will continue to engage our students, faculty and staff in ongoing conversations and will continue to spread our message of hope and change.

Thank you for your continued efforts to nurture tolerance at Merrimack. Together we can continue and work together to make our communities more inclusive, peaceful and just.

Best,
President Hopey

Dear Merrimack College Community,

We acknowledge that this is a difficult and painful time, marked again by a series of tragic acts of police violence against people of color. The recent deaths of George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, Breonna Taylor and others have created both outrage and pain for so many, and forced all of us to recognize these are not isolated incidents, nor are they the only examples in society of the unequal treatment of Black Americans. Society can no longer dismiss these incidents, they must stop and we are all responsible for ensuring that they do.

For those who are hurting, please accept our heartfelt compassion and support. For those who are outraged, we support your right to peacefully protest and speak out against injustice. For those who are silent, we ask that you get involved. For all members of our community, we stand together in solidarity for what is right and just and we believe significant systemic change is required to heal and rebuild trust. We must all do more.

I also want to reaffirm Merrimack’s deep commitment to educating young people from a range of diverse communities, and in doing so, preparing students to combat racism, injustice and economic inequality throughout our society.

Merrimack is proud of its growing diversity, and while we have made efforts to create an equitable and inclusive community, we know there is more we can and must do.

We must also challenge ourselves and ask the question of how can Merrimack have the greatest impact in the effort to dismantle systems of racism, oppression and inequality.

Therefore, I would like to announce a series of actions we will take over the next few months towards making Merrimack the most welcoming, diverse, equitable and inclusive community possible.

First, the College will appoint a Special Assistant to the President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. This position will seek to leverage the College’s current efforts and initiatives to develop and introduce new and emerging practices to move the College forward in creating a more welcoming and inclusive learning and working community with a particular focus on the needs of underrepresented and/or marginalized student populations.

Second, we will require anti-racism education for all members of our community including trustees, executives, faculty, staff and students.

Third, we will be making a deeper commitment to college access both by expanding our early college program, increasing our Pioneer Scholars and creating additional scholarships for minority students entering in the Fall of 2021.

Finally, this Friday will mark the 155th celebration of “Juneteenth,” an annual holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. It was on June 19, 1865, that Union soldiers landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and the enslaved were free. This was two and a half years after President Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

In order to recognize this important moment in the country’s history, we ask that Merrimack students, faculty, staff and alumni observe this day to reflect on how you can be part of positive change.

The observation of “Juneteenth,” and the establishment of the position of Special Assistant to the President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the expansion of college access, and the implementation of anti-racism education for all community members are just four initial action items at the beginning of a series of specific steps the College will be taking on its continuous quest for equity and social justice.

I want to thank our entire community, but especially our students who over the past few weeks have engaged with me in difficult and important conversations. I have walked away from those conversations more informed and more hopeful in the future and have been impressed by their passion, their commitment for what is right and just, and their focus on how to ensure long term success in the future of our society. Merrimack will continue to fulfill its promises to promote inclusivity and diversity across its campus and the world. We will continue to engage our students, faculty and staff in ongoing conversations, in the development of activities and academic opportunities in order to increase our collective knowledge and skills so that we may continue to spread our message of hope and change.

Thank you for your continued efforts to bring this community together so that we may move forward into a more inclusive, peaceful and just world.

Best,

President Hopey

—
Christopher E. Hopey, Ph.D.
President

Dear Merrimack College Community,

In the past three months, across the United States and the globe, the COVID-19 pandemic has presented challenges and uncertainty for us all. While we have all felt the impact of COVID-19, the reality is the effects of COVID-19 are but another example of how some communities – especially those in lower socio-economic and minority communities, are adversely affected because of where they live or who they are. The societal disparities these communities address every day are exacerbated by this virus, and by yet another set of clear and senseless actions such as the death of George Floyd. The pandemic and the too-long list of recent victims of racism and injustice have come together to represent more than just disparate events in history, they are the once in a generation breaking points that have led to massive peaceful protests calling for justice and equality and the end of discrimination, the elimination of income disparity and for social justice.

The peaceful demonstrations and the sometimes aggressive protests that are sweeping across our country are no longer limited to faraway cities or towns, they are in our communities and they are reminding all of us of the deep wounds that run through our communities from years of inequality and injustice. These recent events should outrage us to take action, make us look in the mirror and call us to do more to solve these problems, and address our collective concerns as a community. Deeply rooted problems such as these require us all to listen and challenge ourselves. To do so we need leadership that brings people together to face the challenges we have and move forward with greater appreciation for each other. The leadership of divisiveness, hatred and bigotry achieves the exact opposite and can never be tolerated or ignored. Nor can we meet that type of leadership with violence, it will only dissipate the message of hope and change.

These past few weeks show us that there is much more work to be done to eliminate the scourge of injustice and inequality. Merrimack College is dedicated to its founding values of teaching, learning and serving – which includes equality, inclusion, education and discovery for all. It is our duty, as an institution of higher learning, to ask ourselves how will we make the world a better place and how will we better the lives of others. To do this, we must listen. We must learn. We must pursue progress. And most of all, we must open our hearts and minds. I am very proud of the progress Merrimack College has made towards making a difference in our community and our world, but we have much more to do and more people to serve.

We all have the basic rights endowed upon us in the Constitution, including the right to peacefully protest and the right of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But sometimes those rights are not used to help others. I encourage all of our community members to peacefully protest, to stand up against injustice and inequality and to be heard. You have a responsibility as Merrimack College community members to speak out when you witness something that is wrong and to get involved, to activate, to organize and to vote. Real change comes not from simply watching but by organizing, acting and voting for what you believe in and participating in our democracy. The future is now in the hands of the rising generations. What this past week has shown us is that the rising generations now want a voice, a voice that is educated, inclusive, just and very capable. Because of this, I know our future is bright, but this moment will be difficult. I encourage everyone not to lose hope, we know the vast majority of our country has good leaders, good police officers, good protesters and good citizens who love their neighbors and their country. This time requires this majority to do more and to look out for others and to get more involved.

As we look to reopen our campus in the fall, we will do so with open hearts, open minds and open arms. We will not tolerate hate, violence, racial injustice or inequality. Our unwavering commitment to diversity, inclusivity and the rights of others is fundamental to who we are. We must work together to create a world where each of us can live in peace, kindness and safety.

Be safe, be well and look out for each other. God Bless.

Best,

President Hopey
—
Christopher E. Hopey, Ph.D.
President