To the Community of Purdue Computer Science
06-08-2020
We are reaching out to our community within the Department of Computer Science to share our grief, our support, and our solidarity.
The brutal killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, and subsequent protests highlight the racism and inequities in this country, in particular anti-Blackness. We stand united and in solidarity with Black and African American communities and those of color affected by the marginalization and systemic racism which has historically existed in our society and continues today.
The first Department of Computer Science in the United States was established at Purdue University in 1962. Last year, the first African American woman graduated with a PhD from Purdue Computer Science. Though we celebrate her accomplishments and those of the four Black men who had previously received PhDs in computer science at Purdue, we recognize this as inadequate representation. Therefore, we publicly reassert our commitment to creating an inclusive culture in our department. We commit ourselves to being anti-racist agents in all of our department’s efforts - research, teaching, and outreach. In collaboration with the office of the Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion, we will convene a task force in the fall of 2020, to evaluate our policies and practices and make recommendations to help us increase the diversity of our programs and address unintended inequities.
We stand in solidarity with our students, faculty, and staff where we will work together toward racial justice. We hold our community in our hearts. Know that we care deeply for you, and we are committed to being strong leaders building a culture of equality, understanding, and compassion.
Sunil Prabhakar
Professor and Department Head of Computer Science
Petros Drineas, Sonia Fahmy, Ninghui Li
Professors and Associate Department Heads of Computer Science
Randy Bond, Monica Shively
Assistant Department Heads of Computer Science