Message to Our Lindner Community

June 4, 2020

To our Lindner community,

I am reaching out, along with the Lindner leadership team and our Office of Inclusive Excellence, to express our deep sorrow and anger over the recent senseless deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, among the many other acts of brutality against the Black community.

In a time when we may be physically distanced, please know that we are right here. Our community is right here.

The Lindner College of Business actively opposes racism and injustice. We stand for inclusion and support our Black students, staff, faculty and alumni. A core value of the Lindner College of Business is inclusive excellence — fairness and respect, valuing others and promoting belonging.

I’d like to underscore some Lindner-specific and university resources available to our community, as well as external resources to consider.

• Lindner resources
  • Office of Inclusive Excellence
    • Student programs include Business Fellows, Lindner Women in Business and Pride at Lindner.
  • Inclusive Excellence Council
    • If you have ideas for how to improve diversity and inclusion at Lindner, please submit your suggestions using the form on this web page.
  • June 10 Webinar: “People First: Compassionate Leadership for Troubled Times,” featuring Tom Peters and Kate Bennis, hosted by the Lindner College of Business and UC Alumni Association.
• University resources
  • You can read the statement that President Pinto provided on behalf of the University from earlier this week as well as on June 3.
  • UC’s African American Cultural & Resource Center is hosting a Wokeshop with a few other student organizations on Sunday, June 7, at 7 p.m. EST. View details on the UCAACRC Instagram account or join the Wokeshop directly at the time of the event at this link, which opens Microsoft Teams.
  • Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) including virtual “Let’s Talk” sessions.
  • For faculty and staff, Bearcats Landing has wellness and mental health resources.
• External to the university
  • Black Lives Matter Meditations From Dr. Candice Nicole: “Black Lives Matter Meditation for Healing Racial Trauma” and “Ally + Accomplice Meditation for Cultivating an Anti-Racist Mindset.”
  • June 8 Webinar: “How Do We Create Space to Live Our Authentic Lives?” hosted by Urban Consulate and The Mercantile Library.
  • June 10 Virtual Breakfast Club: “Creativity and Disruption in Times of Change” hosted by Design Impact and featuring Luna Malbroux (https://www.soulbirdconsulting.info/team).
  • Support Cincinnati’s black-owned businesses with these recommendations from The Voice of Black Cincinnati, Cincinnati Magazine and Tour de Force Cincinnati.

Finally, I would like to recognize the Lindner student organizations that have shown up for each other on social media, sharing helpful resources and providing prompts for reflecting on bias, privilege and the history of police brutality in the United States. Students, thank you for intentionally creating these spaces for reflection, listening and sharing. You are on your way to being inclusive leaders.

Let’s keep doing this work, together, as a community.

Sincerely,

Marianne W. Lewis, PhD
Dean and Professor of Management, Carl H. Lindner College of Business

Robin Brinkman
Executive Director, Strategic Operations

Nick Castro
Executive Director, Lindner Inclusive Excellence

Rachel Fausz
Senior Director, Lindner Development

Suzanne Masterson, PhD
Associate Dean, Faculty, Research and Lindner Culture, Professor of Management

Debora Myree, MBA
Business Officer

Steve Slezak, PhD
Associate Dean, Academic Programs, Director, Carl H. Lindner III Center for Insurance and Risk Management, Associate Professor, Department of Finance, Real Estate, and Insurance and Risk Management

Chuck Sox, PhD
Associate Dean, Impact and Partnerships, Professor of Operations Management

Inclusive Excellence Council

Lee Armstrong
International Programs, Lindner College of Business

Gema Bahns
Faculty, Department of Management, Lindner College of Business

Nick Castro
Executive Director, Office of Inclusive Excellence, Lindner College of Business

Holli Deems
Human Resources, Lindner College of Business

Aja Hickman
Graduate Student, Lindner College of Business

Nadia Ibrahim-Taney
Career Services, Lindner College of Business

Suzanne Masterson
Associate Dean of Faculty and Research, Lindner College of Business

Ashley McFarland
Undergraduate Programs, Lindner College of Business

Debashis Pal
Department Head, Department of Economics, Lindner College of Business

Jim Pross
Information Technology, Lindner College of Business

Victoria Regan
Program Manager, Office of Inclusive Excellence, Lindner College of Business

Ric Sweeney
Faculty, Department of Marketing, Lindner College of Business