September 14, 2021 In Celebration of Latinx Heritage Month Dear Baruch College Community Members, As an administrator who joined the Baruch College community last month, I am pleased to be here in time to celebrate Latinx Heritage Month. Appreciating Latinx Heritage This Month—and Beyond Being a newcomer to the College, I am excited to see the interdepartmental approach to celebrating Latinx Heritage Month at Baruch College. Robust calendars from the Office of Student Life (OSL) and the Department of Black and Latino Studies (BLS) feature a wide range of webinars and cultural programs. In addition to OSL and BLS programming, events have been organized by the Black Male Initiative, the Undergraduate Student Government, and the Initiative for the Study of Latin America (ISLA), led by its founding director Dr. Stephanie Golob, chair and associate professor of the Department of Political Science. During Latinx Heritage Month and beyond, we recognize the work of two BLS educators—Dr. Rojo Robles, assistant professor, and Dr. Rebecca Salois, adjunct assistant professor—who launched a new podcast, Latinx Visions, which can be found on a wide variety of platforms, including Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcast, and Google Podcast. Additionally, you may follow @LatinxVisions on Twitter and Instagram. For more information about the important work of Dr. Robles and Dr. Salois, please note that the Black and Latinx Studies Community – A Blogs@Baruch site provides information on BLS courses and other podcasts that focus on Latina, Latino, and Latinx history, culture, and politics. Recently, I enjoyed learning more about Dr. Robles and Dr. Salois’s podcast, as well as their teaching and research, during the BLS Open House hosted by Dr. Shelly Eversley, BLS Interim Chair, and BLS and USG student leaders Osvaldo Garcia and Laiba Hussein. I am to excited to learn more about this fall’s Harman Writer-in-Residence Karla Cornejo Villavicencio. Her first book, The Undocumented Americans, was a finalist for the National Book Award, among other accolades. Celebrating Latinx Heritage Month at Baruch College is an important way to recognize Baruch College’s diversity, and I look forward to participating in events that celebrate Latinx heritage from September 15 to October 15 and beyond. Executive CDO as a Member of Our Baruch College Community Over the past month, I have met with many members of the Baruch College community to listen and learn. During the Fall 2021 semester, I hope to meet many more members of our community, particularly undergraduates and graduate students, to discuss our collective commitment to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). After learning more about Baruch’s history and mission, I look forward to working with President S. David Wu and other members of his leadership team to continue to strengthen current DEI efforts as well as launch new DEI initiatives. In the meanwhile, to demonstrate your interest in promoting DEI at Baruch College specifically and CUNY generally, please consider attending the series of Town Hall meetings this month hosted by CUNY’s Mellon Foundation–funded Black, Race and Ethnic Studies Initiative (BRESI). I urge you to visit the CUNY BRESI webpage to learn more. My belief is that everyone has a role in supporting a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment at Baruch College. I look forward to hearing your ideas and expanding our DEI efforts together. Best regards, Elliott Dawes Executive Chief Diversity Officer Email: [log in to unmask] Baruch College Office of Diversity, Compliance, and Equity Initiatives 
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