Dear Hamline Alumni and Friends,
Greetings from Hamline University. I hope this message finds you safe and well. You are an integral part of our community, the Piper community, and I thank you for that.
To say these past months have been trying would be a vast understatement. I want to recognize that we have heard from many of you and I thank you for sharing your passionate and diverse opinions. As you likely understand, we cannot comment on the specifics of the events and circumstances at this time; yet, I want to keep you as informed as possible. I sincerely appreciate your thoughts and opinions.
For over 169 years, Hamline’s administrators, staff, and faculty have always been unified in our desire to place students at the center of everything we do. We are a small liberal arts college, steeped in history and committed to academic freedom. We have led, and always will lead, with care and concern for our students, our faculty, our staff, and our greater community. This means respecting the many different paths people have taken to become part of the Hamline community, and the diversity of opinion that helps us all grow as educators and as human beings.
Hamline University's statement of civility serves as our guiding principle, including our commitment to academic freedom and celebration of free expression for everyone. Hamline University embraces the examination of all ideas as an integral and robust component of intellectual inquiry. I encourage you to read this unique statement. I am confident this will help to assure you of our commitment to academic freedom for all.
It is because of who we are, what we believe, and the Wesleyan values that we hold so very dear that I can assure you that we, at Hamline University, have and will always respect and adhere to all the tenets of academic freedom and free speech. As we do so, we embrace what has always set Hamline apart from other institutions—our ability to educate a Hamline student with both excellence and care. We will continue “to do all the good [we] can” for those within and outside our community.
Like all institutions of higher learning, we strive to do better, be better as we do the work necessary to educate all who are part of the Hamline community. In the months ahead, we look forward to the many conversations we will have as we build an even stronger and more committed Hamline University. We do this work, as it is part of who we are, an institution that “takes the lead.”
As always, there is work to be done, and we look forward to hosting conversations in the near term that will help us build a stronger community. I thank you for your continued support and investment in the future of our students and of Hamline University.
Sincerely,
Fayneese Miller, PhD
President
