Indiana Athletic Director Scott Dolson Releases Email About Recent Racially Motivated Incidents

IU Athletics Release

To: All Staff

From: Scott Dolson

Date: July 7, 2020

Re: Recent events

Like all of you, I am outraged and sickened by the despicable racially-motivated incidents that happened at Lake Monroe and off-campus in the last several days. Unfortunately, these are just the latest examples of a reality that has persisted much too long for people of color in our country. I condemn these events of racial violence and racial profiling in the strongest terms, and am committed to doing everything that I can to create a more inclusive and equitable environment in our department and our community.

In addition to outrage, I also appreciate that these appalling acts produce feelings of anxiety, sadness and fear for many of you.  I want to both ensure and remind you that we have a number of support services that are available for you. The SupportLinc Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provides confidential counseling and referrals for professional staff at IU, and can be reached 24 hours, seven days a day at 1-888-881-5462. Our sports psychology team of Dr. Troy Moles and Kelli Monedero is also a great resource; you can reach them at sptpsych@indiana.edu. Another option is to take advantage of free access to the Calm app, thanks to Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren. This award-winning app is useful for reducing stress, sleeping more efficiently, and building relaxation skills. You can download the Calm app free from the Apple store on IOS devices or Google Play on Android devices with your Indiana email address.

While these recent events infuriate all of us, they also go to strengthen our resolve to make positive change within our department.  As Fred Glass and I spelled out in our email to all staff on June 8, we have introduced a series of initiatives in our department, including: 

– Annual mandatory, in-person racial inclusivity training for all staff and students;

– Major new Excellence Academy programs on civics, citizenship, and voter education for students;

– Election Day (Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020) as a mandatory day off for students for all athletically-related activities;

– Establishment of the “Indiana University Athletics Anti-Hate and Anti-Racism Coalition”;

– Maintaining Athletic Director’s Council on Diversity and Inclusivity; and

– Instituting staff-wide and student-wide conversations at least once every semester on issues relating to race.

In addition to those department-wide initiatives we will continue to encourage other learning opportunities for staff and students as well. Next Monday, July 13, Deputy Director of Athletics/SWA Mattie White and the Book Club Leadership Team will host our first book club event about How to Be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi at 6 p.m. on Zoom. The book’s introduction and Chapters 1-2 will be discussed in the debut book club event.

Through these efforts, as well as through our words and actions when it comes to racial injustice, we will be at the forefront of the fight to create positive and lasting change. 

Scott Dolson

Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics

Indiana University