Update on Social Responsibility Committee review of Mac for Palestine proposals

I write today to provide an update on the work of the Social Responsibility Committee (SRC) that was chartered to consider two proposals created by the student group Mac for Palestine. 

As a reminder, I wrote on June 10 to inform the campus community that the SRC had submitted a report on the proposal to divest endowment assets invested in a few specific companies, recommending that I forward the proposal to the Board of Trustees for consideration (which I did). At that time, the SRC’s work to review a second proposal (regarding study away) was ongoing.

Yesterday, I received a report from the SRC regarding the proposal to remove two Israeli universities from the list of the college’s approved study-away sites. The proposal also included requests to establish relationships between the college and Palestinian universities, and to provide more scholarship funding for Palestinian students.

In the report, the SRC declined to recommend that I forward this proposal to the Board for its consideration, reasoning that these matters do not fall under the purview of the Board. Having reviewed the SRC report carefully, I accept the SRC’s recommendations that I confer with elected Faculty committees, specifically the Educational Policy and Governance (EPAG) committee (which includes two student representatives selected by MCSG) and the Faculty Advisory Council (FAC), on the proposal to remove two study-away programs in Israel from the college’s list of approved programs. 

To review the two student proposals and the two corresponding SRC reports, you may visit the proposal portal.

I greatly appreciate the SRC, including Professor Duchess Harris (Chair) and SRC members representing Macalester faculty, staff, students, and alumni. The group took a thorough and deliberate approach to this work and I am deeply grateful for their participation in shared governance.

I welcome any questions.

June 25, 2024