Indranath DuttaDear colleagues and friends,

As you know, the events of the past months have had a significant and life-changing impact on all of us.

A global pandemic, loss, economic hardships, and systemic bias are among the challenges that are bringing turmoil and change around the world. Even in our relatively sheltered WSU community, these once-in-a-generation events are having a significant impact on our faculty, students, and staff and are making us re-think many of our assumptions. They are causing pain for all of us and, in particular, among African Americans, people of color, and other members of minority groups.

In the United States, we aspire to the ideal that justice and human interactions are blind to color, creed and gender.  However, some members of our society, and especially African Americans, have experiences that have sometimes deviated from this ideal. This is not acceptable. We can and must do better.

I re-affirm to you that the School of MME is committed to supporting our students, faculty, and staff during these difficult times, and in providing all with a healthy, safe, and inclusive community that enables them all to thrive.

In MME, we have much to be proud of. We have outstanding faculty and staff, an energetic, ambitious and eager student body, highly accomplished alumni, and very engaged advisory board members from many of the top companies in the Pacific Northwest. Together, let us re-commit ourselves to making a difference and bringing positive change to our community while imbuing our students with critical thinking and an innovative spirit.

As always, please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas on tackling our global challenges. I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Sincerely,

Indranath Dutta Signature

Indranath Dutta, Director
School of MME