The fallout continues at Memorial University, where the institution’s first vice provost of equity, diversity, inclusion and anti-racism  (EDI-AR) has left the role before the end of the five-year term.

Memorial University Students’ Union (MUNSU) Director of Campaigns  Rana Abuidris says the departure of Delores Mullings and the broad  claims Mullings laid out in an interview with The Independent last month  represent an “institutional failure that directly affects students’  mental health, belonging and trust in Memorial University.”

In December Mullings said there wasn’t a shared understanding of what  striving for equity, diversity and inclusion in the university  community means. “I actually thought more people had an equity lens and  an understanding of what an equity lens is. And that was not the case at  all,” Mullings said. “A lot of people actually didn’t understand and  still don’t understand what equity is, even after four years.”

Citing a non-disclosure agreement as the reason for not sharing  details of the problems Mullings faced, the former vice provost said  when it was appropriate to “push back” on the scope of Mullings’ role in  reviewing a document, for example, “quite often people just felt that I  was being unreasonable, that I was just not a good team player.”

Head of Memorial University’s EDI office leaving role

Mullings also said, “because of my very bold personality and  character traits, it wasn’t long before people stereotyped me as the  angry Black woman. It came very quickly, and it continued to morph. I  got pushback, saying it was my attitude or my tone.

“While I’m the one in the role, it doesn’t mean that I’m the only one  that needs to be talking about equity issues,” Mullings added.  “Everybody is responsible for equity issues, especially those at the  highest level of the institutions. So it was daunting to be the only  person.”

On Thursday the Canadian Federation of Students’ Newfoundland and Labrador chapter called for an investigation  of Memorial University’s senior administration, “with regards to all  forms of racism within the institution, specifically as it relates to  anti-black racism.”

Abuidris says MUNSU, a local of the CFS, seconds that call, and that  an independent third-party investigator should assess the details and  experiences associated with Mullings’ time in the role before a new head  of EDI-AR is hired. MUNL has said it will replace Mullings but is also  evaluating the structure of the EDI-AR office.

“It does seem like it’s just like a symbolic commitment to equity by  just filling in the position and not actually giving these people the  power,” Abuidris says. “Even if restructuring happens to the office,  MUNSU should have been contacted about this and considering these  decisions beforehand.”

Abuidris says she wasn’t overly suprised by Mullings’ statements to  The Independent because it’s a familiar refrain for many Black students  on campus.

“As a Black student leader myself and Memorial University, reading  Dr. Mullings’s account was deeply unsettling — but it was not shocking  because it did feel familiar,” she says. “The isolation and exclusion  from decision making, the stereotyping, being [stereotyped as] an angry  black woman, mirrors what a lot of Black students and racialized  students quietly already experience on campus.”

On Thursday the university said it remains committed to “advancing  the principles of equity, diversity, inclusion and anti-racism (EDI-AR)  across all campuses and fostering a respectful and supportive  environment for all.” MUNL said consultations “are underway to inform  the hiring process for a new senior leader to succeed Dr. Mullings,” and  that it’s also considering “the optimal organizational structure,  reporting and mandate to ensure that EDI-AR and human rights are  resourced for long-term success.”

President Janet Morrison said she will provide an update on that work in March.

Faculty union responds

But the university’s efforts are off to a shoddy start, says  Abuidris, who says the university had not reached out to the student  union about consultations. “The university [has] a commitment to make  sure that all students feel that there’s equity and inclusion within  this university, and not contacting MUNSU about [the consultations]  makes it seem like they’re doing their own thing.”

Memorial University Faculty Association (MUNFA) also says it hasn’t  been contacted by the university about the consultations, and that it is  concerned over some of Mullings’ allegations published by The  Independent.

“While we are not aware of the circumstances surrounding Dr.  Mullings’ decision to resign from the role, MUNFA is concerned to hear  that disagreement regarding the scope and substance of the Vice Provost  EDI-AR role limited her opportunity to guide and contribute to key  policies and decision-making,” MUNFA President Lisa Moores said in an  emailed statement Friday.

“We also take note of a broader issue evident in Dr. Mullings’  description of her experience that goes to the core of academic  leadership and decision-making: how we respond to critique, especially  when what we hear is uncomfortable,” Moores continues. “There is an  important distinction that is often blurred in our institutions,  especially during trying times […] between decorum and respect, between politeness and collegiality.  These concepts are frequently treated as interchangeable. They are not.  And when we conflate them, we do real harm – not only to individuals,  but to the integrity of our academic communities.

“We can be direct, impassioned, even forceful – and still be  respectful. At the same time, it’s possible to be impeccably polite  while dismissing lived experience or maintaining inequitable  structures,” Moores continues. “In the context of Equity, Diversity,  Inclusion, and Anti-Racism particularly we have a special responsibility  to recognize this distinction. Respect is culturally derived and deeply  shaped by power and position. What feels respectful to those with  authority may feel silencing or ineffective to those who must live with  the outcomes of leadership decisions. When we respond to criticism by  focusing primarily on how something was said, rather than engaging  seriously with what was said, we risk deflecting from substance and  being perceived as shielding ourselves from accountability.”

Moores also points out that scholars, “particularly those from  marginalized communities, have learned that speaking carefully, softly,  or deferentially rarely begets change. History teaches us this lesson  repeatedly. Progress in social justice, equality, and human rights has  almost always been labelled inappropriate, disruptive, or disrespectful  at the time it was sought.

“Academia is not immune to this pattern,” she says. “Our emphasis on  rationality, neutrality, and professionalism can sometimes lead us to  confuse emotional restraint with intellectual rigour, and discomfort  with disrespect. Yet academic freedom, shared governance and true  progress depend on our willingness to let critique inform us – even when  it is urgent, emotional, or inconvenient.”

Investigation could fill gap left by Mullings’ inability to speak freely 

 Responding to CFS-NL’s call for an investigation, Memorial  University spokesperson Chad Pelley said Thursday that MUNL had “not  received any calls from within our community for an investigation,”  adding “there are mechanisms for students to submit official concerns  and seek investigation through protected disclosure (for anyone to report any wrongdoing) or the respectful workplace policy.”

Asked if the university would let Mullings speak freely about the  experiences Mullings said can’t be shared due to the non-disclosure  agreement, Pelley said: “Confidentiality provisions in any agreement are  for the protection of personal information related to matters contained  in that agreement. The breach of confidentiality provisions by either  Dr. Mullings or the university would be a breach of that agreement,  which both parties should avoid.”

Abuidris says in light of Mullings’ inability to speak freely, an  external investigation would be “the first step to acknowledging what  Dr. Mullings has been going through.” Once the investigation is done,  she says the student unions, senior administrators and others “should be  contacted” about the results.

“It’s mostly us holding each other accountable with these  investigation findings, and then for the next person filling in the  position to be aware about all the [things] that happened before,” she  says. That way, “they could hold the administration accountable if the  same thing happens again.”

Moores says MUNFA wants “transparency and meaningful communication  regarding the plans for the EDI-AR office and its leadership going  forward,” and for Memorial University to “recognize advocates not as  adversaries, but as essential partners in that work.

“If we want institutions that are equitable, inclusive, and worthy of  trust, we must be willing to hear hard truths expressed in voices that  may not sound like our own.”

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