Update: Our June 4th Meeting w/ Milligan Admin

Dear MilliganforAll,

Thank you for your support and patience as we awaited our on-campus meeting with the administration. On Friday, June 4th, the MfA Board of Directors had the opportunity to meet with President Bill Greer, Vice President for Academic Affairs/Academic Dean Garland Young, Director of Property and Risk Management/Title IX Coordinator Brent Nipper, and Campus Minister Rich Aubrey, as well as Chair of the Board of Trustees Tammy Eldridge and Board member Denny Mayes.

They committed the meeting time to listening and to finding common ground. We had the opportunity to affirm our deep love for Milligan and gratitude for the positive ways that Milligan formed important parts of our lives. We also communicated MfA’s purpose to amplify your voices and your stories, which are the foundation and inspiration of our work. In sharing these stories, we highlighted the ways that the university’s campus culture and Statement on Human Sexuality have and continue to create an environment that is less than truly welcoming for members of the LGBTQ+ community. 

Despite deep disagreements about human sexuality, President Greer acknowledged that the university has made strides to become a more welcoming place and that there is still further to go. Campus Minister Rich Aubrey will be offering training to student life staff and student leaders. Dean Young expressed a desire to support faculty with “knowledge, experience, demeanor, and resources” so that every student feels welcome and no student would ever experience the culture of shame and secrecy.

In response, we presented what we believe to be four significant issues that grow out of this conversation, the university’s revised statement, and the FAQ document on the university’s website:

1. How will the university’s efforts to become more welcoming include the wisdom and experiences of LGBTQ+ people?

2. What steps will the university take to equip and support members of the campus community to create the truly welcoming environment the university desires for LGBTQ+ people?

3. How will the university ensure that diverse views are presented, as professed in the university’s most recent release, while also expecting staff and faculty to support the institution’s position on human sexuality “in every respect”?

4. We encouraged the university to consider how statements, policies, and practices, as well as silence, shape campus culture.

We requested that they reflect on these issues, that they consider ways we can partner with them, and that they commit to another meeting with us within the next six months. The administration affirmed a desire to partner together and agreed to respond to these requests as soon as possible.

In solidarity and with hope,

MilliganforAll Board