To Sandy Colhoun, NOLS Interim President
DEI can and should be part of NOLS' future success
Sandy -
On our website, we ask for an open discussion about how NOLS is implementing DEI. Thank you for beginning such a discussion by addressing NOLS Self-Assembly in your June 5th Chrysalis letter. In response, our concern is not as you state with “the issues of diversity, equity and inclusion”. Our concern is about how NOLS is implementing DEI. We believe a worthwhile DEI initiative is being poorly implemented with ruinous consequences for NOLS.
We have been clear about this from the beginning. The first two paragraphs of Our DEI Implementation Assessment Report with bold for emphasis are as follows:
“NOLS became the leader in outdoor education by adhering to its founding Articles of Incorporation, staying true to its Mission Statement and making Expedition Behavior into an everyday practice. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion can and should be part of NOLS’ continued success.
We are concerned that the very foundation of NOLS as the leader in outdoor education is being undermined by a poorly implemented DEI initiative. The prohibition against propaganda contained in the NOLS Articles is being ignored or overlooked. The Mission Statement that emphasizes teaching wilderness skills and leadership is being weakened by prioritizing DEI training over faculty competency. Expedition Behavior that puts the group first is being replaced by DEI emphasis on individual differences.”
Relegating the DEI implementation assessment to a strategic planning consultant who will likely regurgitate “best practices” that reflect those of 4-wall classrooms and to the NOLS' Board Equity and Inclusion subcommittee does not give us confidence that the issue is being taken seriously. Neither Ian Symmonds, the strategy consultant, nor Breann Branch, NOLS DEI Director, have taken a NOLS course. If the assessment were to identify best practices of a hospital emergency department, would you entrust the study to someone who had never worked as part of a team in an emergency room prior to the study?
OPPORTUNITY Practicing Expedition Behavior as a NOLS team member in a dynamic wilderness classroom is the best way to understand What Makes NOLS NOLS. The experience can be life-changing. In preparation for an audit of NOLS’ DEI programs, we believe it is essential that the NOLS' strategy consultant and DEI Director take a regular NOLS course as students and ‘learn by doing’. Two summer locations: Alaska Backpacking or a Wind River Wilderness expedition.
We look forward to your reply,
NOLS Self-Assembly
Please forward this newsletter to other NOLSies so that they can join us to petition the NOLS Board to answer 4 basic questions about NOLS' DEI implementation.
NOLS Self-Assembly
Our objective is to serve as a link between NOLS and the greater NOLS community for an open discussion about how NOLS is staying true to its mission and the practice of expedition behavior while implementing a DEI initiative, fundraising $10,000,000 to cover operating losses and searching for a new president while creating a new strategic plan.
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