Dear Roanoke College Community:
Since the day I arrived at Roanoke, I’ve been emboldened by our commitment to two beautiful values: equity and inclusion. We believe in both, and although we are not a perfect community, the pursuit of each has been a salient truth.
In recent days, Roanoke College has been thrust into a national debate regarding transgender participation in collegiate sports, a topic with important implications for all of us. We’re among just a handful of higher education institutions traversing this important conversation, not hypothetically, but in the form of actual students for whom we have a love and duty to care.
As is often the case with emerging cultural topics, especially related to inclusion, governing and policy bodies are in the midst of sorting out a path forward. Throughout our history with the NCAA, Roanoke College has followed its policies. In this particular case, the current NCAA standard for transgender participation yields a very different outcome from the policy they plan to phase in next year. According to this year’s NCAA guidance, our transgender student would be eligible to participate in swimming now; in the guidance planned for next year, the same student would not be eligible to participate.
It is for this reason that our entire board of trustees and senior leadership gathered multiple times to study this situation and render a clear college position. As we shared last week, our board voted on October 3 to forgo the NCAA phase-in protocol and jump directly to the NCAA’s stated final policy. Why? We believe providing clarity is in the best interest of everyone in our community. We implore the NCAA to do the same.
It pains me to know that anyone at the college felt marginalized as we gathered to sort out what is right for this college and this community. Roanoke College is a remarkable place that values free speech, inclusion and the inherent dignity of every member of our community. We want equity and inclusion.
We will stay in conversation together—both internally and externally—to help our collective communities find an outcome that supports and honors all people. This is who we are at Roanoke College and this is why, as an affiliated member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), we are rooted and open.
Sincerely,
Frank Shushok Jr., Ph.D.
President