Robel’s comments marked the start of the Bloomington Faculty Council meeting Tuesday.
She said she was stunned by recent events in Paris but was pleased by how quickly IU was able to determine that all IU faculty and students were safe.
Robel went on to discuss her disappointment in recent incidents at the University of Missouri, IU and schools around the country involving racist comments and threats.
“It does break my heart to hear the ways in which our students walk around with the burden, the additional burden, of being minority students on a campus full of majority students,” Robel said.
After her comments, the meeting continued with its agenda, which included a report from the athletics committee and a report on the Child Care Coalition.
Fred Glass, vice president and director of athletics; Professor David Daleke, chair of the athletics committee; Professor Kurt Zorn, faculty athletics representative; and Professor Jessica Gall Myrick, representative to the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics, led the discussion from the athletics committee.
The athletics committee, along with the faculty athletic representative, “works to evaluate and ensure the academic integrity of the intercollegiate athletics program, to facilitate institutional control of athletics and to enhance the student–athlete experience,” according to the agenda.
Glass discussed the programs and activities on which the athletics committee has been working and how they rank among similar programs in the country.
Many of these programs aim to increase diversity, community service, internships and study abroad programs, and education on health, nutrition, drugs and alcohol.
One large program was the Student-Athlete Bill of Rights, which was created in the summer of 2014. The bill of rights is the first of its kind in institutions in the country and gives student-athletes rights and benefits in terms of education, scholarship and health and wellness.
Glass also complimented the faculty and coaches from the athletics department.
“I think it’s fair to say that we take as much time in choosing our coaches as you take in recruiting your colleagues,” Glass said. “I think we’ve had some really good results with that.”
A large part of including head coaches is inviting them to each committee meeting to share their points of views and help them represent student-athletes, Daleke said.
“That has been very illuminating and also very encouraging to hear both their athletic and academic philosophies,” he added.
After the report from the athletics committee, Tim Dunnuck, coordinator of Child Care Services, gave the report of the Child Care Coalition.
Dunnuck gave brief descriptions of each childcare facility on IU’s campus.
Currently, five University-sponsored childcare centers exist on campus. Three are professionally staffed, state licensed and nationally accredited.
Each center is responsible for its own enrollment but gives priority to families with an IU affiliation.
The report gave a brief history of childcare at IU but focused on the remaining issues and concerns.
These concerns included increasing student family fee discounts, teacher salaries and enrollment slots for children under the age of three.
The biggest concerns for childcare services is trying to obtain more funding and increasing enrollment slots, Dunnuck said.
Currently, the number of enrollment slots is only 180.
Adding slots is a big goal for the coalition, Dunnuck said, but will require more funding, which can be difficult.
He said one of the goals of Herman B Wells was to make IU a family-friendly campus.
“Childcare is a big part of being a family-friendly campus,” Dunnuck said.
