The below message was sent on April 21, 2023.
Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,
Did you know that The Pensby Center was named in 2012 when its home was on Cambrian Row? That name came about after several iterations of various departmental names had been used and changed over the years.
Consequently, our department, The Pensby Center for Community Development and Inclusion, carried the name of the building from which it operated for ten years. Last year, when we moved to the new Student Life and Wellness Building, we knew that we needed a new name -- one that not only reflected our location more accurately (Pensby still exists on Cambrian Row, after all, so that no longer worked!), but also one that more closely reflected our mission and work.
With the help of the campus community, and after several balloting events in the fall, lots of conversations and focus groups with students, faculty, and staff throughout the fall and spring, we are delighted to announce the new name of our department.
Beginning today, we will now be known as The Impact Center for Community, Equity, and Understanding.
Our staff and mission remain the same, only the name has changed. The Impact Center for Community, Equity, and Understanding implements programs and activities that address issues of diversity, power, and privilege with the goal of improving the campus climate and enhancing community life at Bryn Mawr. This is done with a lens that advances anti-racism, wellness, welcome, and belonging for all students, especially those who know the experience of marginalization first-hand.
We are excited about our new name, and hope you will be, too! Thank you for your patience while we update documents, webpages, and other items to reflect our new name -- we expect this process may take some time. We appreciate your help with this, as well, especially as you begin to update documents or information resources that may contain our department's former name for which you are responsible.
Thank you for sharing in our excitement and best wishes to you in these beautiful spring days. Good luck to you as the semester begins to wind down.
Warmly,
A.T. Ortíz
Associate Dean for Equity, Inclusion, and Community Life
Leslie Castrejon
Assistant Dean for Student Support and Belonging
Vanessa Christman
Assistant Dean for Access and Community Development
Joi Dallas
Assistant Dean for Intercultural Engagement
Patricia Lausch
Assistant Dean of International Student and Scholar Advising
Rabbi Nora Woods
Interfaith Chaplain