EIU Media Relations

A Message from President Glassman

To our Students, Faculty, Staff, Alumni, and broader EIU community –

Like many of you, I am watching as scenes of public unrest and personal anguish continue to unfold in cities and states across America. The events leading up to these demonstrations have provoked pain, heartbreak, and anger in every pocket of our nation. My heart aches.

The evidence is clear: George Floyd's life was taken at the hands of officers representing the Minneapolis Police Department as they blatantly ignored the fundamental values of morality and trivialized the very boundaries of human dignity. Sadly, George Floyd’s name will be added to a much longer list of people of color who have suffered the same fate.

Words, actions, and attitudes matter. As President of Eastern Illinois University, I have a platform that affords me a unique public voice—and one that I am compelled to use to strongly denounce all forms of bigotry, racism, needless violence, and acts of intolerance. With that same voice, I want to publicly share my deepest support for our African American community. It is my sincere hope that by working together in the broadest spirit of love and unity, we are able to build a future where social injustice finds no home in our diverse, dynamic society.

At Eastern Illinois University, we are unwaveringly committed to the highest ideals and values of civility, equity, inclusion, understanding, and respect for all.

On behalf of the Eastern Illinois University community, I extend our heartfelt sympathies to the families and friends of George Floyd, and to the many other victims of preventable, egregious injustice. We join the nation and the world in mourning his tragic death.

Respectfully,

David Glassman
President, Eastern Illinois University