Midday on Wednesday, Wash. U. Chancellor Mark Wrighton said he will not rescind the offer to bestow an honorary degree Friday on conservative author Phyllis Schlafly. His statement took the form of an e-mail message, the complete text of which follows. (Scroll down on The Platform home page for earlier posts and comments on the Schlafly controversy.)

Dear Members of the Washington University Community,

I write to address the controversy surrounding the decision to award
Phyllis Schlafly an honorary degree at Commencement this Friday, May 16,
2008. I am sorry that this controversy may detract from Commencement.
However, the Trustees, the University administration and I fully support
the rights of our students and others within this community to express
their concerns on this issue.

Our long-standing process for awarding the honorary degree was followed:
Mrs. Schlafly was nominated by a member of the community and was reviewed
by the Board’s Honorary Degree Committee. The Committee included faculty,
students, trustees and administrators. After two meetings, Mrs. Schlafly
and other nominees were recommended unanimously for consideration at the
full Board meeting. The full Board voted to award the honorary degree at
the May 2007 meeting.

Following the public announcement of the honorary degrees, many in the
University community have called for the University to rescind that offer,
stating that Mrs. Schlafly is associated with some views, opinions and
statements that are inconsistent with the tolerant and inclusive values of
the Washington University community. Personally, I do not endorse her
views or opinions, and in many instances, I strongly disagree with them.

However, after further consultation with members of the University’s Board
of Trustees, the University has concluded that it will fulfill its
commitment to award the degree to Mrs. Schlafly. I apologize for the
anguish this decision has caused to many members of our community.

In bestowing this degree, the University is not endorsing Mrs. Schlafly’s
views or opinions; rather, it is recognizing an alumna of the University
whose life and work have had a broad impact on American life and have
sparked widespread debate and controversies that in many cases have helped
people better formulate and articulate their own views about the values
they hold.

At Commencement, Trustee Emerita Margaret Bush Wilson has volunteered to
read the citation to award the degree to Mrs. Schlafly. As the first woman
of color to serve as the national chair of the NAACP, the second woman of
color admitted to practice law in Missouri, and as a prominent St. Louis
civil rights attorney for more than 40 years, she provides a strong voice
for the importance of tolerance and discourse as hallmarks of the
Washington University community.

In the midst of this controversy, I want to affirm my personal and the
University’s institutional commitment to strengthening diversity and
inclusiveness and to improving gender balance. Additionally, I have made a
commitment that the University will review the process for awarding
honorary degrees and will propose appropriate changes.

Washington University is home to students and faculty from all walks of
life, from most systems of religious belief and political thought, and
from all corners of the world. Yet we do not require these widely diverse
individuals to agree with one another. We are stronger because
disagreement allows us the opportunity to speak as individuals and as
advocates for sometimes widely divergent agendas. Collegial dialogue and
discourse inform us as to our feelings and help guide an institution that
nurtures debate and tolerance. A university is strengthened by exchanges
that may be strongly worded, and that may have been born from the passions
and rhetoric of disagreement.

Washington University - or any other university - is neither perfect nor
are all its processes for making decisions. We can always do better. In
the aftermath of Commencement, I am deeply committed to whatever work
needs to be done to rebuild damaged relationships with members of our
community — faculty, students, alumni, parents, trustees and staff. I
thank you for all that you do to make this a community so open, tolerant
and inclusive, and I ask for your assistance as we work together to build
the very best environment for all who live, learn, discover and create
here.

Sincerely,

Mark S. Wrighton
Chancellor