Immigration and the Skidmore community
On Jan. 29, President Philip A. Glotzbach issued a statement to the Skidmore community about the Trump administration’s executive order to restrict travel from seven Muslim-majority countries and ban refugees.
In his statement, President Glotzbach reaffirmed Skidmore’s commitment to nondiscrimination on the basis of race, religion, or national origin. “We do not discriminate in staff and faculty employment or student Admissions or any other area based on a student’s immigration status. We comply with relevant legal requirements, but we do not otherwise seek or disseminate information about our students’ immigration status, and we strive to protect the privacy of all our students,” he wrote.
The statement also outlined Skidmore’s pertinent institutional values, among them:
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Skidmore’s membership in the international community of scholars, educators, and students within colleges and universities across our nation and throughout the world. It is our priority to foster in our students, as fundamental aspects of their liberal education, both intercultural awareness and global understanding.
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Skidmore’s commitment to fostering inclusive excellence — affirming that our diversity makes us a stronger, more vibrant, and more creative community, provided we enable everyone to participate fully in our shared enterprise. Our international students are a key part of this vitality.
(Read the full statement on the President’ website.)
Moving forward, Skidmore continues to monitor any developments in this dynamic situation. In the meantime, the community is invited to participate in a unity gathering, or attend open office hours for staff in international and off-campus services. The College unity gathering on campus will be held on Thursday, February 2, at 5:00 p.m.
Immigration attorneys will be on campus to meet individually with anyone wanting answers to legal questions. In addition, the attorneys will offer a public presentation, and meet with students, staff, and faculty by constituency group.