Belonging. 

That’s what the crowd composed of Stetson students, faculty, staff, alumni and members of the DeLand community who participated in the Values Day Deliberative Poll emanated as you walked into the CUB’s Warren and Barbara Carr Stetson Room on Thursday, Nov. 14.

“I’m so proud to be a Hatter today as we reexamine our values and what we care deeply about in our educational enterprise,” said President Christopher F. Roellke, PhD. “As we all know, we want Stetson to be a place where you can be seen, be heard and be yourself.” 

And this was exactly what the participants — 117 in person and about 35 online — of the deliberative poll felt as they discussed Stetson’s current, and proposed, values. 

“Being a Stetson graduate, core values are very important to me, not only just during my time of being here as a student, but in terms of graduation,” commented Stephen Mingolelli ’20. “Those values are the ones you carry with you always, because they teach you important skills. The one that I value the most would be global citizenship since we are all part of a shared experience in a world that is becoming more and more interconnected each day.” 

Personal growth, intellectual development and global citizenship

For a decade, those have been Stetson’s core values, which have aided in carrying out the university’s mission while keeping sight of its vision. 

However, as a result of the complexities of the 21st century, and the rapidly evolving world that surrounds us, the university has taken the leap to open discussion to all members of the Hatter family to voice their beliefs as to what Stetson’s values should be moving forward. 

“I suspect that whatever values we choose will reflect our strong sense of community and belief that nobody should be left behind,” said Kevin Winchell, director of Community Engagement and chair of the Values Day Planning Committee. “We can trace those principles through every historical iteration of our values, and they are so embedded in our culture that it is hard to imagine us ever not making them a priority.”

Relationship-rich culture, intellectual exploration, participatory community, human dignity and belonging, personal growth and stewardship were the proposed values brought to the table during the deliberative poll. 

“Values are guiding principles that shape who we are as a university and as a committee,” said David Hill, PhD, professor of Political Science. “At the individual level, our values are deeply ingrained; they are a result of a lifetime of experiences.”

So, during the summer, Hill and Rina Tovar Arroyo, the president’s chief of staff and senior Development officer, put together a small group of faculty, staff and a Board of Trustee member — Amy R. Rigdon. Through deep research of peer institutions’ values and mission statements, and a survey that involved the help of the Center for Public Opinion Research (CPOR), the list of proposed values came to life.

“They were not arbitrarily chosen,” Hill said. “Through this deliberative dialogue and a campus survey, we can determine if Stetson’s core values of personal growth, intellectual development and global citizenship still reflect who we are today, and who want to be. What’s most exciting is this process gives every person an equal voice in shaping Stetson’s values — from the a first year student to the university’s president.”

Whether or not Stetson will keep its current core values or adopt one or more of the proposed values will be a decision to be known to the Stetson Community, potentially, after the Spring 2025 semester. 

Values Day Activities 

On Thursday, Nov. 14, under the blue sky on a warm fall-day, the Stetson Green was filled with dozens of tables, each of them posing an opportunity for students to continue discovering their paths to personal growth and intellectual development at the Global Citizenship Fair. It was Values Day on campus.

“I’ve now been to a couple of events, and it has been really interesting to learn about therapy, the value of Stetson and sustainability,” said sophomore Jean Dibo Amany, who is double majoring in Finance and Accounting. “It’s been great to learn how Stetson is involved in the recycling process, trying to reduce the waste of food at the CUB for example.” 

Study abroad was an opportunity students were wanting to learn more about, as was the case of Dibo Amany and senior Richiana Franklin, who is majoring in English with a minor in Creative Writing. 

“I just went over to the study abroad table and I learned that if I stay at housing on campus, it’s cheaper to do study abroad and stay over there in their housing,” Franklin said. “I probably would have not learned that if Stetson didn’t have Values Day.” 

Fast-forward to Workshop Block No. 3, Rajni Shankar-Brown, PhD, professor and Jessie Ball duPont Distinguished Chair of Social Justice Education welcomed students to the Let’s READ: Reflect, Engage, and Affirm Diversity! Workshop. 

“R.E.A.D., an interdisciplinary and community-engaged program, is a space where we come together to reflect, engage and affirm diverse voices,” Shankar-Brown said. “These voices shape our world and engage with social and environmental justice issues that align with our Stetson values of personal growth, intellectual development and global citizenship.” 

The program incites reading, critical reflection, writing, creative arts and the opportunity to deepen the participants’ understanding of said issues through reflection and conversation, with the goal of forming a more inclusive campus and world. 

Stetson student leaders and Shankar-Brown shared the history and goals of R.E.A.D. at the launch, along with a celebration of literacy from stories to music.

“As poet, storyteller, activist and autobiographer, Maya Angelou — one of our guides this year — wisely wrote, ‘In diversity, there is beauty and there is strength,'” Shankar-Brown said. “Students, staff, faculty, alumni and community members are all welcome to be a part of R.E.A.D.”

This year, R.E.A.D. will use a variety of texts, including Tell Me Who You Are: A Road Map for Cultivating Racial Literacy by Winona Guo and Priya Vulchi, Solito: A Memoir by Javier Zamora, This Book Won’t Burn by Samira Ahmed and poetry by Maya Angelou.

Clearly, Values Day will have an impact far beyond 24 hours.

– Andrea Mujica