June 4, 2020

Statement from President & CEO Garth Gibson

To the Vector community and our colleagues around the world:

I have had occasion to speak with several of you about the unjust killing of George Floyd, systemic racism and protests in the US that have now spread across the globe. These events have prompted discussions within our community that warrant a strong public statement.

Let it be clear that Vector condemns racism and violence. We stand in solidarity with black and racialized communities.

Vector is a large international community of talented and conscientious people. We are deeply and directly affected by global events. This is no exception.

Many of you have reached out and offered to lead initiatives to effect change. Thank you.

I accept the challenge to strive for greater inclusion in the programs and culture that we build, and Vector will do so together with our hospital and university partners.

Many of you have correctly pointed out the homogeneity of Vector’s senior leadership. We acknowledge that in order to remove barriers, we will need to actively listen and increase our awareness of the challenges resulting from systemic racism.

While Vector has taken steps to be inclusive, I acknowledge that the status quo is not good enough.

We are not content. Vector must do more. As a first step, I commit to continuing this dialogue and reporting on our actions to increase diversity and inclusion.