In an email sent out to faculty, staff and students Monday afternoon, Colorado Mesa University President Tim Foster tackled CMU’s position on the violent weekend in Charlottesville, Va.

“This weekend, many of us watched in shock and horror as the reports came out of Charlottesville, VA. Neo-nazis, the KKK, and other white supremacists gathered there over the weekend to promote a sick and twisted ideology, leaving dozens injured and at least three people dead,” Foster wrote in the email. “Colorado Mesa University condemns this violence and bigotry in the strongest terms possible.”

Foster referred to the clash between white nationalists and counter-protesters that ended with the death of one counter-protester, two state police officers and many injured.

In his email, Foster encouraged the CMU community to maintain a “civic dialogue” on campus.

“Let’s begin this new academic year by re-committing ourselves to be a campus of respect, tolerance, and inclusion,” Foster wrote. “The stakes are too high for anything less.”

The fall 2017 semester begins Monday, Aug. 21.