1:30–3:00 p.m.       
Addressing Race in the Media: Film and Televisions Positions on Race or “Is it Really in Color?”
This session will focus on understanding mainstream media’s role in the social construction of race and will examine media as a tool for introducing many aspects of prejudice theory and social justice awareness.  This program involves multiple presenters addressing different media issues related to race and ethnicity. Presentation assumes a basic understanding of race, ethnic and identity development theory.  The session will focus on the concepts of social construction of race and racism as the starting point for analysis of other forms of prejudice. Learning objectives are (1) presentation of a specific tool for raising awareness, and (2) explain and demonstrate facilitation methods related to media and its themes. Participant will be acquainted with methods for facilitating discussions on media related to race and ethnic through film and movies, and will be provided with a list of resources as a tool for teaching about media. This session should particularly benefit teachers, trainers and facilitators who use media as a tool for addressing issues of race and ethnicity. 

Sherwood Smith, Ed.D., Director, Center for Cultural Pluralism and Lecturer, and Assistant Professor, Department of Education, University of Vermont—Burlington, Vermont

1:30–3:00 p.m.
Building a Coalition for the Recruitment and Retention of Minority Faculty, Staff and Students
This session will cover the strategies implemented in the last year to increase minority faculty, staff, and students on the campus of the University of Texas at Arlington, a predominantly white university.  The university increased its recruitment and retention of African Americans and Hispanics with targeted funds made available to deans and department heads.  This session will describe the collaboration of the African American Alumni Chapter, the African American Faculty and Staff Association, community leaders and the university president and provost.  This partnership project began acrimoniously but has since developed into a mutually beneficial professional alliance.  This session should particularly benefit those who are interested in developing innovative strategies and partnerships to recruit and retain minority faculty, staff and students at predominantly white institutions.

Timeka Gordon, NCAA CHAMPS/Life Skills Coordinator, Intercollegiate Athletics, and President, African-American Faculty and Staff Association, University of Texas—Arlington, Texas  
Zeb Strong Jr., Director, Student Activities, Tarrant County College South Campus—Fort Worth, Texas    

1:30–3:00 p.m.       
The Media Watchdog Project on Race, Ethnicity and Media Literacy: Teaching and Training University Students to Work in Under-Resourced Schools
Based on an eight-year partnership between the facilitator and schools in the local area, this session will cover the benefits, issues, difficulties, concerns, and skills needed to develop and implement similar long-term partnerships between universities and schools in marginalized and underserved communities.  The presenters will discuss the content and curriculum of a race, ethnicity and media literacy program and strategies to examine “deficit” discourses about marginalized communities, as well as assumptions inherent in positions of racial and class privilege.  The session will also cover action-based research (and potential publication) for students and faculty.  Participants will be given materials necessary to design their own programs and assess available opportunities for local long-term partnerships.  This session should particularly benefit the faculty who works with graduate and undergraduate students to facilitate community-based learning and who wish to conduct research on racial and ethnic identity. It will also benefit teachers and students working with middle school students in underserved communities with underperforming schools.

Leda Cooks, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Communication, University of Massachusetts—Amherst, Massachusetts

1:30–3:00 p.m.
Beyond Words and Into Action: Building Inclusive Environments in a Predominantly White Institution
This session will provide an overview of the Diversity Action Plan developed by the Housing and Dining Services at Oregon State University.  Developed over several years, this plan involved self discovery, vision, research, and implementation to meet the social and educational needs of our students.  The session will outline the plan itself, what needs the plan met, and its intended outcomes.  Presenters will cover a step-by-step description of the plan’s development, as well as the history, rationale, and the motivation for creating it. Through sharing experiences, the session will impart a practical model from which others can learn.  This session should particularly benefit those who wish to develop an action plan for their department, organization, or institution to improve service and performance in the area of diversity.

Katherine Betts, Coordinator, Multicultural Resource, University Housing and Dining Services (UHDS), Oregon State University—Corvallis, Oregon    
Dave Craig, Assistant Director, Residential Life, University Housing and Dining Services (UHDS), Oregon State University—Corvallis, Oregon   
Erik Elordi, Resident Director, University Housing and Dining Services (UHDS), Oregon State University—Corvallis, Oregon   
Megan Full, Operations Assistant, University Housing and Dining Services (UHDS), Oregon State University—Corvallis, Oregon    Eric Hansen, Associate Director, University Housing and Dining Services (UHDS), Oregon State University—Corvallis, Oregon  
Willie Morgan, Resident Director, University Housing and Dining Services (UHDS), Oregon State University—Corvallis, Oregon   
Viki Taylor, Assistant Manager, Finance and Business Services Unit, University Housing and Dining Services (UHDS), Oregon State University—Corvallis, Oregon   
Jennifer Viña, Coordinator, Marketing and Assessment, University Housing and Dining Services (UHDS), Oregon State University—Corvallis, Oregon

1:30–3:00 p.m.       
 “The Problem is in ME”: Thinking, Talking and Acting on Race, Racism and Teaching
This session examines a year-long project, Summer Institute: Infusing Diversity in the General Education Curriculum, at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. In June 2007, 12 white faculty and instructors participated in an intense two-week Institute. The institute focused on teaching courses that are inclusive of multiple histories, experiences, epistemologies, and pedagogies. Participants modified the existing General Education course syllabus or created a new course for Fall 2007, and continued meeting throughout the year. This session provides insight into developing an effective learning community, creative approaches to confronting race, racism and color-blindness in white teachers, and assessment results from Summer Institute teachers and their students. This session should particularly benefit those interested in how a learning community and critical race theory moved a white teacher to say, “The problem is in ME.” The session ends with organizers addressing challenges and possibilities for organizational change as they prepare for the Second Summer Institute in June 2008.

Fay Akindes, Director, Center for Ethnic Studies, University of Wisconsin-Parkside—Kenosha, Wisconsin  
Eugene Fujimoto, Assistant to the Chancellor for Equity and Diversity, University of Wisconsin-Parkside—Kenosha, Wisconsin  
Roseann Mason, Director, Community Dialogues, University of Wisconsin-Parkside—Kenosha, Wisconsin

1:30–3:00 p.m.       
Oreos and Bananas: Got Any Milk To Go With That?
This interactive session explores the personal experiences of two women, an Asian and an African American, as professionals in higher education.  The struggle for professional acceptance in the workplace as well as the struggle for acceptance within their own communities is examined from the perspective of the intellectual as an outsider.  This session will focus specifically on the perception of minority professionals “acting white.”  Thus the Oreo (black on the outside, white on the inside) and the banana (yellow on the outside, white on the inside) explore their marginalization as professionals.  Presenters will share strategies that can be used to move the “outsider” to an insider as a competent, capable professional.  This session should particularly benefit those who seek to broaden their awareness of the experiences of the “other” and are interested in taking an active role as change agents in creating an environment of inclusion in higher education.

Vannee Cao-Nguyen, Ph.D., Assistant Director, Student Disability Resource Center, University of West Florida—Pensacola, Florida    
Lusharon Wiley, Ph.D., Associate Dean of Students, University of West Florida—Pensacola, Florida

1:30–3:00 p.m.       
Targeted and Timely Strategies—The Evolution of the Visions Mentoring Program
In this session will examine a series of targeted and timely strategies that were implemented to change the retention and graduation rates of African-American first year students in Wright State University. Presenters will discuss and explain how the program was developed and implemented and how these changes increased the effectiveness and performance of the students who participated.  Participants will gain insight from mentors who were actively involved in recent implementation of the program modification and enhancements. This session will include a preview of mentoring programs that are used at universities and colleges across America.  The presentation will compare and contrast various mentoring models with the approaches used by the Visions Mentoring Program at Wright State University.  This session should particularly benefit the faculty, staff and Student Affairs professionals who are interested in finding ways to improve the retention of underrepresented students.

Stanford Baddley, Director, Academic Support Programs for Minority Students, Wright State University—Dayton, Ohio  
Elizabeth Beemer, Undergraduate Student, Organizational Leadership Major, Wright State University—Dayton, Ohio
Martin Gooden, Ph.D., Professor, Psychology Department, Wright State University—Dayton, Ohio  
Syreta Gould, Undergraduate Student, Psychology Major, Wright State University—Dayton, Ohio
Karla Hill, Undergraduate Student, Nursing Major, Wright State University—Dayton, Ohio

1:30–3:00 p.m.       
Reducing Health Disparities in the State of Missouri
This session will provide an overview of the national health disparities that exist in the United States and strategies that have been suggested to eliminate them.  It will also discuss the perceptions that individuals possessed about the factors that contributed to health disparities within the State of Missouri. Moreover, it will report the recommendations that were stated in the Health Disparity Elimination Plan to lessen the presence of health disparities within Missouri.  This session should particularly benefit those who are interested in gaining more knowledge about the strategies that can be implemented at the state level to reduce the occurrence of health disparities among gender, age, ethnic and socio-economic groups.

Cheryl Avant, Chief, MBA, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services—Jefferson City, Missouri   
Nadie DuBose, Project Specialist, Office of Minority Health, Department of Health and Senior Services—Jefferson City, Missouri

1:30–3:30 p.m.
Conflictual Issues in Education: Addressing Tensions Within Contested Areas of Race, Class, Gender, Culture, Ethnicity, Ablism and Identity in the Context of an Antiracist Educational Framework
This session will examine the conflict in local schools and communities in the City of Toronto and it will offer solutions to the challenges of various groups in diverse urban areas.  It takes into consideration antiracist education as a discursive framework.  The model uses specific methods to resolve disputes and produce options for inclusive schooling and community involvement.  The session is beneficial for educators at the elementary, secondary and post-secondary levels, as well as community development specialists, who are interested in achieving the synergy between schools and communities, taking into consideration policy development, leadership, school-community partnerships, curriculum, staff development and employment practices.  Undergraduate and graduate students doing ethnographic research in the field of equity studies are also encouraged to attend.

Kirk Mark, Doctoral Candidate, Anti-Racism, Department of Sociology and Equity Studies in Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto; Coordinator, Race and Ethnic Relations Multiculturalism, Curriculum and Accountability Department, Toronto Catholic District School Board—Toronto, Ontario

1:30–3:30 p.m.       
A Model of an Integrative “Multicultural Affairs” Office
This session describes the advocacy and support for, as well as institution-wide intercultural education of traditionally under-represented and under-served students at the Office of Intercultural Relations at Lake Forest College.  Presenters will provide information on the evolution of the office from "Minority Affairs" to "Intercultural Relations," and describe the structure of the office, its institutional linkage and challenges.  In addition, the presentation will share insights gained since the inception of the office in 1987.  Finally, this session will afford professionals the opportunity to consider how duel goals of support and education would work in their institution. This session should particularly benefit those who are interested in integrating offices such as multicultural affairs, international student services, GLBT, and interfaith departments. It should also benefit intercultural educators whose departments have a single charge and those interested in learning how multicultural offices with broad charges balance departmental and institutional goals and missions while simultaneously meeting the needs of various constituent groups.
  
Rob Allan Flot, Doctoral Candidate, Counseling Psychology; Associate Dean of Students, and Director, Intercultural Relations, Lake Forest College—Lake Forest, Illinois    
Erin A. Mink Garvey, Program Coordinator, Office of Intercultural Relations and Office of Residence Life, Lake Forest College—Lake Forest, Illinois

1:30–3:30 p.m.       
Contemplative Education and Diversity: A Unique Model
This interactive session will explore a unique model of teaching diversity and contemplative education at Naropa University, a Buddhist inspired institution.  Presenters will discuss how using contemplative practices and deeply exploring multicultural histories, including oppression in the United States and its impact on global society, will expand the ability of students to learn new perspectives.  Topics covered will include the results of having this as a required course for all students, the theoretical models used, and an experiential activity.  This session should particularly benefit those who are interested in world view transformation, teaching multicultural awareness, and who are looking for innovation.

Suzanne Benally, Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs and Chief Diversity Officer; Core Faculty, Environmental Studies, Naropa University—Boulder, Colorado   
Jeanine M. Canty, Ph.D., Core Faculty, Environmental Studies, Naropa University—Boulder, Colorado 
Barbara Catbagan, Core Faculty, Transpersonal Counseling Psychology; Director of Counseling Psychology, and Coordinator of Diversity of Seminar, Naropa University—Boulder, Colorado  
Samantha Wall, Diversity Instructor, Naropa University—Boulder, Colorado