This highly interactive session will address the various ways that media organize ideas and disseminate values related to diversity. The session will involve the analysis of a broad range of media and will focus on the treatment of specific groups, of intergroup relations, and of the theme of diversity itself. Emphasis will be on how to become more analytical media consumers and how to help others to more actively interact with the media.

Carlos E. Cortés, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Department of History, University of California—Riverside, California

Most colleges and universities have established faculty diversity as an institutional goal but steps toward recruitment are often not articulated, few are asked to be responsible for improvements, rarely is someone held accountable for search outcomes, and retention is assumed. Since new hires typically occur at the departmental level, faculty members need to accept responsibility and develop the skills and networks to advance both the recruitment and retention of a diverse faculty. In this session presenters will engage participants in an exploration of the specific challenges they face in their campus efforts, present strategies to meet the challenge, and share recent research that indicates that in order to make progress, part of which is to pay as much attention to retention as to recruitment of underrepresented minority faculty.

Alma Clayton-Pedersen, Ph.D., Vice President, Education and Institutional Renewal, Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)—Washington, D.C.

José F. Moreno, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Chicano and Latino Studies, California State University—Long Beach, California        

The Shape of the River is a study of race-based admission policies (“affirmative action”) at 28 selective colleges and universities published by two former Ivy League presidents, Princeton’s William Bowen, and Harvard’s Derek Bok. During their tenure as university presidents, Bowen and Bok were energetic supporters of what they call “race sensitive admissions” that were designed to increase the enrollment of minority students, particularly African Americans, at elite universities by making race a huge “plus-factor” in the overall admissions process. Although acknowledging some troubling developments with this policy, especially the fact that the African American students admitted to the elite institutions they surveyed did considerably worse in terms of their final class rankings (average class rank: 23rd percentile) than even their much lower entering SAT scores would have predicted, Bowen and Bok strongly defend “race sensitive admissions” on the grounds that it has helped to create a thriving black leadership class, has greatly enhanced the overall atmosphere on college campuses by its contribution to student diversity, and has the support of students of all races. Since the publication of The Shape of the River in 1998 a fair amount of research has been done by economists, political scientists, and others which does not always support the sanguine picture of race-based admissions policies promoted by Bowen and Bok. In this session, the presenter will describe some of this recent critical literature, and will contend that it confirms many of the claims and warnings about racial preferences in university admissions that were made in the past by early critics of the policy such as Thomas Sowell and Shelby Steele. I hope, this presentation will provoke lively discussion and debate.

Russell Nieli, Ph.D., Lecturer, Politics Department, Princeton University—Princeton, New Jersey

This session provides the tools and strategies necessary to successfully navigate the job search process and guide your long-term career planning. Learn how to create a compelling cover letter, resume or curriculum vitae, select references, position yourself to emerge from the interview stage as the leading candidate, successfully negotiate a win-win package, and then smoothly transition into your next position. In addition, you will better understand the role of search consultants and how to secure them as your allies. The session is designed for early through mid-career professionals by providing an opportunity to engage with others on the topic of career pathways.

Sharon J. Washington, Ph.D., Interim Director, Faculty Equity Programs, University of California Office of the President—Oakland, California

This session will focus on understanding and appreciating both the explicit and implicit yet subtle and embedded requirements of tenure track positions. Strategies will be presented to build effective support systems that include mentoring teams and networking within departments and colleges. Advice will be shared about avoiding and coping with pitfalls and sources of negativity that confront ethnic minority faculty. A case study will be used to illustrate how substantive diversity within the faculty can occur in a university that has strong, proactive leadership from key upper level academic administrators.

Blannie E. Bowen, Ph.D., Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Pennsylvania State University, served as a Department Head, Associate Dean, and Senior Faculty Mentor for Minority Faculty—University Park, Pennsylvania

This session draws from work which synthesizes insights of academics that were at the forefront of the development and institutionalization of intersectional work in the U.S. academy. Based on data and findings from conversations with intersectional scholars in a variety of higher educational institutions conducted in 2000, it discusses their efforts to integrate new forms of interdisciplinary knowledge around race, class, and gender into their own academic institutions. Some of the issues discussed are network building, financial resources, personal sacrifice, leadership, strategic alliances and institutional support. The essay derives a set of lessons both for a subsequent generation of scholars who will, hopefully, continue this work and administrators who have the will to assure diverse perspectives in the production and dissemination of knowledge about difference and persistent patterns of inequality in the United States. Though the findings from the interviews convey the belief that intersectional work remains today at the margins of the academic enterprise, they also demonstrate that the ability to grow and sustain intersectional scholarship has depended to a large extent on faculty whose personal commitments and intellectual interests led them to leadership positions where—by dint of hard work, sacrifice and strategic alliances—they successfully garnered university support for these initiatives.

Bonnie Thornton Dill, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Women’s Studies, and Director, Consortium on Race, Gender and Ethnicity, University of Maryland—College Park, Maryland

The presenter’s presentation and screening of his Reel Bad Arabs documentary exposes damaging stereotypes of the Arab people, and Islam. The groundbreaking documentary Reel Bad Arabs dissects a slanderous aspect of cinematic history that has run virtually unchallenged. Dr. Shaheen will discuss how the persistence of these images over time has served to naturalize prejudicial attitudes toward Arabs and Arab culture, in the process reinforcing a narrow view of individual Arabs and the effects of specific U.S. domestic and international policies on their lives. By inspiring critical thinking about the social, political, and basic human consequences of leaving these Hollywood caricatures unexamined, the film challenges viewers to recognize the urgent need for counter-narratives that do justice to the diversity and humanity of Arab people and the reality and richness of Arab history and culture. Continuously repeated, the media narrow our vision and distort reality, denigrating an entire people—Arabs, Asians, Blacks, Jews, Native Americans and others.

Jack Shaheen, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Mass Communications, Southern Illinois University, his new documentary is Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People—Edwardsville, Illinois

Contemporary Christian privilege in the U.S. is a result of a founding myth and a 300 year historical tradition of Christian hegemony and domination over non-Christian religions.  The ramifications of this ongoing tradition of religious privilege present a challenging social justice issue in current American society.  Especially in higher education as well as in public schooling it is an area for teachers and administrators to explore, from the perspectives of their own and their students’ religious identity perspectives.  Such exploration can aid in designing classroom curricula and school policy that acknowledges the pluralism and diversity of students from non-Christian religious communities within the U.S. Christian hegemony is a form of privilege that is rarely discussed as part of a social justice, anti-oppression or multicultural agenda.  Religion is often conceptualized as if it were solely a matter of individual choice, rather than an issue of social group identity and cohesion, associated with social, political and legal advantage or disadvantage, and often conflated with race and ethnicity.  Though the patterns of domination and subordination associated with advantaged or targeted religious groups have received considerable scholarly and media attention after 9/11, when Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh communities experienced increasing levels of stereotyping, harassment and exclusion, this examination often occurs without  challenging Christian hegemony.
This session will include several brief formal presentations to frame the historical and Constitutional basis for Christian hegemony and privilege in U.S. patterns of religious domination and subordination.  The greater part of the session will be devoted to interactive, experiential and small group activities. We will focus on historical and Constitutional backgrounds, efforts to contest Christian hegemony, and the challenges for Hindu and Muslim students in U.S. schools and colleges.  Participants will be provided an opportunity to examine their own socialization relative to Christian hegemony and the development of attitudes, beliefs and behavior patterns that support and reinforce Christian hegemony. For many participants, this will be a first opportunity to explore and discuss historical and institutional patterns, and personal experiences, of Christian hegemony or exclusion.  For school and higher education teachers and administrators, this session presents an opportunity to explore the historical, systemic and personal ramifications of these difficult and complicated issues.  Participants will be encouraged to consider how they might bring issues of Christian privilege into classroom curricula , develop more equitable religious programs and policies, and consider ways that institutional policies and procedures contribute to the maintenance of Christian hegemony.
See the revised (2007) edition of Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice (edited Maurianne Adams, Lee Bell, Pat Griffin), in a new chapter on “Religious Oppression Curriculum Design.” (authors: Maurianne Adams and Khyati Joshi)

Maurianne Adams, Ed.D., Professor of Education, Social Justice Education Concentration, University of Massachusetts—Amherst, Massachusetts

Khyati Y. Joshi, Ed.D., Assistant Professor of Education,  Fairleigh Dickinson University—Teaneck, New Jersey

Barbara J. Love, Ed.D., Professor of Education, Social Justice Education concentration, University of Massachusetts—Amherst, Massachusetts

This session will present the Secretary of Education's Commission on the Future of Education that called attention to three key challenges facing American higher education: the escalation in tuition and fees, the stagnation in college enrollment and completion levels, and the lack of accountability in the system.  At issue is whether American higher education will respond appropriately to these challenges or whether this here-to-fore extraordinary enterprise has become, to use the language of the report, "...increasingly risk averse, at times self-satisfied, and unduly expensive."

Arturo Madrid, Ph.D., Norine R. and T. Frank Murchison Distinguished Professor of the Humanities, Spanish Language, Spanish-American and Mexican-American Literature, Latino Culture in the U.S., Trinity University—San Antonio, Texas

This session will describe a new initiative launched by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) that argues that educating for personal and social responsibility is no longer elective but an essential dimension of college learning in both curricular and co-curricular life for the 21st century. At the center of such learning are the insights of the diversity movement in the last three decades. Core Commitments focuses on five dimensions: striving for excellence; personal and academic integrity; taking seriously the perspectives of others; contributing to the larger community; and moral and ethical reasoning. After learning more details about how campuses across the country are seeking comprehensive approaches to this kind of learning, participants will be invited to examine how their institutions might contribute to this larger national dialogue and line of research. A key challenge is to make the diversity work more visible and to build stronger collaborations between diversity practitioners and others who enter this work through other portals.

Caryn McTighe Musil, Ph.D., Project Director, Senior Vice President, Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)—Washington, D.C.

In recent years, the political Right in the United States has increasingly gained influence over education reforms nationally and locally. This session examines the strategies of the Right and the Left, particularly their use of language and ability to frame or re-frame the debate. Participants will gain an understanding of the landscape of the Right and the complex ways that its various initiatives intersect race, gender, and the economy. In particular, participants will critically examine racial disparities in education, particularly the "achievement gap," and ways that such discussions fuel the assimilationist demands of the model-minority stereotype of Asian Americans. The session concludes with possible directions for anti-oppressive reframings that can build a broader coalition on the Left.

Kevin K. Kumashiro, Ph.D., Director, Center for Anti-Oppressive Education; and Associate Professor, Education, University of Illinois—Chicago, Illinois

In this session, presenter will discuss findings from a recent monograph (co-authored with Mitchell Chang and Anthony Antonio) for the Association of American Colleges and Universities Making Excellence Inclusive Initiative. In his monograph, Making Diversity Work on Campus: A Research Based Perspective, the presenter discusses recent empirical evidence that demonstrates the educational benefits of diverse learning environments. The evidence, gathered on behalf of the University of Michigan in its defense of its affirmative action policies before the Supreme Court, indicates that diversity must be carried out in intentional ways in order to accrue educational benefits for students and for the institution.

We argue persuasively for a conception of diversity as a process toward better learning rather than as an outcome—a certain percentage of students of color, a certain number of programs—to be checked off a list. We also provide numerous suggestions for how to “engage” diversity in the service of learning, ranging from recruiting a compositionally diverse student body, faculty, and staff; to developing a positive campus climate; to transforming curriculum, co-curriculum, and pedagogy to reflect and support goals for inclusion and excellence.

Jeffrey F. Milem, Ph.D., Professor, Center for the Study of Higher Education, College of Education, University of Arizona—Tucson, Arizona

In this session, participants will explore a model for identifying and analyzing manifestations of racism and internalized racism in the classroom along with a framework for interrupting and responding to racism and internalized racism in the classroom. This framework for analysis includes definitions of key terms and a discussion of power and privilege as primary indicators to be used in the identification and analysis of racism and internalized racism.  A series of classroom scenarios will provide opportunities for participants to gain experience applying this frame to the identification and analysis of racism and internalized racism in the classroom.  Participants will discuss five Elements of a Liberatory Consciousness as a framework for developing liberatory responses to racism and internalized racism. Liberatory responses are characterized as those interventions that enable individuals and members of groups to move beyond guilt and shame to Empowered Retrieval, Transformation and Liberation.

Barbara J. Love, Ed.D., Professor of Education, Social Justice Education concentration, University of Massachusetts—Amherst, Massachusetts

In this session we will explore the unique ways that class plays out within communities of color. By addressing class in a framework that takes race fully into account we hope to create the conditions to talk about how class separates us and expand our understanding of how race intersects with class within the United States.  Join us as we move the conversation from around the kitchen table to within our institutions. 

Rhonda Soto, Program Coordinator, Race/Class Intersections, Class Action (a national non-profit focusing on issues of social class and money, and their impact on our individual lives, our relationships, organizations, institutions, and culture)—Northampton, Massachusetts

Higher education is the access channel to upward mobility. In this session we will focus on reconciling our blue-collar upbringing with the white-collar world of higher education, that we now inhabit. If you’re the first in your family to go to college; if you’re a “white collar” child of “blue collar” parents; if you feel you crossed over from one world to another; if you’re unfamiliar with the hidden rules of professional middle class life; or if you’ve experienced the downsides, as well as the upsides, of class mobility than join Class Action to explore the joys and pitfalls of straddling class. We will look at the lasting consequences of class mobility in America, and examine the differences between typical working-class values like the importance of hard work, loyalty to family and community, and those of the professional middle class.  We will talk about the unique perspective we have from straddling two social class zones. We will engage in participatory activities, reflection, sharing, laughing, and having the chance to feel at home in the world in between.

Felice Yeskel, Ed.D., Executive Director, Class Action (a national non-profit focusing on issues of social class and money, and their impact on our individual lives, our relationships, organizations, institutions, and culture)—Northampton, Massachusetts

As campuses and professional schools hire more women and under-represented minority faculty, these new hires often find themselves placed in puzzling and demanding “solo” roles. That is, the new hires will have to cope with being the only one or one of only a few women or a few minorities in their departments. Organizational behaviorists and psychologists have documented the extra stresses and bewildering dynamics that solos/pioneers often have to deal with. What pro-active steps and interventions must campuses and professional schools undertake to insure that solo hires thrive in their new settings? This highly interactive session will use scenarios from JoAnn Moody’s new booklet Solo Faculty: Increasing Retention and Reducing Stress.

Debra Walker King, Ph.D., Associate Provost for Faculty Development, and Associate Professor of English, University of Florida—Gainesville, Florida

JoAnn Moody, Ph.D., J.D., Faculty Developer and National Higher Education Consultant; and Director, Northeast Consortium for Faculty Diversity—San Diego, California

Many of us who are white see ourselves as being part of the human race rather than having a particular racial identity. Because of the ways that the systemic supremacy of whiteness has been created, we see others as being connected to members of their race, but we have little sense that is true for us as well. When it happens we are surprised when people of color clump us with other whites. This session has been designed to help us move from a sense of confusion or discomfort about who we are to taking the initiative for bringing about racial justice in our institutions. We will talk about: Rechanneling the energy expended on feelings of guilt; addressing the resistance to seeing ourselves connected to those we deem to be racists; keeping whiteness explicit in our actions and conversations; and creating an on-going journey of working personally, interpersonally, and systemically for racial justice.

Frances E. Kendall, Ph.D., Consultant on Organizational Change and Communication, Specializing in the Issues of Diversity—Albany, California

Colleges and universities can no longer afford to hire faculty and staff who are not culturally competent.  Each college and university faces different challenges in this area.  This workshop is designed to provide participants with practical methods and strategies they can adapt for use on their own campuses, and for the types of cultural competence most needed by their institutions.  Participants will work together to identify various dimensions of cultural competence, and will focus on which of these represent the most critical needs for their particular institutions.  Participants will learn practical methods and strategies will include (1) designing appropriate advertisements; (2) improving paper screening procedures, (3) writing effective interview and reference questions; and, (4) designing demonstrations that effectively measure cultural competence.

Cristine Clifford Cullinan, Ph.D., Training and Development Administrator, University of Oregon—Eugene, Oregon

This session will address the diversity-related changes that are rapidly reshaping our nation and the globe.  In addition, it will make projections and pose dilemmas about the challenges the coming years are likely to bring.  In particular, the session will focus on what leadership is likely to mean in this changing environment and how we can help prepare students for diversity-related leadership opportunities.

Carlos E. Cortés, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Department of History, University of California—Riverside, California

This session will engage participants in working with a pedagogy based on indigenous, nondual epistemology. Participants will be guided in the process of approaching teaching and learning in a way that embraces the learner’s full complexity of mind, body and spirit.

Laura Rendón, Ph.D., Professor and Department Chair, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Iowa State University—Ames, Iowa

The session provides an opportunity for practitioners and conferees to examine the findings from recent research on the Gates Millennium Scholarship Program and a campus-based intervention designed to facilitate access and persistence of students in postsecondary education. The findings include evidence on the recruitment, transition and retention of underrepresented students. Presenters will focus on the importance of high school attributes including their racial composition and curriculum offerings, the significance of engagement (both civic and academic), campus climate, support services, and critical mass.

William T. Trent, Ph.D., Professor, Educational Policy Studies, University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign, Illinois

For many educators, the term Indigenous is difficult to comprehend. Indigenous is used to describe the people whose ancestors were the original inhabitants of their land, and who survived despite the oppression inflected on them by illegally established colonial systems.  The term has become globally accepted by Indigenous peoples themselves and is used by the United Nations.  There are more than 250 million Indigenous people worldwide, who reside in over 70 countries. Indigenous people have a definite sense of who they are and what it means to identify as unique peoples within their own lands, language and culture.  They stand by their right to define what it means to be Indigenous and to be recognized as such by others.
The purpose of this session will be to bring clarity to the meaning of Indigenous education and to widen the discussion concerning its connection to educational decolonization, cultural competency, and the empowerment of Indigenous peoples. Through studies in Indigenous education students gain a global perspective of the role education has played as an instrument of oppression and how Indigenous nations have decolonized educational systems to reclaim their cultural identities and to restore their political power.

Deirdre A. Almeida, Ed.D., Associate Professor and Director, American Indian Studies Program, Eastern Washington University—Cheney, Washington

We often assume that if we obtain favorable judicial legislative, or policy decisions in support of minority social rights, we have achieved a victory. In reality, laws may reflect rather than lead public morality. Social change agents must be more sophisticated in planning and implementing programs. This session will examine social change strategies and the role political forces play in the process.

William R. Carmack, Ph.D., Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Communications and former Chair of Communications, The University of Oklahoma—Norman, Oklahoma

Excellence and diversity are intimately intertwined.  Excellence is the prize and diversity, a necessary prerequisite for its attainment.  Unleashing the potent powers of assessment cultivates and sustains excellence when we resourcefully work it for the greater good of those we seek to serve.   Assessment and evaluative judgments are inextricably bound up with culture and context so engaging diversity offers an essential resource.   Excellence demands that we “know the prize” from multiple vantage points so that we can keep our eyes focused on it.  The ultimate prize resides in students and others who receive our services or products vis a vis our outcome promises and success vision.
In what ways and to what extent are your curricular, co-curricular, pedagogical and other intervention activities breathing life into that vision for all segments of your target population?  How do you know what you have accomplished and to what extent do your evaluative judgments resonate with the lived realities of the persons that you assess—experiential validity?   These questions spotlight "interpersonal validity" issues which demand ongoing personal homework.   Addressing these issues—self as contextually-responsive knower, inquirer and engager—calls for a lifelong learning and reflective practice journey that I invite us to explore together.  

Hazel Symonette, Ph.D., Senior Policy and Program Development Specialist, Offices of the Dean of Students and Office of Human Resource  Development, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Wisconsin

This session has three very practical goals: (1) providing participants with tools to assess the perspectives of the members of their audiences, so they can more appropriately target diversity and equity training programs for maximum effectiveness; (2) practicing how to identify the appropriate domains of learning - cognitive, affective and/or skill-building - for your learning goals, either in classroom teaching or workplace training; and, (3) learning to design, facilitate and evaluate learning activities in each of these domains. Participants will receive copies of curriculum design materials, including exercise descriptions and directions, for use on their own campuses.

Cristine Clifford Cullinan, Ph.D., Training and Development Administrator, University of Oregon—Eugene, Oregon

"A Conversation with Alana" is one-person autobiographical play written and performed by Carlos  Cortés.  In his play, Cortés presents his story of growing up as a young man of mixed ancestry in racially segregated, religiously divided early post-World War II Kansas City, Missouri.  The son of a Mexican Catholic immigrant father and an American-born Jewish mother, whose parents came from Austria and Ukraine, Cortés had to learn to navigate Kansas City's rigid racial, ethnic, and religious fault lines, while simultaneously dealing with the internal conflicts of his own divided family. 

Carlos E. Cortés, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Department of History, University of California—Riverside, California

Every year thousands of middle- and low-income high school seniors learn they've been rejected by America's top universities. What they may never learn is that candidates like themselves have been passed over for wealthy students with lesser credentials—Children of alumni, big donors or celebrities. The Price of Admission by Daniel Golden is an explosive book that exposes how America's richest families receive access to elite higher education—regardless of ability. It lays bare the inner workings of a system that favors the children of the rich and powerful, perpetuating privilege across generations and undermining the American dream of upward mobility.

The presenter/author of The Price of Admission: How America's Ruling Class Buys Its Way into Elite Colleges--and Who Gets Left Outside the Gates, will discuss preferences for wealthy white students in admissions to elite colleges and the implications for students of other backgrounds. Topics include: preferences for alumni children, development cases, and athletes in upper-class sports such as crew and squash; Harvard's secret "Z-list"; and why a 760 on the math SAT is considered an "Asian fail."

Daniel Golden, Senior Editor, Portfolio Magazine—New York, New York

In this session Indigenous Issues Forums facilitators Harley Eagle (Dakota) and
Ruth Yellowhawk (Wyandot) will share the artwork of Lakota artist Jim Yellowhawk (Lakota/Iroquois) to explore themes of boarding schools, addiction, and the value of understanding and transcending life's difficulties. In this highly participatory session, participants will be able to spend time with distinct pieces of artwork, then gather together to talk about them in terms of our own experiences and values. The session objectives are (1) to use Native art as a teaching/healing tool and as a catalyst for deep dialogue, (2) to provide opportunity for first hand participation in a wholistic talking circle process, (3) to present a discussion of curriculum models that embrace art in the workplace and classroom, and (4) to share and increase understanding and appreciation of restorative practices in our homes and in our communities.

Jim Yellow Hawk, Lakota artist—Rapid City, South Dakota

Ruth Yellow Hawk, Ph.D., Co-Director, Indigenous Issues Forums—Rapid City, South Dakotamailto:kfyellowhk@aol.com

Harley Eagle, Dakota/Salteaux First Nations, enrolled in the Wapaha Ska Dakota First Nations Reserve, in Saskatchewan, Canada—Winnipeg, Canada

In this session, participants will learn about the various national databases available that provide rich information about race- and ethnicity-related constructs, experiences, and outcomes including, but not limited to: National Science Foundation (NSF) datasets (e.g., Survey of Doctorate Recipients, Recent College Graduates Survey, etc.); U.S. Department of Education datasets (e.g., NELS, B&B, High School & Beyond, etc.); and archival data hosted at the University of Michigan (e.g., Survey of Black Households, etc.). The session will be divided into two main sections, first, participants will learn how to access these sources by way of online archive portals and "seemingly complex" application procedures for restricted data licenses through NCES and NSF. As an experienced analyst of secondary data, the presenter will clarify the application process and provide practical recommendations for satisfying the security/clearance requirements. Participants will work through a number of exercises to develop the framework for their restricted-license application. The second half of the session will focus on analyzing national data. In this session, the presenter will address technical issues that tend to loom "threatening" to novice and inexperienced users. These issues range from writing syntax to open files in statistical analysis packages to handling missing cases, applying appropriate sampling weights to recoding variables to suit one's research questions. Admittedly, these procedures can be convoluted and cumbersome but I will offer participants a "map" for successfully navigating this statistical/technical terrain. Finally, we will "groupthink" about various ways in which participants can apply these new skills to their research on race and ethnicity.

Terrell L. Strayhorn, Ph.D., Assistant professor and Special Assistant to the Provost, Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling, University of Tennessee—Knoxville, Tennessee

The purpose of this session is to provide a platform for learning and dialogue that will allow us to explore the subject of internalized racial oppression, internalized racial supremacy and their impact upon our lives.  The history and social contexts of race, racism, privilege and power get encoded within us, and then externalized through our behaviors.  These behaviors are made manifest in our relationships, communities, cultures and institutions—all of which comprise the systems we live in.  These systems are rooted in and connected to specific historical and social contexts.  During our time together we will consider both the historical and social contexts, as well as the consequences of the beliefs and behaviors that give rise to denial, internalized dominance, entitlement and their corresponding manifestations. We will also explore the inherent role internalized racial oppression and internalized racial supremacy play in “compelling” all of us to participate in systems that are designed —by their very nature—to reinforce themselves. When patterns of internalized racial oppression and dominance are made visible, we have more choices in working towards effectively towards dismantling them.  We will look at how cultural identity development, intercultural relations, intra-cultural rejection, cross-cultural disassociation, and their subsequent influences upon our institutionalized socio-political realities, keep us from developing the capacities that are needed to enhance the respective worlds we live in.  These contexts and topics will be woven together through presentations of historical, social and contemporary challenges. As a learning community we will utilize experiential, didactic and creative approaches to engage all of our powers and resources of body, mind, heart and imagination.

Mike Benitez Jr., Director for Intercultural Development and Director of Portlock Black Cultural Center, Lafayette College—Easton, Pennsylvania

Shakti Butler, Ph.D., Executive Director, World Trust Educational Services, Inc., Producer, Director of The Way Home, Light in the Shadows and Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible—Oakland, California

Victor Lee Lewis, Internationally recognized leader and scholar in the field of anti-oppression diversity work and alliance-building; Co-Director and Founder, Center for Diversity Leadership—Berkeley, California

Peggy McIntosh, Ph.D., Associate Director, Center for Research on Women, Wellesley College; Founder and Co-Director, National SEED Project on Inclusive Curriculum—Wellesley, Massachusetts

Tim Wise, Leading Anti-Racism Educator, Activist, and Author—Nashville, Tennessee            

The chief diversity officer (CDO) can be found in the government, healthcare, higher education, and business sectors. What are the similarities and differences in their roles and responsibilities across the sectors in which they serve as diversity leaders? What can they learn from each other and what is needed to help them communicate and collaborate? What are some specific incentives for collaborating? These are some of the major questions the panel will address. The audience will better understand the CDO's role and responsibilities, the challenges of doing the work, and what to needed to serve in the position across sectors.

Corporate Representatives:
Clayton Osborne, Vice President, Human Resources & Equity, Bausch & Lomb—Rochester, New York

Baraz Samiian, Ph.D., Corporate Learning & Diversity, Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Florida—Jacksonville, Florida

Francine Small, Vice President,  Diversity & Inclusion, Cook Group, Inc.—Bloomington, Indiana


Higher Education Representatives:
Damon Williams, Ph.D., Assistant Vice Provost, Multicultural & International Affairs , University of Connecticut—Storrs, Connecticut

Benjamin Reese, PsyD, Vice President of the Office for Institutional Equity, Duke University—Durham, North Carolina

Nydia Gonzalez, Chief Diversity Officer, Human Resources, Yale University—New Haven, Connecticut


Moderator:
Billy Vaughn, Ph.D., Chief Learning Officer, Diversity Training University International—San Francisco, California

This highly interactive session seeks to create an environment where participants speak openly about their experiences, concerns, or questions related to being a multiracial person, or working with multiracial people on campus. Using dialogue, as well as activities that promote deeper levels of introspection and discussion, participants gain greater understanding of issues facing multiracial students, the impact of their own beliefs and attitudes on their ability to work with multiracial students, and conditions that promote or block coalition building between multiracial people and other racial communities. In addition, participants are encouraged to openly grapple with larger questions raised by increasing numbers of people who identify as multiracial, such as what constitutes race, how should multiracial people identify and be identified in terms of race, and the impact of multiracial students on other demographic groups on campus. Examples of successful campus programs or interventions related to multiracial students will also be shared.

Jim Bonilla, Ed.D., Associate Professor, Conflict Studies, Graduate School of Management; Faculty Coordinator for Diversity Resources; and Director, The Race, Gender & Beyond Faculty Development Project, Hamline University—St. Paul, Minnesota

Charmaine L. Wijeyesinghe, Ed.D., Consultant in Organizational Development and Social Justice—Delmar, New York

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights recently declared that anti-Semitism is a “serious problem” on many college campuses. The Commission’s Staff Director will discuss examples of anti-Semitic hate and bias incidents identified throughout the country, presenting the Commission’s findings. Course instruction covers the nature and sources of the newly resurgent campus anti-Semitism; best practices for eliminating anti-Semitism and racism; institutional impediments to equal opportunity; First Amendment and academic freedom issues; and the role of federal civil rights agencies.

Kenneth L. Marcus, Staff Director, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, formerly delegated the authority of Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights—Washington, D.C.