2021 Conference on Diversity, Equity, and Student Success: Preconference Workshops

Wednesday, March 24, 2021 from 1:00-3:00 pm ET

Separate registration and fee required ($95 members; $155 non-members); registration is limited, so register early.

Workshop 1: Anti-Racism and Social Justice Across the Curriculum
As a response to the killing of George Floyd, President Adela de la Torre sent an email to the San Diego State community on Juneteenth outlining a ten-point plan to address racial inequality and support the African American community. This included the call to “[a]ll college deans [to] ensure that as part of the departmental diversity planning process each department will review existing coursework and/or develop new curricula to advance racial and social justice, anti-racism, and cultural diversity across the curriculum.” All departments and schools in the seven colleges have engaged in this process. We will share the materials used to launch the process as well as examples from the departments and schools who have drafted programmatic learning outcomes, revised syllabi and created new courses.
Norah Shultz, Professor of Sociology & Director of Inclusive Curriculum and Jennifer Imazeki, Associate Vice President of Faculty & Staff Diversity—both of San Diego State University

Workshop 2: Anti-Racism and Your Brain – Using Mental Bandwidth to Maximize Impact
For many people, anti-racist ideas and approaches are new, and therefore can create a state of cognitive dissonance—an uncomfortable mental experience consisting of conflicting attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors. Given that people have limited “mental bandwidth” for processing new ideas, cognitive dissonance can limit their ability to process and apply new ideas in ways that lead to meaningful change. However, there are strategies that can be used to increase the likelihood of success by reducing the cognitive dissonance experienced when learning about and interacting with anti-racist ideas, and also by focusing on policy and systems change to lower overall bandwidth demands. These strategies are critical in being able to elevate anti-racism as a priority in higher education, and to increase its potential effectiveness and sustainability.
Tina Bhargava, Associate Professor—Kent State University

Workshop 3: Creating Critical Community Engagement Spaces: A Campus & Community Strategy Session
This strategy session will share how one campus has approached training stakeholders to be aware of their implicit biases, how white supremacy culture has shaped this necessity, and the professional development opportunities one campus and their community partners use to avoid microaggressions and to create positive, critical service learning environments. Participants will leave with an understanding of microaggressions and implicit bias, and how they show up in service learning and community engagement spaces. They will develop a plan to encourage microresistence strategies in service learning and community engagement on their campuses.
Julie Dierberger, Paul Sather Distinguished Director, Service Learning Academy, LaTrina Parker Hall, P-16 Initiative Coordinator, and Kirsten Case Fuller, Community Liaison—all of University of Nebraska at Omaha

Workshop 4: Developing a Framework for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Work
2020’s perfect storm of COVID-19 and racial violence has, momentarily, refocused national attention on inequities based on circumstantial categories of identity (e.g., race, gender, gender, religion) and provided us with an opportunity to deepen awareness and broaden the work of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice (DEISJ) on our campuses. To be effective, however, this work needs to be focused on both inputs and outcomes on our campuses – on changing how we think about DEISJ issues while we program and process our learning communities toward more inclusive and equitable values and practices. This session will provide those who are in the development stages of diversity planning with the opportunity to reflect on that process, identify goals and stakeholders, and discuss strategic directions for this vital institutional work.
Karen Moranski, Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Jerlena Griffin-Desta, Associate Vice President for Diversity and Strategic Initiatives—both of Sonoma State University

Workshop 5: Embedding Experiential Learning to Enhance Inclusive Learning Outcomes
This session will provide a model of integrating experiential learning into a required second-year course designed to enhance all students’ ability to critically engage their ethical reasoning skills as culturally competent citizens. The facilitators provide evidence from seven years of program development and assessment to provide a model for developing a similar equity-minded, outcome-based curricular component that aligns with their given institution or program readiness and resources. As part of this process, participants will map stakeholders (i.e. students, staff, faculty, community members) and means for equitable engagement and collaboration with these potential partners. Participants will engage with the facilitators and colleagues, while also having an opportunity to process individually.
Riley Caldwell-O'Keefe, Director, Center for Teaching and Learning—Amherst College; and Matt Recla, Interim Associate Director of University Foundations and Lecturer in History—Boise State University

Workshop 6: Illuminating Greatness in Faculty Diversity, Retention, and Recruitment
Illuminating Greatness in Faculty Diversity, Retention, and Recruitment is a people strategy development workshop session that will help participants create a faculty diversity, retention, and recruitment people strategy to define, inform and guide your college or university's ambitious agenda for its workforce – highly talented people with superb industry skills, high-performing, and striving for greatness with a Higher Education focus on excellence, diversity, equity, inclusion and exceptional performance. Illuminating Greatness, aligned with the organization’s strategic plan toward diversity, equity and inclusion and the Seven Ambitions of Illuminating Greatness presented in the workshop, will enable your institution to deliver on your bold strategic plan and goals. High performing and highly diversified faculty in the colleges and universities do not just happen. It takes a great people strategy to create them! Illuminating Greatness will help your institution create a culture of excellence in faculty diversity, equity, inclusion, retention and recruitment.
Thelma Day, Dean of Academic Affairs—Los Angeles City College