The
theme this year is "Diversity in Education: The Danger of the Single
Story"
The
Davis Campus Opening will be held at the Davis Campus in Building 3 Ballroom
starting at 6:00 PM on Thursday, September 25th.
Light
refreshments will be served from 6:00 PM to 6:30 PM.
Opening
keynote speaker will be Dr. Forrest Crawford, former WSU Assistant to the
President for Diversity and professor of Teacher Education, starting at
6:30 PM. The keynote speaker for the following day during the conference will
also provide a brief introduction of his keynote speech around 7:30 PM.
The
Ogden Campus Conference will be held at the Ogden Campus in the Shepherd Union
Building, 3rd floor, from 8:30 AM to 1:30 PM on Friday, September 26th.
The
keynote speaker for this year's Diversity Conference will be Dr. Myron
Anderson, Chief Diversity Officer and Associate Professor of Education
Technology at Metro State University of Denver.
Breakout
sessions will be at 8:30 AM, 9:30 AM and 10:30 AM. Dr. Anderson will give his
keynote speech at 11:30 AM. The conference will end with a roundtable
discussion starting at 12:20 PM.
Information
booths will be set up throughout the Mezzanine to provide information about
student organizations and student services offered at Weber State University.
8:30 AM Sessions:
Disadvantages
in Education? Identity and Languages as Opportunities for Learning
Co-
Presenters: Morteza
Emami and Debi Sheridan
Session
Description: This
workshop will discuss the use of diverse language in the classroom and the
challenges cultural perceptions can raise.
Do
You See What I See? A Photovoice Assessment of LGBT Student Life at Weber State
University
Presenter:
Dr.
Laura Santurri
Session
Description:
This session will explore the perceptions and experiences of lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students at Weber State University (WSU) using
a participatory qualitative methodology called photovoice. Findings will
be shared to better understand the perceptions and experiences of LGBT students
of the overall academic environment, as well as their interactions with other
students, faculty, and staff. A photo exhibit will also be shared.
From
Pedagogy to Practice: Engaging Diversity in the Classroom
Presenters: Dr. Nicola Corbin,
Omar Guevara, Maria Parrilla de Kokal & Guests
Session
Description: Many
faculty members strive to be inclusive in their pedagogy about issues related
to race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality, but find it hard to develop
effective lesson plans to engage their students on these issues. This session
is geared toward faculty members and teachers who are uncomfortable having or
facilitating conversations about diversity and inclusion within the classroom.
This presentation focuses on strategies educators can use to effectively engage
students and material in a multi-dimensional manner, including but not limited
to using a broader array of in- and out-of-class resources, developing
effective discussion prompts, accounting for the (oft-unspoken and unseen)
diversity of the student population, and dealing with the occasional resistant
student(s).
9:30 AM Sessions:
Categorizing
Diversity as Disability: The Dangers of Categorizing in Education
Presenters: Dr. Melina Alexander
and Dr. J. Roberto García
Session
Description: Participants
will learn about some of the biases and challenges students from
different backgrounds have encountered through school misclassification
and channeling into programs such as Special Ed. or other special groupings for
students with learning disabilities. They will also learn how to recognize
these biases and what their effects are on students from diverse groups and
traditions. The dangers of stigma will also be part of the discussion
The
Journey to an Inclusive Classroom
Presenter:
Dr.
Myron R. Anderson
Session
Description: The
goal of this session is to understand the impact of cultural competence in the
21st Century classroom.
This interactive session defines cultural competence and the intersections of
biases, cultural identity and microagressions in the classroom environment. In
addition, this session will engage participants to identifying classroom biases
and microaggressions then work collaboratively to develop strategies to address
and remove them, thus, promoting a welcoming and inclusive classroom.
Diversity
101: How to Capitalize on Diversity in the Era of Globalization
Presenter: Dr. Taira Koybaeva,
Founder/CEO of Third Alternative, LLC; Associate Professor of Management
Jon
M. Huntsman School of Business, Utah State University; Fellow Department of
Science, Technology and Society, Technology and Global Security Group,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Session
Description: Traditionally
most people try to fit in the mainstream culture (both ethnic and
professional). This approach is outdated because the globalizing world requires
different perspectives, backgrounds, and psychological makeup. People need
to be taught not to just “deal” with diversity, but to capitalize on it through
understanding their own and others’ diversity.
10:30 AM Sessions:
Making
Promises, Keeping Promises: Obstacles to Education and the Interventions That
Lift Them
Panelists:
Azenett
Garza – Associate Professor of Psychology, Community Research Coordinator for
the Center for Community Engaged Learning, WSU
Luis
Lopez – Program Administrator for the Community Education Center, WSU
Niccolle
Spjut – Community Research Specialist and Grant Writer for WSU and United Way
of Northern Utah
Session
Description: Many
residents of Ogden are beset by multiple social problems, including poverty,
unemployment, and low educational attainment. As researchers note how
educational interventions are important for reversing these trends, this
session outlines both the main problems facing the city, as well as educational
programs tied to Weber State University – specifically Ogden United Promise
Neighborhoods and the Community Education Center – that are fighting these
issues through education.
Disrupting
the Disability Narrative: Undergraduate Students Discuss Their Experiences at
Weber State
Panelists:
Mr.
Mark Veeder, Philosophy and Political Science
Mr.
Chris Hall, Philosophy and Sociology
Session
Description: Disability
is routinely represented as a painful and terrible experience. However,
disability is experienced and understood in a myriad of nuanced ways that require
us to examine how disabled individuals think and feel about their experiences
as "disabled people." And unfortunately, sometimes disability is even
framed as a burden on the accommodator rather than as an imperative of
accessibility for the accommodated. An all-undergraduate panel familiar with
these challenges will share their personal testimony. The discussion will
center on how society’s understanding of disability creates barriers to access
in higher education and how centering ourselves around disabled perspectives
actively challenge those attitudes and feelings that create inaccessible
conditions.
Groundbreakers
of Brown v Board of Education: Examining the Life, Writings and
Struggle of Douglass, Woodson and Du Bois.
Presenters: Dr. J. Roberto García,
Dr. Melina Alexander
Session
Description: Through
examining some of the writings by Douglass, Woodson and Du Bois, we will
discuss what education looked like prior to Brown vs. Board of Education
case. At a time where the struggle for equity in education seemed an impossible
task these as well as many other intellectuals disseminated trailblazing ideas
and fought the injustices that plagued their times. Their critique
of Plessy v Ferguson as well their repudiation for the awful
conditions of black segregated schools charted the path to the landmark case
and the end of segregated schooling in the U.S.
Please
contact Teresa Holt in the Center for Diversity and Unity at
teresaholt@weber.edu or 801-626-6957 for more information.