5X社区

Reimagining the Academy Conference Brings Together 3 Top Universities

Collaborative conference brings together three of Ohio鈥檚 top universities to share expertise and leverage strengths

5X社区 welcomed participants from Miami University and Ohio University to its Kent Campus on Oct. 18-19 for a collaborative meeting of the minds. Reimagining the Academy: Building Community for Access and Transformative Change engaged attendees in workshops, panel discussions, presentations, roundtable discussions and networking sessions related to diversity equity and inclusion.

Dancer at a workshop at Reimagining the Academy Conference

A workshop at the conference examined how dance can be used as a form of protest and activism with exerpts from Chilean American Choreographer Michael Uthoff's ballet Murmors of A Stream

An Inaugural Meeting

Prior to this conference, each of these universities held an annual conference on topics related to diversity, equity and inclusion. This new alliance offers opportunities for greater sharing of knowledge and expertise and inclusion of a larger number of voices in the discussion.

One of the workshop sessions at the Reimagining the Academy conference

Workshop sessions included a variety of topics

This discussion included themes and objectives from each institution鈥檚 original conference: Centering Anti-Racism in Institutional Excellence, Educators and Students as Activists and Diversity Leaders, and Building Community and Mutual Dialogue.

Amoaba Gooden, vice president of Kent State's Division of People, Culture and Belonging, speaks about the significance of this inaugural, collaborative conference. 

Outstanding Leadership

The steering committee for the event included Amoaba Gooden, Ph.D., vice president for Kent State's Division of People, Culture and Belonging (formerly the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) and M. Christina Alcalde, Ph.D., vice president for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion for Miami University.

Conference co-chairs were Morgan Woodin, MBA, coordinator, operations and special projects at Kent State, Hiram Ramirez, Ph.D., senior director, strategic initiatives in the Office of Transformational and Inclusive Excellence at Miami University and Micah McCarey, Ph.D., director, LGBT Center and interim director, Office of Multicultural Success and Retention at Ohio University.

Keynote Speaker, Carol Anderson

The keynote address was delivered by Carol Anderson, Ph.D., an acclaimed author who has received numerous awards and accolades for her work as a historian of African American history and oppression and as an influential voice of civil and voting rights.

M. Christina Alcalde of Miami University

M. Christina Alcalde, vice president for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion for Miami University

In introducing Anderson as the keynote speaker, Miami University鈥檚 M.Christina Alcalde, quoted Kent State President Todd Diacon in saying that part of the purpose of this conference was to 鈥淩eimagine education not just for the fortunate few, but the meritorious many.鈥

Anderson greeted the people assembled in the Kent Student Center Ballroom with 鈥淚t feels good to be back on Ohio. I was raised here. I was educated here. I was schooled here.鈥

She said that higher education was in 鈥渢rying times鈥 and that a convergence of trends, myths and 鈥渓ies鈥 have made this point in history 鈥渄oubly difficult for higher ed.鈥

Carol Anderson, keynote speaker, addresses the Reimagining the Academy conference

She identified these trends. 鈥淥ne is to think of education only as valuable when it leads to a specific vocation,鈥 Anderson said. She spoke about the value of history majors, philosophy majors and English majors as examples. 鈥淗ow can anyone look at Ukraine and Russia and not see the power of history and knowing that history and being able to decode what it is we are seeing? Can anyone look at Gaza in Israel and not see how essential religious studies, history, geography and political science are? But what about the 2020 election and the January 6 insurrection and not grasp the significance of communication, philosophy, religion, African American history, political science and sociology?鈥

Carol Anderson, keynote speaker, addresses the Reimagining the Academy conference

The second trend Anderson identified was 鈥渁nti-intellectualism masquerading as anti-elitism.鈥 She spoke about politicians with 鈥渕ultiple Ivy League degrees鈥 who 鈥渄on their working-class clothes and then talk and belittle a college education and what鈥檚 happening in our universities.鈥

The third trend she spoke about was the idea that 鈥測ou can only have diversity or excellence.鈥 Anderson said 鈥淵ou do damage when you鈥檙e either diversity or excellence. No, it is both.鈥 When you have either diversity or excellence, she said, 鈥淲e do damage to an increasingly diversified society. We do damage to the kinds of knowledge that we need to understand how we navigate in these spaces. How do we achieve excellence? How do we assure that everyone can fly?鈥

Keynote speaker Carol Anderson

鈥楧oing the Work鈥

Anderson thanked the participants for 鈥渋nviting me for doing this work.鈥 She said 鈥淭his is the work of transformation. This is the work of community. This is the work of seeing that 鈥榖eloved community,鈥 the one that Martin Luther King talked about.鈥

POSTED: Thursday, October 19, 2023 02:28 PM
Updated: Thursday, October 19, 2023 03:37 PM
WRITTEN BY:
Phil B. Soencksen