Inclusive Excellence Workshop and Lecture Series
The Division of Diversity and Inclusion and the Office of the Provost co-sponsor the Inclusive Excellence Workshop and Lecture Series for the Ohio University campus community.
The series, currently in its second year, is designed to support OHIO's commitment to building an intentional culture of inclusion, creating an enriching academic experience that expands civic engagement and cultural competency, and ensuring individual success and retention needs of an increasingly diverse community.
Call for Proposals
Inclusive Excellence Workshop & Lecture Series for 2023-2024.
The Division of Diversity and Inclusion and the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost invite faculty and staff to submit proposals for the 2023-2024 Inclusive Excellence Workshop & Lecture Series.
The Series is designed to advance Ohio University’s established commitment to inclusive excellence by building an intentional culture of respect, creating an enriching academic experience that expands civic engagement and cultural competency, and ensuring the individual success and retention needs of an increasingly diverse community.
The Series provides an opportunity for faculty and staff to share their expertise and help OHIO towards achieving its mission of creating an inclusive culture where everyone is valued and treated with respect and dignity. Diversity is a fundamental aspect of life. Inclusion, however, is an opportunity and a choice we make every day. As the poet, Andre Lorde reminds us, “It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept and celebrate those differences.”
Proposals appropriate for a broad audience including faculty, staff, students, and community members are preferred. Topics may include (but are not limited to) sense of belonging, accessibility, diversity of perspectives/approaches, equitable learning outcomes, religious/cultural/cognitive diversity, inclusive pedagogy, and climate/environmental justice.
“The workshops offered in Spring 2023 have given us a space to discuss and share different ideas and perspectives,” says Dr. Salome Nnoromele, Interim Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion. “I am excited about the Series continuing during the 2023-24 academic year.”
Proposals may be submitted online.
Proposals should include specifics about whether it will be delivered as a workshop or lecture, including title, content description, audience, intended learning outcomes, workshop/lecture length, format, post-workshop/lecture action item for participants (if any), and proposed post-workshop/lecture assessment.
The Division of Diversity and Inclusion and the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost will evaluate proposals and fund up to ten (10) proposals for Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 semesters. Faculty and staff will be offered a small stipend for designing, delivering, and assessing one workshop/lecture.
Proposals are due June 15, 2023. All proposals will be evaluated and selected by August 1, 2023. The series will begin in the Fall of 2023.
2023-2024 Workshops and Lectures
The following workshops are being offered in 2023-2024. Please register through GivePulse (login required), using the provided links.
10/17/23 | Diversity And Community: Connecting Library Archives to Course Outcomes
Date: October 17, 2023
Time: 9:30 a.m.-10:50 a.m.
Location: Alden Library 251
Audience: Ohio University faculty, staff, students, and community members are welcome.
Presenters
- Paul C. Campbell, Subject Librarian for the Social Sciences, Ohio University Libraries
- Jatin Srivastava, Professor, Scripps School of Journalism
- Miriam Intrator, Special Collections Librarian, Ohio University Libraries
- Bill Kimok, University Archivist and Records Manager
- Laura Smith, Photo Archivist, Ohio University Libraries
- Greta Suiter, Manuscript Archivist, Ohio University Libraries
This workshop highlights the collaborative work between librarians and a journalism faculty member in developing an in-person DEI learning module utilizing OHIO special collections. This collaboration was the inspiration for developing and implementing a series of unique activities that have students explore archival material related to DEI and journalism.
Learning Outcomes
- Reflect on the history of diversity and inclusion at Ohio University and the progress the community has made on these dimensions over the years.
- Explore how archival collections can be utilized in highlighting lived experiences different than our own.
- Discuss with other community stakeholders about the diversity and inclusion related challenges we face as a community and in the classroom.
- Critically evaluate and propose activities and interventions that can help address diversity and inclusion within courses.
11/02/23 | Identity as an Instructor: Teaching in American Classroom
Date: November 2, 2023
Time: 2:00 p.m.-3:20 p.m.
Location: Alden Library 319 (Friends of the Library room)
Audience: Ohio University faculty, staff, and graduate student instructors are welcome.
Presenters
- Purba Das is a professor in Communication Studies at Ohio University. Dr. Das’ research employs a critical approach in the field of intercultural communication in understanding the problematics of nations, national identity, race, caste, media, and health narratives in marginalized populations in India and the USA.
- Sarah Wyatt is a professor and research scientist in the department of Environmental and Plant Biology at Ohio University. Sarah grew up in a small, rural community in the far western corner of Kentucky. She and her sisters were the first in their family to attend college. After completing a Ph.D. at Purdue University, Sarah worked on a NASA-funded project at North Carolina State University, combining her interests in plant biology and the space program. She and her graduate students are currently studying the genes and proteins that allow plants to respond to gravity.
As we welcome international students to campus, there is an opportunity for cultural exchange within class instruction or through international graduate student instruction. At the same time, there is potential for cultural misunderstandings or conflict. This workshop is designed to address two aspects of cultural exchange between international and domestic faculty and students.
- Optimizing cultural exchange with international students in the classroom through inclusive pedagogy and purposive integration of international student lived experiences.
- Managing the classroom as an international instructor through understanding the American experience and American academic culture.
Learning Outcomes
- Critically engage with, and modify, one’s teaching approach to infuse inclusive pedagogical practices, paying attention to syllabi creation, choice of readings, pedagogy, and/or approach in including the diverse identities of those who have created milestones within one’s academic discipline.
- Identify aspects of the hidden curriculum that have operated within one’s classroom (email etiquette, code of conduct within the classroom, recognize acculturating/assimilating forces and our own biases) and address these issues as they arise.
- Envision the challenges and possibilities for diversity and inclusion within one’s field to consider how learning outcomes can align with intercultural competencies to assist student achievement in their careers.
- Reflect on one’s own cultural identity and positionality, as well as how privilege and oppression may function within the classroom and metrics for assessment.
01/31/24 | Inclusive Pedagogy and Wellness Rhetoric: Building Wellness into Your Classroom
Date: January 31, 2024
Time: 12:00 p.m.-1:20 p.m.
Location: Alden Library 323
Audience: Ohio University faculty and staff are welcome.
Presenters
- Yogesh Sinha, Assistant Professor of Instruction, Department of English, Ohio University
- Uzoma Miller, Assistant Professor of Instruction, African American Studies Department, Ohio University
Instructors from diverse backgrounds and settings explores materials on wellness rhetoric with the objective of better comprehension of diversity and inclusion in pedagogy. Participants would be offered interactive activities, discussions, and relevant hands-on experiential exercises to enhance their comprehension of holistic well-being.
Learning Outcomes
After the session, the attendees will be able to
- Incorporate exercises they can use in their classrooms.
- Enhance inclusive practices to be more effective teachers.
02/05/24 | Holistic Presentations of Blackness: A Transdisciplinary Workshop
Date: February 5, 2024
Time: 9:40 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
Location: McGuffey Hall (1st floor)
Audience: Ohio University faculty, staff, and students are welcome.
Presenter
Uzoma Miller, Assistant Professor of Instruction, African American Studies Department, Ohio University
To counter the challenges associated with the academy’s, and society’s, dissemination of hyper simplified conceptualizations of Africana history, culture, and contemporary relevance, this workshop intends to frame the conversation, present multiple examples to illustrate this problem, then facilitate hands on activities that empower participants with implementation strategies for personal application.
Learning Outcomes
After the session, the attendees will be able to
- Examine one’s existing perception of presenting content that addresses Black people and examine its adequacies and limitations.
- Receive and process an operable definition of transdisciplinary praxis.
- Reflect on ways that manifestations of diluted or deleted encounters with Black history have been experienced.
- Apply convergent thinking techniques to offset a preponderance in displaying Black history in misconstrued or misunderstood manners.
- Attain pragmatic resources to enhance one’s toolbox.
03/06/24 | Wellness Rhetoric for Students’ Professional Development
Date: March 6, 2024
Time: 9:40 a.m.-10:35 a.m.
Location: Virtual (MS Teams)
Audience: Ohio University graduate students, faculty and staff are welcome.
Presenters
- Yogesh Sinha, Assistant Professor of Instruction, Department of English, Ohio University
- Uzoma Miller, Assistant Professor of Instruction, African American Studies Department, Ohio University
- Jatin Srivastava, Professor, E. W. Scripps School of Journalism, Ohio University
A team of teachers from diverse backgrounds and settings explores materials on wellness rhetoric with the objective of better comprehension of diversity and inclusion in pedagogy. Participants would be offered interactive activities, discussions, and relevant hands-on experiential exercises to enhance their comprehension of holistic well-being.
Learning Outcomes
After the session, the attendees will be able to
- Learn about something that can be used for their professional development.
- Enhance inclusive practices to be more effective learners or practitioners of knowledge.
03/22/24 | Improving Intercultural Competence: Avoiding Cultural Misunderstanding and Conflicts
Date: March 22, 2024
Time: 12:00–2:00PM
Location: Baker Conference Room 230
Audience: Ohio University faculty, staff, and students are welcome.
Presenters
- Pittaya Paladroi-Shane, Vice President for Communication at the AAPI-LEAD, Associate Professor of Instruction, Center for International Studies, Athens Campus
- Adonis Durado, Vice President for Research at the AAPI-LEAD, Assistant Professor of Visual Communication, Scripps College of Communication, Athens Campus
The increasing globalization and internationalization of the world economy have greatly affected not only our workplace but also our personal lives by exposing us to different ideas, customs, and cultures. Since intercultural competence promotes mutual understanding and open-mindedness, relevant literature shows that intercultural competence has thus become a critical factor in achieving efficiency and effectiveness, happiness and well-being as well as professional efficiency and effectiveness in the ever-increasing connected workplace. Intercultural competence includes a range of cognitive and behavioral skills that are critical for cross-cultural communication and mutual understanding. Developing one’s intercultural competence provides the foundation for meaningful inclusion of others and approaching integral diversity in the workplace. OU has always valued “mutual understanding” and open-mindedness and aimed to make its students and alumni become global leaders (see “OU Vision Statement”). Aligning well with the vision, this workshop, via an interactive approach, is designed to engage OU faculty, staff, and students on how one’s intercultural competence can be improved, and how to avoid misunderstanding and conflicts through strategies and establish mutual understanding.
Learning Outcomes
After the session, the attendees will be able to
- increase the awareness of cultural misunderstanding and conflicts, and the negative consequences they could cause.
- improve efficiency and effectiveness in workplace when people with various backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives work together through establishing mutual understanding and intercultural competences.
- strengthen the network and climate of promoting DEIABJ across campus.
- promote AAPI awareness and reputation on campus.