WSU’s 16th Annual Diversity Conference Focuses on Education
 |
| Myron Anderson, an associate professor of teacher education at MSU Denver, will be the keynote speaker at the conference. |
The conference will feature multiple workshops and speeches that revolve around the theme “Diversity and Education: The Danger of the Single Story.” Myron Anderson, an associate professor of teacher education at Metropolitan State University of Denver, will give the keynote address, “Why Inclusive Excellence?” on Sept. 26 at 11:30 a.m. in the Shepherd Union Ballrooms.
Anderson, who also is the associate to the president for diversity at MSU Denver, said his institution has increased diversity enrollment by one-third in recent years.
“We are looking at inclusion of race, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic and geographic differences,” Anderson said. “It is a systematic approach in terms of developing systems within an institution that promote the inclusion of all who attend the university.”
Forrest Crawford, a WSU teacher education professor and former assistant to the president for diversity at WSU, will open the conference on Sept. 25 at 6:30 p.m. at WSU Davis Building 3 Ballrooms (2750 N. University Park Blvd., Layton). He will speak on the importance of valuing the differences of those around us.
“As a society, we must appreciate the dynamic mosaic of experiences that people bring to the table,” he said. “That is why diversity in education is so important. Learning about others is life changing because it’s life expanding. We need to produce students who participate in the largest community there is — humankind.”
 |
| Forrest Crawford, WSU teacher education professor and former assistant to the president for diversity, will be the opening speaker. |
Having grown up in communist Russia, Koybaeva has seen how her nation has entered the information age and how diverse nations have begun to exchange ideas, innovations, services, products, capital and human resources. She said that in an ever-evolving new world order, American national security depends on understanding different cultures.
“Students and faculty must learn how to recognize and respect different cultures without knowing different languages,” Koybaeva said. “By capitalizing on diversity instead of fearing it, we can add layers to our innate national character.”
Adrienne Andrews, WSU’s assistant to the president for diversity, said the conference theme reflects WSU’s mission.
“We seek to engage people as they are, not how we assume they might be,” Andrews said. “That is, of course, the danger of the single story — that one interaction, experience or perception defines a population. For this conference, we seek to encourage and engage discussion about our differences, how they are valuable and what they bring to the table in the classroom as well as at work.”
Diversity Conference Schedule
Sept. 25: 6-8 p.m.
WSU Davis Campus Building 3 Ballrooms (2750 N. University Park Blvd., Layton)
6-6:30 p.m.: Opening Reception
6:30-7:45 p.m.: Conference Opening Keynote with Forrest Crawford
“The Danger of the Single Story: Knowing, Caring, Acting”
7:45-7:55 p.m.: Brief Remarks from Myron Anderson
7:55-8 p.m.: Closing Comments
 |
| Taira Koybaeva, a Russian-born cultural analyst and international relations advisor, will be a presenter at WSU's 16th annual Diversity Conference Sept. 25-26. |
WSU Ogden Shepherd Union Ballrooms
Workshop 1: 8:30-9:20 a.m.
- Disadvantages in Education? Identity and Languages as Opportunities for Learning
- Do You See What I See? A Photovoice Assessment of LGBT Student Life at WSU
- From Pedagogy to Practice: Engaging Diversity in the Classroom
Workshop 2: 9:30-10:20 a.m.
- Categorizing Diversity as Disability: The Dangers of Categorizing in Education
- The Journey to an Inclusive Classroom
- Diversity 101: How to Capitalize on Diversity in an Era of Globalization
Workshop 3: 10:30-11:20 a.m.
- Making Promises, Keeping Promises: Obstacles to Education and the Interventions that Lift Them
- Disrupting the Disability Narrative: Undergraduate Students Discuss Their Experiences at Weber State University
- Groundbreakers of Brown v. the Topeka Board of Education: Examining the Life, Writings and Struggle of Douglass, Woodson and Du Bois
11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m.
Conference Keynote: Myron Anderson
“Why Inclusive Excellence?”
12:30-1:20 p.m.
Light refreshments and facilitated roundtable discussions
For more information on the Center for Diversity and Unity, visit weber.edu/diversity.
Visit weber.edu/wsutoday for more news about Weber State University.
- Marcus Jensen, Office of Marketing & Communications
801-626-7295 • marcusjensen@weber.edu - Contact:
- Adrienne Andrews, WSU assistant to the president for diversity and director of the Center for Diversity and Unity
801-626-7243 • adrienneandrews@weber.edu