Diversity and Inclusion

On Thursday, September 19 from 3:00-5:00 p.m., faculty and staff are welcome to join Dr. Kimberly Barrett for a webinar on “The Confounding Promise of Community: Why It Matters More Than Ever for Student Success,” offered by the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) designed to question the role of community in the liberal arts education and how community can contribute to student success. 

Webinar participants will examine community as a concept, an outcome, and an entity in order to better understand emerging definitions of community, ongoing efforts to create inclusive pathways for engagement, and ways community-based practices can advance inclusive excellence. 

After learning from presenters representing multiple institutional perspectives about how a collective understanding of community can shape a commitment to equity and student success, we can begin to apply what we learn to Lawrence’s campus. This webinar will guide us as we consider ways in which a strengthened sense of community can enhance individuals’ sense of belonging in ways that help us move toward meeting our goals of institutional excellence.

The webinar will take place in Warch Campus Center’s Arthur Vining Davis Room. 

Please RSVP to emily.s.bowles@lawrence.edu prior to the event or by visiting our website: http://www.lawrence.edu/mm/14326

August 14 at 2:00 pm in Sabin House living room

ARWAG (the Anti-Racist White Affinity Group) is hosting a summer community read for LU staff and faculty interested in reading and discussing novels written by authors of color and centering the experiences of people of color. On August 14 we’ll continue our discussion of Tommy Orange’s NYT bestselling debut novel There There, and work on connecting our “aha!” moments from the book to application here in our Lawrence community.

“Tommy Orange’s shattering novel follows twelve characters from Native communities: all traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow, all connected to each other in ways they may not yet realize. There is Jacquie Red Feather, newly sober and working to make it back to the family she left behind. Dene Oxendene, who is pulling his life back together after his uncle’s death, has come to work at the powwow to honor his memory. Fourteen-year-old Orvil has come to perform traditional dance for the very first time. Together, this chorus of voices tells of the plight of the urban Native American—grappling with a complex and painful history, with an inheritance of beauty and spirituality, with communion and sacrifice and heroism. Hailed as an instant classic, There There is at once poignant and laugh-out-loud funny, utterly contemporary and always unforgettable.” (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/563403/there-there-by-tommy-orange/9780525436140/)

What is ARWAG? A gathering of Lawrence staff and faculty seeking to understand and challenge racism. Recognizing that anti-racist work is disproportionately borne by people of color, ARWAG is a setting for white people to take responsibility for educating ourselves about racism and for challenging white supremacy from the inside. Organized as a study group, ARWAG will read and discuss materials that help us understand how racism operates, especially in its insidious forms that are harder for white people to notice in action—white privilege, unconscious / implicit bias, and structural racism. ARWAG welcomes colleagues at every stage of learning—whether you’re an experienced anti-racist or just beginning to grapple with the realities of racism.

For more information on this and other ARWAG events, please contact ARWAG co-convener Jenna Stone (jennifer.stone@lawrence.edu) or Emily Bowles in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (emily.s.bowles@lawrence.edu).

July 31 at 2:00 pm in Sabin House living room

ARWAG (the Anti-Racist White Affinity Group) is hosting a summer community read for LU staff and faculty interested in reading and discussing novels written by authors of color and centering the experiences of people of color. On July 31 we’ll be discussing Tommy Orange’s NYT bestselling debut novel There There. “Tommy Orange’s shattering novel follows twelve characters from Native communities: all traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow, all connected to each other in ways they may not yet realize. There is Jacquie Red Feather, newly sober and working to make it back to the family she left behind. Dene Oxendene, who is pulling his life back together after his uncle’s death, has come to work at the powwow to honor his memory. Fourteen-year-old Orvil has come to perform traditional dance for the very first time. Together, this chorus of voices tells of the plight of the urban Native American—grappling with a complex and painful history, with an inheritance of beauty and spirituality, with communion and sacrifice and heroism. Hailed as an instant classic, There There is at once poignant and laugh-out-loud funny, utterly contemporary and always unforgettable.” (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/563403/there-there-by-tommy-orange/9780525436140/)

What is ARWAG? A gathering of Lawrence staff and faculty seeking to understand and challenge racism. Recognizing that anti-racist work is disproportionately borne by people of color, ARWAG is a setting for white people to take responsibility for educating ourselves about racism and for challenging white supremacy from the inside. Organized as a study group, ARWAG will read and discuss materials that help us understand how racism operates, especially in its insidious forms that are harder for white people to notice in action—white privilege, unconscious / implicit bias, and structural racism. ARWAG welcomes colleagues at every stage of learning—whether you’re an experienced anti-racist or just beginning to grapple with the realities of racism.

For more information on this and other ARWAG events, please contact ARWAG co-convener Jenna Stone (jennifer.stone@lawrence.edu) or Emily Bowles in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (emily.s.bowles@lawrence.edu).

July 31 at 2:00 pm in Sabin House living room

ARWAG (the Anti-Racist White Affinity Group) is hosting a summer community read for LU staff and faculty interested in reading and discussing novels written by authors of color and centering the experiences of people of color.

On July 31 we’ll be discussing Tommy Orange’s NYT bestselling debut novel There There. “Tommy Orange’s shattering novel follows twelve characters from Native communities: all traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow, all connected to each other in ways they may not yet realize. There is Jacquie Red Feather, newly sober and working to make it back to the family she left behind. Dene Oxendene, who is pulling his life back together after his uncle’s death, has come to work at the powwow to honor his memory. Fourteen-year-old Orvil has come to perform traditional dance for the very first time. Together, this chorus of voices tells of the plight of the urban Native American—grappling with a complex and painful history, with an inheritance of beauty and spirituality, with communion and sacrifice and heroism. Hailed as an instant classic, There There is at once poignant and laugh-out-loud funny, utterly contemporary and always unforgettable.” (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/563403/there-there-by-tommy-orange/9780525436140/)

What is ARWAG? A gathering of Lawrence staff and faculty seeking to understand and challenge racism. Recognizing that anti-racist work is disproportionately borne by people of color, ARWAG is a setting for white people to take responsibility for educating ourselves about racism and for challenging white supremacy from the inside. Organized as a study group, ARWAG will read and discuss materials that help us understand how racism operates, especially in its insidious forms that are harder for white people to notice in action—white privilege, unconscious / implicit bias, and structural racism. ARWAG welcomes colleagues at every stage of learning—whether you’re an experienced anti-racist or just beginning to grapple with the realities of racism.

For more information on this and other ARWAG events, please contact ARWAG co-convener Jenna Stone (jennifer.stone@lawrence.edu) or Emily Bowles in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (emily.s.bowles@lawrence.edu).

July 10 at 1:00 pm in Sabin House living room

ARWAG (the Anti-Racist White Affinity Group) is hosting a summer community read for LU staff and faculty interested in reading and discussing novels written by authors of color and centering the experiences of people of color. On July 10 we’ll be discussing Jennine Capó Crucet’s novel Make Your Home Among Strangers. This celebrated debut novel tells the story of Lizet, a first-generation Cuban American and first-gen college student who enrolls in an elite college and faces new challenges navigating issues of privilege, identity, belonging, and competing priorities of school and family.

What is ARWAG? A gathering of Lawrence staff and faculty seeking to understand and challenge racism. Recognizing that anti-racist work is disproportionately borne by people of color, ARWAG is a setting for white people to take responsibility for educating ourselves about racism and for challenging white supremacy from the inside. Organized as a study group, ARWAG will read and discuss materials that help us understand how racism operates, especially in its insidious forms that are harder for white people to notice in action—white privilege, unconscious / implicit bias, and structural racism. ARWAG welcomes colleagues at every stage of learning—whether you’re an experienced anti-racist or just beginning to grapple with the realities of racism.

For more information on this and other ARWAG events, please contact ARWAG co-convener Jenna Stone (jennifer.stone@lawrence.edu) or Emily Bowles in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (emily.s.bowles@lawrence.edu).

In case you have not heard, Lawrence University is hosting an Alumni of Color Reception during Reunion Week. The event is meant to welcome alumni of color back to campus, to inform them of all the exciting things happening in the Diversity & Intercultural Center, and to provide an opportunity to meet Dr. Kimberly Barrett.

We welcome you to join us on Saturday, June 15 from 2:30pm-4pm at the Diversity & Intercultural Center in Memorial Hall for an opportunity to connect with alumni of color.

The event is informal, so you can come and go as you please. If you are interested to know who is registered for Reunion, please click here.

Be sure to reach out to Dakota Williams or Ariela Rosa with any questions. We hope you will join us!