Diversity and Inclusion

Helen Boyd Kramer, lecturer of gender studies and Freshman Studies, will present Gender in the 21st Century on Feb. 24 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center’s Pusey Room.

This presentation will cover a variety of gender identities and expressions, including trans, queer and GNC (gender nonconforming) identities, as well as the basics of gender-neutral pronouns, etiquette around transition and non-binary identities, how to create a welcoming and inclusive space for those of all genders, and how sexual orientation does and doesn’t intersect with gender identity and expression.

The Cultural Competency Lecture Series at Lawrence features our faculty, students and staff sharing their expertise related to the knowledge and skills necessary to take a culturally competent, equity-minded approach to the work and learning in which they are engaged at Lawrence. Bring your lunch and learn!

Please join us by sending a RSVP to michelle.l.lasecki-jahnke@lawrence.edu by Feb. 20.

Join the Lawrence Office of Diversity and Inclusion
and the Appleton Police Department

Thursday, Feb. 9
8:30 a.m.–noon
Warch Campus Center, Nathan Marsh Pusey Room

Open to students, faculty, staff and alumni

Please RSVP to michelle.l.lasecki-jahnke@lawrence.edu by Feb. 3.

Join the Lawrence Office of Diversity and Inclusion and the Appleton Police Department for the second installment in a series of community conversations around safety and policing. Event details are below:

Feb. 9
8:30 a.m.–noon
Warch Campus Center, Nathan Marsh Pusey Room

• Open to students, faculty, staff and alumni
• Facilitated, small-group discussions, followed by large-group debriefing

Please join us by sending an RSVP to Michelle Lasecki-Jahnke by Feb. 3.

Meghan Lally, accessibility services coordinator and academic skills specialist in Lawrence’s Center for Academic Success, will present Reframing Disability: Designing Inclusive Classrooms and Communities on Friday, Jan. 27 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center’s Esch Hurvis Room.

Learn about campus resources and how to take part in the shared responsibility of creating usable, equitable and inclusive environments.

The Cultural Competency Lecture Series at Lawrence features our faculty, students and staff sharing their expertise related to the knowledge and skills necessary to take a culturally competent, equity-minded approach to the work and learning in which they are engaged at Lawrence. Bring your lunch and learn!

If joining us, please RSVP to michelle.l.lasecki-jahnke@lawrence.edu. See the Cultural Competency Lecture Series flier for more details and upcoming speakers. Hope to see you there!

Meghan Lally, accessibility services coordinator and academic skills specialist in Lawrence’s Center for Academic Success, will present Reframing Disability: Designing Inclusive Classrooms and Communities on Friday, Jan. 27 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center’s Esch Hurvis Room.

Learn about campus resources and how to take part in the shared responsibility of creating usable, equitable and inclusive environments.

The Cultural Competency Lecture Series at Lawrence features our faculty, students and staff sharing their expertise related to the knowledge and skills necessary to take a culturally competent, equity-minded approach to the work and learning in which they are engaged at Lawrence. Bring your lunch and learn!

If joining us, please RSVP to michelle.l.lasecki-jahnke@lawrence.edu by Jan. 20. See the Cultural Competency Lecture Series flier for more details and upcoming speakers. Hope to see you there!

Several offices across campus will be participating in an “Open Doors” initiative as part of tomorrow’s U.S. presidential inauguration. These offices will have staff members available to talk with students on a walk-in basis for those who would like to reflect, share their excitement or voice concern.

Counselors will also be available for same-day referrals. Open Doors offices are listed below.

• Accessibility Services: 136 Briggs Hall
• Center for Academic Success: 117 Briggs Hall
• Diversity Center: First floor Memorial Hall
• International Student Services: 711 E. Boldt Way (International House)
• Religious and Spiritual Life: First floor Raymond House
• Wellness Center: Wellness Center building

Dear Lawrence students, faculty and staff, 

Welcome to a new term, a new year and a new opportunity to make our community an even more ideal place in which to work and learn. It is the perfect time to remember the unique opportunity we have in education to influence the world in which we live. By now you know I am a fan of bell hooks’ writing, and this time of year brings to mind a quote from her book Teaching to Transgress:

“The academy is not paradise. But learning is a place where paradise can be created. The classroom, with all its limitations, remains a location of possibility. In that field of possibility we have opportunity to labor for freedom, to demand of ourselves and our comrades, an openness of mind and heart that allows us to face reality even as we collectively imagine ways to move beyond boundaries, to transgress. This is education as the practice of freedom.” (p. 207) 

And helping people gain the knowledge and skills needed to practice freedom (or liber, Latin for freedom) is what liberal education is all about. Some of these skills include the ability to think critically but with compassion and to speak assertively but with civility and respect for those who hold a different point of view. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion, in collaboration with many of you, will be offering a number of opportunities to practice and model these skills this term.    

One of these is our Community Conversations series. These are structured dialogues that facilitate authentic communication across critical areas of perceived difference. The purpose is to promote increased understanding, trust and collaboration. During Winter Term, we will begin two new dialogues. One will be a discussion to help find common ground across political ideologies. The first of three conversations in this Common Ground series will be held Friday, Jan. 13, 1–4 p.m., in the Esch Hurvis Room of the Warch Campus Center. The other new conversation series will invite students and faculty to come together to discuss activism and effective strategies for promoting social change. The first of this series will be held in February. Details will be available soon on our website.

We will also continue our Community Conversation on Safety. This is a dialogue between the Lawrence community and the Appleton Police Department. The next discussion will be held Thursday, Feb. 9, 8:30–noon, in the Nathan Marsh Pusey Room of the Warch Campus Center. To register to participate in these dialogues and to find additional ways to get involved with efforts to make Lawrence more inclusive, visit the “Get Involved” web page on the Diversity and Inclusion website. You can also sign up to participate in a Community Conversation by emailing div-inclusion@lawrence.edu.

Finally, I ask that you mark your calendars for our first regional diversity conference. It will focus on inclusive pedagogy. The theme is “Teaching All Students Well: Preparing an educated citizenry for wise participation in a diverse democracy.” Derald Wing Sue, professor of psychology and education at Teachers College, Columbia University will deliver the keynote. The conference will also feature several concurrent sessions to highlight the work being done locally to practice inclusive pedagogy. It will be held Aug. 17–18 at the Warch Campus Center.

In conclusion, as we consider the possibilities that the privilege of a Lawrence education provides in this new year, let’s not forget the responsibilities that accompany it. As one of the most famous founders of our nation, Thomas Jefferson, stated in 1779, “Those persons, whom nature has endowed with genius and virtue, should be rendered by liberal education worthy to receive, and able to guard the sacred deposit of the rights and liberties of their fellow citizens.”

Best wishes for a happy new year!

Kimberly Barrett, Ph.D.
Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion and Associate Dean of the Faculty

Friday, Jan. 13
1–4 p.m.
Esch Hurvis Room, Warch Campus Center
Facilitators:
Kimberly Barrett, vice president for diversity and inclusion and associate dean of the faculty
Jenna Stone, executive director of budget and planning

Mark your calendars for the first in a series of conversations about finding political common ground by examining our ideological divides. See this flier for more details. Hope to see you there!

The Diversity Center has published its fall 2016 newsletter. Read this issue for stories on Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion and Associate Dean of the Faculty Kimberly Barrett, a recap of Fall Term and how to cope with seasonal affective disorder.