Since the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, colleges and universities in the US have made strides to create and sustain diverse campus climates. Though statistically significant changes have led to more representative campuses and a plethora of inclusive curricular and co-curricular offerings, students, staff, and faculty members from underrepresented groups continue to experience bias, discrimination, and inequitable access to resources and outcomes. As our institutions of higher education confront the acute pandemic of Covid-19 and its impact on campus, they also are struggling to acknowledge, account, and address higher educations' ties to the chronic pandemic of racism and systemic oppression. By examining the impacts of these dual pandemics on three distinct constituencies on college campuses - Undocumented and International Students; LGBTQ+ Students and Colleagues; and Professional Staff Members - town hall attendees will be challenged to be more creative, strategic, and courageous in how they support all who learn, live, and work in our institutions of higher education.
Read more about this topic and the inspiration for this town hall in Dr. Villaba's recent op-ed in Inside Higher Ed, Three Groups Especially Need Support Between Now and Inauguration Day.
Dr. José A. Villalba is the Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer at Wake Forest University. Prior to his current position, he served as Senior Associate Dean for Faculty, Evaluation, and Inclusivity in the Office of the Dean of the College.
Slides
Three Campus Groups That Especially Need Support