Undergraduate Symposium on Diversity

What have undergraduates learned about diversity in their classes or in individual work with faculty? The inaugural Undergraduate Symposium on Diversity: “Opportunities and Challenges for the Inclusion of Diversity in Higher Education and Society” will showcase students’ learning through poster presentations, with three awards to be given at a later date.

The University community is invited to the event, to be held from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday (Jan. 13) in the Lenhart Grand Ballroom in the Bowen-Thompson Student Union. Sponsored by the Office of the Provost and hosted by the Center for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship, the day features 46 posters on topics ranging from the gender wage gap between men and women globally to U.S. drug incarceration. Presentations will take place from 11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.

Opening remarks will be given at 9:45 a.m. by Dr. Susana Peña, director of the School of Cultural and Critical Studies, followed by a keynote address at 10 by Barbara Waddell, director of the Office of Equity and Diversity and Title IX Coordinator, titled “Open My Eyes.”

Dr. Rodney Rogers, provost and senior vice president, said in announcing the symposium, “Fitting with the University's mission to provide a unique undergraduate experience, this symposium offers undergraduate students the opportunity to disseminate findings on critical issues within their respective fields on any topic related to cultural, ethnic, gender, and racial diversity.”

Select presentations will be displayed in the Union during Martin Luther King Day celebrations on Jan. 18. The winners will receive a specially designed glass piece by Joel O’Dorisio, art faculty.