Conference Looks to Reposition HBCUs During Diversity and Inclusion Summit March 23-25

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Presidents from three major Historically Black College and Universities will join Tennessee State University president, Dr. Glenda Baskin Glover, for the Presidents’ Panel during the Diversity and Inclusion Summit on HBCUs March 23-25.

Speaking on Repositioning HBCUs for the Future, university presidents Dr. Carlton E. Brown from Clark Atlanta; Dr. William Bynum Jr., from Mississippi Valley State; Dr. Kevin D. Rome, from Lincoln University of Missouri; and Dr. Glover will lead a panel discussion on the relevancy of HBCUs in today’s rapid pace of change in higher education. The discussion takes place on Monday, March 24 beginning at 8:45 a.m. at the Avon Williams campus downtown.

The Summit, sponsored by the Office of Diversity and International Affairs, will provide diversity professionals, key institutional partners and students the opportunity to hear from national leaders who have made significant inroads in the area of diversity and inclusion in the HBCU college and university environment, according to Dr. Jewell Winn, Chief Diversity Officer at the University.

“Attendees will have the opportunity to share ideas and advance what diversity looks like across HBCUs around the nation,” said Winn. “We will share information on not only diversity, but also inclusion and campus retention. As HBCUs move forward we need to address the relevancy of the institutions and figure out how to hold on to the history, but also on how to diversify institutions to better meet the needs of all students.”

The three-day conference takes place at the Avon Williams campus auditorium and officially kicks off Monday, March 24 beginning at 8:30 a.m. with welcoming remarks followed by the President’s Panel.

Breakout sessions and presentations will include the following topics:

Recruitment and retention

Classroom Strategies for promoting diversity and inclusion

Campus programming for various populations

Effective leadership models and approaches for diversity at HBCUs

Social justice service-learning approaches

Building internal and external partnerships to support diversity and inclusion

Diversity and inclusion in policy development

Utilizing and leveraging research and data for diversity and inclusion

A student’s perspective of Diversity at HBCUs

According to Winn, the student perspective on diversity and inclusion at HBCUs will be a “major component” of this years’ summit. Students from Vanderbilt, Fisk and Tennessee State Universities will prepare responses to the presentation and deliver them on the final day of the event.

“We need to be mindful of the student’s perspective as HBCUs move into the future,” added Winn. “The students need to be a part of the inclusion conversation to see what they think HBCUs need to be in the future and how they transition to an all-inclusive environment.”

For more information on the summit, contact the Office of Diversity and International Affairs at TSU at 615.963.5640 or email dish.summit@gmail.com.

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