UMD to Host Thought Leaders Summit on Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education

The University of Maryland will assemble a group of nationally recognized scholars and practitioners on diversity and inclusion in higher education on January 30 through February 1, 2018. The meeting will feature discussions on some of the most challenging issues in higher education, including the resurgence of white supremacy and anti-semitism on college and university campuses; sexual harassment and violence; student activism, protests, and demonstrations; free speech and freedom of expression; and broadening concerns about campus climate and safety.

Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, professor of psychology at Georgetown University and author of Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America and other works, will be the opening keynote speaker for the summit. Dr. Brittney Cooper, associate professor of Women’s and Gender Studies and Africana Studies at Rutgers University, co-founder of the Crunk Feminist Collective blog, and media commentator, will serve as the closing keynote speaker.

The keynote presentations are open to the public and other sessions are by invitation only. The three-day convening will be held at The Hotel at UMD in College Park, Maryland, located outside of Washington, DC.

“College campuses are under threat due to significant shifts in the power structures of major American governmental institutions, making our work more urgent and important,” said Professor Roger L. Worthington, Executive Director of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education and Chief Diversity Officer at UMD.

“One purpose of the Summit, which assembles leaders in the field, will be to outline issues and trends that will define the Center’s national research agenda toward improving inclusive excellence and equity in higher education,” said CDIHE Director Candace M. Moore.

“Our work will set an agenda for the future of higher education in the face of threats to our fundamental missions as educational institutions,” said Dr. Worthington.

For more information regarding the Center for Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education’s Thought Leaders Summit, visit https://go.umd.edu/tls2018. To RSVP, contact Audrey Hill at audreyh@umd.edu or 301-405-3468.

Additional Information

The Thought Leaders Summit is organized by the Center for Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education (CDIHE), which is housed in the UMD College of Education, and co-sponsored by the UMD Office of Diversity & Inclusion. Established in 2017 at the UMD College of Education, the CDIHE is a national hub for research, policy, professional standards, and consultation for universities across the country and abroad on critical issues related to diversity, inclusion, and social justice in higher education.

Notable participants planning to be in attendance at the Summit include the following:

• Dr. Nancy Cantor, Chancellor, University of Rutgers—Newark
• Dr. Juan Sánchez Muñoz, President, University of Houston—Downtown
• Dr. Archie W. Ervin, President, National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher EducationDr. Kevin Kruger, President, NASPA, Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education
• Dr. Alma R. Clayton-Pedersen, Chief Executive Officer, Emeritus Consulting Group
• Dr. William B. Harvey, Distinguished Scholar, American Association for Access, Equity, and Diversity