Promoting a "Home for All" at an Urban Midwestern University Through a DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) Seminar Series

• In Event: Saturday Roundtable Session 11:25 am
  In Roundtable Session: Leveling the Playing Field: Consequential Research to Create Equitable Outcomes (Table 14)

Abstract

We explore changes in perceptions and actions related to diversity, equity and inclusion among faculty, staff, students, and community members who participated in a year-long seminar series at a university located in the urban core in the Midwest. The results of a pre-/post-survey to assess color-blind racial attitudes and post-project individual interviews demonstrate that participants changed their perceptions to adopt a broader definition of diversity and developed new awareness of their own intersectional identities and biases. Participants also reflected on the cohort experience, relevancy of the curriculum, and engaged in actions in their professional and personal lives to apply concepts from the series. This session also will share implications for successful DEI professional development projects within urban higher education communities.

Authors

• Nilufer Guler, Jacksonville State University

• Jennifer Ingrid Friend, Wichita State University

• LaTisha Davis, Rockhurst University

• Michael J. Powers, Graceland University