Press Release
One of the leading intellectual voices in the United States will keynote Utah State Eastern’s third annual Diversity Conference on Friday, Feb. 17 in the Jennifer Leavitt Student Center beginning at 9 a.m.. Eight workshops will explore diversity and inclusion during the conference.
Bryan Hotchkins, an associate professor at Texas Tech University in the educational psychology and leadership department, will keynote the conference and is actively engaged in teaching about navigating cultural difference.
He is co-founder of Think Positionality, an organization devoted to conducting identity-based K-20 trainings and programs about race, gender and leadership.
Before moving to Texas, Hotchkins was an institutional-research associate at the University of Utah where he examined how students of color achieved academic success by negotiating racial and gender identities.
The workshop topics include “Post Election Climate and Concerns,” “Why We Do What We Do: the Six Human Needs,” “Valuing the Differences,” “Social, Political and Mental Health Obstacles Within the LGBT + Community,” “How to be an Ally,” “Unmasking Microaggressions,” “College Success: Self-Care for Marginalized Students,” and “Interrogating D(I)Versity at the Intersections of Identity.”
Evette Allen, Ph.D., said the Diversity and Inclusion Conference is offered for the community as well as students, faculty and staff at Eastern. The topics will explore issues of diversity and social justice on a deeper level.
The conference is free with registration and breakfast at 9 a.m., followed by the keynote at 9:30 a.m. The workshops are from 10:30 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. with the wrap up and call to action from 12:20 to 12:30 p.m.