by Ashley Strehl, Editor-in-Chief
Diversity is a topic that is not often discussed but that is heavily prevalent in today’s society, especially on higher education campuses.
Today, starting at 2 p.m., Northwestern Oklahoma State University will host Shewanda Riley, a professor of English at Tarrant County College in Hurst, Texas. She will deliver diversity training sessions that are open to the campus and community. The sessions will end tomorrow.
Riley discusses diversity-related topics across the nation, and she has completed a number of publications and presentations. During the two-day event, she will speak about racial diversity, host readings, and meet with faculty, staff and students.
Riley plans to speak on the title, “White Fragility for Beginners: How Higher Education Can Handle Conversations About the Elephant in the Room.” Riley said the “elephant in the room” is referring to the issue that people know is there but, for a variety of reasons, choose not to acknowledge.
“Sometimes, this occurs because of fear, anxiety, ignorance or misinformation,” Riley said. “When it comes to the issue of ‘white fragility,’ the elephant in the room is the sometimes overly emotional response that people have when it comes to discussions of race in higher education.”
Every year, the diversity committee at Northwestern works to bring in relevant speakers who teach campus and community members about issues in today’s culture. Committee members include: Dr. Kay Decker, professor of sociology; Dr. Roger Brown, associate professor of business; Dr. Steven Mackie, professor of education; Dr. Coleen Golightly, associate professor of education; MaryAnn Braten-Hall, instructor of education; Shawna Gilbert, access services librarian; Karsten Longhurst, instructor of music; and Dr. Wei Zhou, associate professor of business.
Also included are Dr. Henry Trabuc, assistant professor of education; Jennifer Pribble, assistant professor of social work; Taylor Randolph, instructor of psychology; Sadiaa Jones, associate director of athletics for compliance and student services; and Calleb Mosburg, dean of student affairs and enrollment management.
Riley said she believes the topic of diversity affects every aspect of people’s lives.
“I’ve found that diversity can connect and as well as divide and separate,” Riley said. “I like to approach diversity from the perspective of opening conversations that unite. I’m personally able to learn from and respect others that may appear different from me.”
Riley believes this topic can be quite effective when it comes to higher education.
“It helps more effectively equip faculty, students, staff and administrators to better serve the needs of the increasingly diverse student populations,” Riley said. “So much of what we do in higher education extends beyond the traditional teaching time in the classroom. We can not only build student centered programs and curriculum, but we can also be better prepared as higher education professionals.”
The 2 p.m. session and the 7 p.m. session today will be available via the Zoom Meeting app at the Enid and Woodward campuses, and so will the 10 a.m. session tomorrow.
For more information, contact Decker by phone at 580.327.8521 or via email at kldecker@nwosu.edu.