Weekly Three 10/06/21
Greetings Miami University,
Here is this week's diversity, equity, inclusion "weekly three" from the Office of Institutional Diversity:
A Day of Reflection: Miami University Commemorates the 175th anniversary of the Miami Tribe's removal from their homelands.
Miami University President Gregory Crawford cordially invites you to this solemn event in remembrance of October 11, 1846. On that day, Myaamia people, who were forcibly removed from their Indiana homelands, passed through Butler County on the Miami Erie Canal, along the Great Miami River, as they journeyed to lands that later became Kansas. Please join us on October 11, 2021 at 10 a.m. at the art sculpture park next to the A Tribe Named Miami, A Surveyors Stake, a Town Named Oxford sculpture.
One: DEI Implementation
Annual Bridges Program
The Office of Admission will host the annual Bridges Program. The Bridges Program is an important part of Miami’s efforts to recruit a diverse student body and your participation is critical to encouraging underrepresented students to attend Miami. Faculty and staff are invited to join Bridges participants for the closing luncheon in the ASC Pavilion, from 12:15-1:45 PM on October 18 & 25, November 8 & 15.
Miami University Heritage Month Programming
The Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion will organize campus-wide programming, and collaborate, coordinate, and support events across campus through a coordinated calendar for each heritage month; promotion of events; and, when available, limited funding support for proposed events with campus-wide appeal. OIDI invites you to View Heritage Month Programming and submit proposals
Expanded Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion "Behind the Scenes" Town Hall
In line with Pillar 5: Inclusion and Accountability, Recommendation 3, OIDI hosts “Behind the Scenes” Townhalls to provide insights and details of how DEI is embedded in the decision-making processes and practices of each division. This fall we invite the Miami community to join an expanded DEI Behind the Scenes Townhall Series, featuring College Deans.
Save the date for the next events:
- College of Liberal Arts and Applied Sciences, Wednesday October 20, 12-1pm Register Now
- College of Creative Arts, Thursday, November 4, 12-1pm Register Now
- College of Education, Health, and Society, Tuesday, November 9, 12-1pm Register Now
- Farmer School of Business, Wednesday, December 1, 12-1pm Register Now
Two: Community Updates
“Accelerating Ahead: Miami’s Focus on the Future”
This virtual conference is a compilation of presentations from Miami University educators and thought leaders. This nine-session virtual conference covers topics spanning from living, learning, and working amidst a pandemic to strategies for future success.TheseTedTalk-style presentations, featuring Miami’s administrators, faculty, and staff from various colleges, offices/departments, and disciplines, will share insight into how Miami has persevered, acquired new knowledge, developed new initiatives, learned best practices for going forward, discovered ways to build a better future and more.
View Virtual Conference Presentations
Chai & Chat: Unbelonging By Dr. Gayatri Sethi
October 12, 6pm
This hybrid event features Dr. Gayatri Sethi, author of Unbelonging. Unbelonging is an interactive memoir filled with brave revelations on how one might strengthen capacities for seeking individual and collective liberation. This event will be hosted live from King Library 134 (AIS). Chai & light refreshments will be available to those who attend in person.
Gandhi, Race, and the Problem of Prejudice
October 12, 6pm
Featuring Dr. Vinay Lal, Professor of History, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) The Annual Mahatma Gandhi Birthday Lecture is aimed at sharing knowledge about Mahatma Gandhi and his impact on history and our world today. This year's program will be held via Zoom. The talk will feature a Q&A with attendees.
Virtual Reading and Conversation
October 19, 7:00pm
Poet and nonfiction writer Aimee Nezhukumatathil will join for a virtual reading and conversation as part of this year’s Marianne D. McComb Reading Series on Race, Craft, and Imagination.
Better Teaching Through Understanding Sex and Gender Spectra
Thursday October 14, 2:00-3:30pm, 320 Laws Hall
Sex and gender are not the same thing, and both of them exist on a spectrum. This seminar will give participants a chance to firm up their understanding of sex and gender before discussing why teachers really need to have this understanding. What practices in our classroom help all of our students feel safe enough so they have the energy to learn? Participants will leave the seminar with resources and action places.
Three: Celebrations & Recognition
Annual Across the Divide Conference
Miami community members are invited to register and attend Miami’s Third Annual Across the Divide Conference: Achievement and Opportunity on October 8, 2021. This year’s hybrid conference features a joint keynote address, panel presentations, workshops, and research on diversity, equity, inclusion at Miami University.This year we have an exciting lineup of Miami students, faculty, and staff including a special keynote, “We Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: Re-envisioning Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education”
National Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month at Miami University
Check out our Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month page, with a calendar of events and more resources! According to the 2020 Census, the Latinx population makes up 18.7% (62.1 million) of the U.S. population and growth in Ohio reached a new record of 4.4%. The Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion invites you to submit programming content (lectures, events, and initiatives) connected to Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month. We encourage all members of our community to promote and participate in these events; please submit your event to the University Calendar and complete the Weekly Three Submission.
Upcoming events include:
Miami Alumni Association Presents: The Kissing Bug - A conversation with author Daisy Hernández
October 7, 2021, noon-1pm
Disability Identity & Culture Month
October is Disability Identity & Culture Month at Miami University. The Office of Institutional Diversity and the Miller Center for Student Disability Services will be sponsoring a keynote event featuring Imani Barbarin:
Ableds are Weird: Working Toward Disability Representation and Fighting Ableist Microaggressions
October 6, 2021 at 7 pm
In this talk, Imani recounts her personal experiences with ableist microaggressions and how those interactions informed her of how she was seen as a disabled person moving through society. Imani will connect the dots from everyday interactions to public policy and how one may unlearn these biases. She will also describe the importance of disability representation in all aspects of society.
October is LGBTQIA+ History Month
LGBTQIA+ History Month was founded in 1994 by Missouri high-school history teacher Rodney Wilson. October was selected to coincide with National Coming Out Day. LGBTQIA+ History Month recognizes the history and ongoing struggles of the gay rights and related civil rights movements and the experiences and achievements of the LGBTQIA+ community. At Miami, we recognize the resilience and determination of the many individuals who are fighting to live freely and authentically and support the right of every individual to live authentically. We encourage all Miamians to engage in dialogue and allyship, including through campus and community organizations such as Spectrum, Miami University Pride, Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion, Graduate Student Pride Association, Queer & Trans* Faculty/Staff Association, Oxford Area PFLAG, and 1809 LGBTQ+ Alumni.
Upcoming Religious Holy Days and Holidays & Inclusive Scheduling
- October 6-14: Navratri (Hindu)
- October 15: Dussehra (Hindu)
- October 19*: Mawlid al-Nabi (Muslim)
- October 27: Buddha’s Descent (Buddhist)
- October 31: Samhain (Pagan/Wiccan)
- October 31: Reformation Day (Protestant Christianity)
“*” denotes holidays that start sundown the day before. Please note that individual practices may vary.
Please see the academic affairs calendar and complementing interfaith narrative calendar for policies and for more information, and regarding religious holy days and holidays observed by Miami Community members.
With Love and Honor,
Cristina Alcalde, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)
Vice President for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion
Professor, Global and Intercultural Studies
vpDiversity@MiamiOH.edu