Weekly Three 02/14/22
Greetings Miami University,
Here is this week's diversity, equity, inclusion "weekly three" from the Office of Institutional Diversity:
This Spring the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion welcomes new staff to continue to build on our efforts to create a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable Miami community. Following the completion of a national search, two new Directors will be joining OIDI this month. Each of them will focus on programming and strategic initiatives as part of the OIDI team charged with supporting and leading Miami’s DEI vision and mission. This is in line with DEI Taskforce Pillar 4: Structural and Resource Support, Recommendations 1 and 2, to staff and restructure OIDI. In addition to the new staff, OIDI looks forward to welcoming two Undergraduate Social Media Interns during Spring 2022. We will be featuring new OIDI team members in the Weekly Three throughout this month.
One: DEI Implementation
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion "Behind the Scenes" Town Halls
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 Spring we invite the Miami community to join an expanded DEI Behind the Scenes Townhall Series, featuring Colleges and Deans. Save the date for the next webinar events
Now Accepting Submissions for Women’s History Month and Deaf History Month in March
Working in close collaboration with faculty, staff, and student partners, the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion provides opportunities for the Miami community to continue our learning and engage in meaningful programming that recognizes, examines, and values historical legacies of a diverse array of identities. Heritage Month programming supports Miami’s inclusive excellence and DEI mission and connects to, among other areas, DEI Task Force Pillar 2: Cultural Consciousness, which encourages the Miami University community to enhance our awareness, knowledge, and skills to enrich and renew our intercultural competence. Submit your proposal considering priority deadlines for each proposed history and heritage month celebrations
OIDI Welcomes Two Undergraduate Student Interns for Spring 2022
Anikka Cook, Class of 2022, is a History and Strategic Communication Double Major, from Burlington, Iowa.
“I'm excited to increase student engagement and involvement with OIDI's digital and traditional marketing platform in order to reach more students across campus.”
Evelyn Morrison, Class of 2025, is a Public Administration, Data Analytics, and Sustainability major from Brewster, Ohio.
“As an intern for OIDI I will be focusing on maintaining a social media presence for the office to expand our communication to the Miami community. Our social media platforms will provide information/links to OIDI initiatives, community updates, and specific holidays or recognition events that are upcoming. I also hope to use our platforms to recognize the diversity, equity, inclusion work of those in our community with photos and interviews for the whole community to enjoy. I am looking forward to collaborating with other OIDI staff and student interns to continue our work in the Miami community.”
Director of Programming and Strategic Initiatives, Dr. Hiram Ramirez
Hiram Ramirez, Director of Programming and Strategic Initiatives, will be focused on collaborating with campus members to enhance the DEI programming on campus while also advancing critical strategic initiatives geared at building capacity and culture change. When asked why he joined Miami University he shared, “In chatting with colleagues and students on campus during my interview process, I saw the deep investment in living diversity and inclusion. There was also an openness at challenging each other and being willing to innovate to address the gaps on campus. This dynamic energy and investment to enact systemic and structural changes were the indicators that made me realize that Miami was an institution I had to work at!” He has been at multiple institutions for the past twelve years working in various capacities to support diversity, equity, and inclusion. He is passionate about social justice work and engaging campus stakeholders in moving the needle around systemic change to improve the climate on campus. In addition, Dr. Ramirez’s research focuses on Latino men, machismo, academic success, queer identity, LatCrit theory, and other topics in higher education. His work strives to support the cultivation of a more inclusive campus community that honors the intersectional identities of students, faculty, and staff.
Two: Community Updates
CSDI Resources
The Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion now has a Resources page with resources that affirm students around a variety of identities, including gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, and disability, as well as resources around general safety and wellbeing. These resources welcome all Miami students.
Picturing Black History
Picturing Black History is a collaboration between the history departments at Miami and Ohio State and Getty Images, the world's largest repository of photography. The project allows historians from around the country to find images in Getty's archive and to write essays that deepen our appreciation of them and of Black history. "These are photos you haven't seen," says Steven Conn, W. E. Smith Professor of History who runs the project on the Miami side, "and stories you've never heard."
Mississippi Burning: Freedom Summer at the Historic Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in Philadelphia, Mississippi
February 15 at 12:00pm to 1:00pm
A talk with Rev. Lydia Michelle Cummings DaileyWhen arsonists set Mt. Zion Methodist Church ablaze in Philadelphia, Mississippi during Freedom Summer of 1964, civil rights activists Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner began investigating. They were kidnapped and murdered by members of the Ku Klux Klan and local law enforcement for their efforts. Co-Sponsors: The Historic Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, Philadelphia, MS and the Miami University Libraries.
Marianne D. McComb Reading Series Presents
- Lilliam Rivera’s, Never Look Back, Feb. 15, 2022, 7:30pm, virtual, Lilliam Rivera in the award-winning author of the young adult novel Never Look Back, which retells the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, through the experiences of Puerto Rican teenagers in the Bronx. The book won the American Library Association's Pura Belpré Honor, and you can read the NPR review of the book here. Rivera has also written three other young adult novels including the new young adult science fiction novel, We Light Up the Sky. She wrote the graphic novel for DC Comics Unearthed: A Jessica Cruz Story. Register for Never Look Back
- Brian Broom’s, Punch Me Up to the Gods, March 1, 2022, 7:30 PM Punch Me Up to the Gods, is about growing up Black and gay in Ohio. The memoir was an NYT Editor’s Pick and a finalist for the 2021 Kirkus prize. Brian's work has appeared in The Washington Post, Poets and Writers, Medium, and more. His film, Garbage, won the Audience Choice Award at the Cortada Short Film Festival and was a semi-finalist in the Portland Short Fest. Register for Punch Me Up to the Gods
- Michael Torres’s, An Incomplete List of Names, March, 14, 7:30, 2022, An Incomplete List of Names was selected for the National Poetry Series and named one of NPR’s Best Books of 2020. In 2019, Torres received fellowships and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, and The Loft Literary Center for the Mirrors & Windows Program. A former Artist-in-Residence at the Camargo Foundation in Cassis, France, he is currently a 2021-22 Jerome Hill Artist Fellow. Register for An Incomplete List of Names
Robert E. Strippel Memorial Fund for Continuing Dialogue on Justice - Spring Series 2022
Depolarizing Within Workshop
Wednesday, March 2 A free workshop to support you to become aware of your "inner polarizer" and learn methods for disagreeing without contempt and ridicule. Much of today’s polarization is driven by how we talk with like-minded people about those on the other side. Too often, we stereotype, dismiss, or ridicule our fellow citizens who support the other political party, its leaders, and its policies.
Skills for Bridging the Divide Workshop
Saturday, April 2
A free workshop to learn & practice skills for having more respectful & productive political conversations with people on the "other side." There's a lot of stress these days among family members and friends who are divided politically, and the current polarized public conversation doesn't help. Please join us for a Braver Angels Skills for Bridging the Divide Workshop and learn skills for having respectful conversations that clarify differences, search for common ground, and affirm the importance of the relationship.
Three: Celebrations & Recognition
Black History Month
Black history is American history, and during this month we foreground conversations about Black representation, identity, and diversity in our nation, state and campus history. We honor the history and achievements of African Americans past and present. This heritage month is also an opportunity for the Miami community to assess the work we have accomplished and still have to do. At Miami, we stand in solidarity with all who advocate for transformative change and justice and we declare unequivocally that Black Lives Matter, this and every month. We encourage all Miamians to engage in dialogue and allyship with our campus community organizations such as BSAA, ABFAS, ASU, BWE, NPHC, NABA, NSBE, NBLSA.
Miami Athletics to Celebrate 50 years of Title IX: A Legacy of Love and Honor
Miami Athletics is proud to announce a year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of Title IX. During the 2022 calendar year, we invite you to be a part of the 50th Anniversary of Title IX: A Legacy of Love & Honor. We will offer a variety of in-person, virtual and personal stories to celebrate Miami Athletics' commitment to equity in opportunity since the creation of Title IX in 1972. Read More.
Upcoming Religious Holy Days and Holidays & Inclusive Scheduling
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 during the month of February and future months.
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