The Office of Equity and Inclusion’s second annual conference is approaching on Sept. 22 with the theme “By All for All: Remapping our Communities, Economies, and Lives Through Equity and Inclusion.”
The conference focuses on the connections that equity and inclusion share with personal lives, organizations and overall community health through a series of speakers and panels over the course of two days. While initially planned to be held in person, the conference has moved online with a reduced pricing of $65 for ETSU employees, $75 for community members and $25 for ETSU students.
“Once we made the decision, once we made the decision to go virtual I mean, there has been a lot of excitement that’s centered around this,” said Equity and Inclusion Vice President Keith Johnson. “Right now we’re approaching 150 people who’ve already registered and typically we get the largest numbers of registrants typically a week before the conference begins.”
Last year’s attendance peaked around 130, but still soared over Johnson’s goal of 100 attendees. Those who choose to participate get access to two keynote speakers complemented by breakout sessions throughout the day. Each day is broken up into three sessions that last an hour and a half with breaks in between.
Day one features keynote speaker Yvette Assensoh, vice president of Equity and Inclusion for the University of Oregon, for a perspective on issues that affect institutions on campus. Day two’s keynote speaker is Shirley Davis, an accomplished diversity and inclusion consultant for the corporate world as well as a featured expert on equity and inclusion in several media appearances. The pairing of Assensoh and Davis is intended to draw the efforts of both education and employment closer together.
“One of the things that’s unique right now that I’m learning is that when people are applying for positions, they want to know that you have an appreciation and affinity for diversity, equity and inclusion,” said Johnson. “And this is a way that you can demonstrate that you had some development, if you will.”
Each day’s breakout sessions bring community and academic perspectives to bear regarding the benefits and challenges surrounding equity and inclusion, including panels featuring Johnson City Mayor Jenny Brock and Johnson City Police Department Chief Karl Turner. Attendees are free to choose the sessions that they participate in live, and will have opportunities to view recordings of the sessions they did not.
For more information regarding this year’s Equity and Inclusion conference, visit https://www.etsu.edu/equity/conference.php
