ETSU’s fifth annual Equity and Inclusion Conference to be held in September

ETSU’s fifth annual Equity and Inclusion Conference will be held on Sept. 28 through Sept. 30, with registration opening later in the spring.

This year’s conference theme is “Beyond ‘Checking a Box:’ Building and Sustaining Campus-Wide Engagement for Belonging.” Students, faculty, staff and other community members as well as the public are invited to present during concurrent sessions, special sessions, panel discussions and civic cafes which proposals for are due by May 15.

Enforcing the talk of inclusion on campus and in the region, the conference will touch on the current situation in the community with diversity and involvement, and it will look forward to what it could be in the future.

Being open to public proposal submissions, it will also take in mind the Appalachian community as a whole and have guest speakers from other colleges such as Vanderbilt University, the University of Tennessee and North Carolina colleges.

Focusing on education, Vice President for Equity and Inclusion Keith Johnson aimed this event to center on educating community members on issues regarding equity and social justice. He also pushed for higher graduation numbers for those in under-represented ethnicity groups.

“Everything that we are putting in place will impact all students across campus,” Johnson said regarding graduation numbers.

Having a newsletter and a magazine, the Equity and Inclusion team advocates for students’ and community members’ educational value of a diverse and welcoming campus. To ensure their place at ETSU as the college evolves, the Office of Equity and Inclusion aims to assist under-represented individuals to achieve higher goals.

“It’s not an end-all,” Johnson said regarding the conference, “It’s just one of many things that we do on campus to really educate.”

Celebrating the conference, Johnson expressed gratitude and excitement for the event to reach its fifth year, especially since this year’s conference is the first to be all in-person due to the calming state of COVID-19.

“I want it to become a staple event for not only ETSU, I want us to get a hub for equity and inclusion knowledge, information, content and understanding,” concluded Johnson.

The Equity and Inclusion team is building ETSU towards its mission of family and success, and helping students reach bright futures along the way.

For more information on how to get involved, visit etsu.edu/equity. For more information on the upcoming conference, visit etsu.edu/equity/conference/.