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University of North Dakota’s official press release archive.

MEDIA REMINDER: UND Fall Innovative Learning Symposium welcomes Karen Crawford Simms, expert life coach for marginalized communities, is TODAY, Sept. 29

Media is invited to take in keynote address by Karen Crawford Simms, or any of the other symposium programming; virtual access available

The UND Innovative Learning Symposium supports the One UND Strategic Plan Goal 5, to foster a welcoming, safe, and inclusive campus climate. It is aimed at all faculty, staff, administration and students within the North Dakota University system and Tribal Colleges who want to operationalize best inclusive strategies. UND photo.

WHO: Karen Crawford Simms, consultant, trainer, facilitator and coach, specializing in communities traditionally marginalized because of race, gender, sexual orientation/identity, health or socioeconomic status.

WHAT: UND Fall Innovative Learning Symposium  to focuses on “building belonging”

WHEN: Keynote address is set for TODAY, 8:30-9:30 a.m. The symposium, along with its other programming will run until 4 p.m.; virtual access available. See link below.

WHERE: UND Memorial Union Ballroom C, or online.

Details:

The University of North Dakota will hold its Fall Innovative Learning Symposium TODAY, Sept. 29, 8:30 – 4 p.m. in the UND Memorial Union Ballroom C, leading off with Karen Crawford Simms, expert consultant, facilitator and coach for traditionally marginalized communities, as keynote speaker.

Simms, of Meridian K Consulting & Coaching, Champaign-Urbana, Ill., will address the UND symposium, which carries the theme “Inclusion Across Campus: Strategies for Building Belonging,” right away at 8:30 a.m., on Wednesday, Sept. 29.

The program is free and available in-person and via distance. Click here to register for any or all sessions.

The symposium will be presented by the UND Teaching Transformation and Development Academy (TTaDA) , and is supported by the Offices of the President and the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Karen Crawford Simms

This hybrid symposium supports Strategic Plan Goal 5, to foster a welcoming, safe, and inclusive campus climate, and will feature a University-wide keynote, staff, faculty and administrator workshops, and an evening student listening session. This symposium is aimed at all faculty, staff, administration and students within NDUS and Tribal Colleges who want to operationalize best inclusive strategies.

About Simms:

Karen Crawford Simms is an experienced consultant, trainer, facilitator, and coach. She has a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy; and has spent over 30 years advocating for individuals, families and communities who have been marginalized because of race, gender, sexual orientation/identity, health, or their socioeconomic status. She has expertise in trauma-informed care, culturally responsive practices, community engagement, outcome-based planning, collaborative processes and implementing evidence-based practices. She is also the owner/founder of Meridian K Consulting & Counseling Services which provides targeted training and technical assistance to schools, university, community organizations, law enforcement, local governments, civic organizations, not-for-profits, and employers.

 

TODAY, Sept 29:

  • Keynote, Memorial Union Ballroom C – 8:30-9:30 a.m. with Karen Crawford Simms: “How inclusive practices can be put into effect across campus in the wake of the global pandemic and a return to campus.”
  • Staff Workshop, Memorial Union Ballroom C – 10-11 a.m.: How to support others and ourselves in the workplace by minimizing misunderstanding through communication and proactive inclusive strategies.
  • Faculty Workshop, Memorial Union Ballroom C, 1-2 p.m.: How to respond to and support diverse students (taking classes across all modes of delivery) who are experiencing difficulty in the wake of the pandemic.
  • Symposium Wrap Up + Book Read Kick Off, Memorial Union Ballroom C – 2:30-4 p.m.: Symposium closing remarks, next steps, the book read kickoff and book distribution.

Register for the book read: Diversity’s Promise for Higher Education: Making It Work

TTaDA will provide registered participants with a copy of Diversity’s Promise for Higher Education: Making It Work by Daryl G. Smith. In this book, Smith draws together research from a wide variety of fields. Smith proposes a set of clear and realistic practices that help colleges and universities locate diversity as a strategic imperative and pursue diversity efforts that are inclusive of the varied—and growing— issues campuses face without losing focus on the critical unfinished business of the past.

For more information, contact Lynette Krenelka, Director, Teaching Transformation and Development Academy (TTaDA), ttada@und.edu, 777.3325.

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