UND will host Sept. 29 innovative learning symposium, focusing on inclusion across campus

The Teaching Transformation and Development Academy (TTaDA) , the President and the Vice President for Academic Affairs are pleased to announce the UND Fall Innovative Learning Symposium, Inclusion Across Campus: Strategies for Building Belonging, featuring Karen Simms of Meridian K Consulting & Coaching from Champaign-Urbana, Ill.

Join us in person or from a distance on Wednesday, Sept. 29, as we widen the lens of diversity and inclusive practices in support of the work of the Diversity & Inclusion Task Force at UND. Click here to register for any or all sessions.

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 open to all faculty, staff, administration and students within NDUS and Tribal Colleges who want to operationalize best inclusive strategies.

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. Karen 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.

Wednesday, Sept 29

• Keynote, Memorial Union Ballroom C – 8:30-9:30 a.m.: How inclusive practices can be put into effect across campus in the wake of the global pandemic and a return-tocampus.
• 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. Smithproposes 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.

— Teaching Transformation and Development Academy (TTaDA), ttada@und.edu, 777.3325