Office of Diversity and Inclusion Creates Dialogue Series for Supervisors

UPDATE: The first sessions in this series—listed below for July 6, 8 and 10—have reached capacity. Additional sessions are being planned. New dates will be announced once details are finalized. To join a wait list for the additional offerings, visit the series registration page.

As the country continues to address racial tensions, polarized perspectives and heinous acts of violence, members of our campus community are hurting, enraged, exhausted and confused. To increase dialogue and understanding around these critical issues, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, in collaboration with the Office of Human Resources, has developed an intensive series for supervisors as they engage their staff members in conversations that encourage inclusion. In the Moment—Bridging the Gaps of Race Dialogue is a discussion series for staff supervisors that will be held July 6, 8 and 10 from 11 a.m. to noon.

Due to the desire to engage all participants in active dialogue, the capacity for this series is limited to 25 attendees, and registrants should expect to attend each of the sessions. Registration is required. Once the maximum registration has been reached, others who are interested will be added to a wait list.

The dialogue series will be led by Senior HR Business Partner Delphia Howze, who has extensive experience in diversity and inclusion management. “We want to ensure that our staff supervisors have resources and spaces that support efforts to engage in high-stake conversations with their colleagues and team members,” Howze says. “We know that people have an overwhelming desire to be a part of productive D&I conversations but are afraid of saying the wrong thing. We want to provide a safe space aligned with foundational resources that will help people feel more comfortable with having very difficult and necessary diversity and inclusion dialogue.”

“As the nation, and our own campus community, continues to address issues regarding anti-Blackness, race and racism, there is a great need for dialogue within our departments and divisions,” says Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Keith A. Alford. “These conversations are sometimes difficult and while many may have the desire to have empathic dialogue with their co-workers, they hesitate to do so for a variety of reasons. This series was created to encourage supervisors to open themselves for the ensuing growth that accompanies these important and needed discussions about race. The series will better equip supervisors in their work with staff around this piece and support future growth in this area as well.”

Additional details regarding the supervisor series can be found on the University’s events calendar.