Organized by the Office of the Vice President for Human Resources, Diversity and Multicultural Affairs | Dudley H. Davis Center
Friday, March 31, 2017
8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. Silver Maple Ballroom

Women of Color in the Academy: Identifying Challenges, Addressing Barriers, and Meaningfully Engaging the Campus Community

Women of color enter the academy from different cultural, ethnic, and racial backgrounds and they often have a host of potentially rewarding experiences available to them. Yet many share similar personal and professional experiences in higher education that limit their participation in such opportunities, such as the “diversity tax” and “motherhood penalty,” regardless of their talents, experience, or unique cultural and discipline perspectives. What is the relationship between the roles most women of color on campus are expected to embrace and the availability of these potentially rewarding opportunities? This keynote will identify and explore the internal and external challenges women of color face to meet the expectations of the academy, the academic barriers they encounter as they navigate their careers, and the strategies many use to help mitigate their work-life circumstances, including balancing the demands of career and family. The keynote will culminate with recommendations on how universities can address some critical issues facing women of color in the academy and how institutions can more broadly engage the campus community to help meet this challenge.

Speaker: Dr. Sheila Gregory

Host: Dr. William Falls and Dr. Cynthia Forehand

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