Belmont’s fourth annual Diversity Week features a full schedule of events and conversations for students, faculty and staff.
Diversity Week started Saturday with The Nashville Period Project Celebration, the culmination of a month-long drive to collect period protection products for girls in Metro Nashville Public Schools.
Throughout the rest of the week, students will have the opportunity to attend various convocation events, sample diverse cuisine in the Harrington Place Dining Hall and hear from multiple guest speakers.
“I have been working with various entities to put together programs that would provide opportunities for us, as a community, to learn more, and appreciate more and to come to embrace more diversity and inclusion on campus,” said Belmont Vice President and Chief of Staff Dr. Susan West, who is the chair of the Welcome Home Diversity Council.
The week isn’t just for students, though. Faculty and staff can attend events like a teaching center about using hospitality to foster diversity and inclusion and a “Real Talk” about diversity.
“Diversity and inclusion is the responsibility of all of our community members, as it is a competency for our staff members and something we expect of our community,” said Assistant Director of Communications Hope Buckner, who serves on the Welcome Home Diversity Council.
Here’s an overview of the week’s events. Events marked with an asterisk include the opportunity to receive convocation credit.
Monday: – *Chapel with Mark Charles, a Navajo Christian community development leader, about the power of diversity (10 a.m. in the Janet Ayers Academic Center Chapel) – *Global Engagement Study Abroad and International Missions Fair (10 a.m.-12 p.m. in the Maddox Grand Atrium) – *Open House with Belmont State of Mind and the Office of Multicultural Learning and Experiences (2-4 p.m. in the Gabhart Student Center) – *Diversity and worship convocation with Mark Charles (3:30-5:30 p.m. in the Belmont Ministry Center)
Tuesday: – Teaching Center: Fostering diversity and inclusion in the classroom through hospitality. This event for faculty and academic staff will center around a conversation about using hospitality as a tool for diversity and inclusion (11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Massey Boardroom) – Bruin Lead Student Leadership Challenge (This program begins on Tuesday from 4:30-8 p.m. in Beaman A&B. It will continue on Oct. 4 from 4:30-8 p.m. and Oct. 6 from 8 a.m. to noon. Clickhere to register.) – *Real Talk for Students: an opportunity for students to have conversations about diversity and inclusion at Belmont (5-7 p.m. in the Johnson Center Room 422)
Wednesday: – *Convocation with Austin Channing Brown, author of “I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness” (10 a.m. in the JAAC Chapel and 3 p.m. in McWhorter Hall Room 110) – Diverse Cuisine in Harrington Place (11 a.m.-1 p.m.) – *Walking Tour of Fisk University, a historically black university and the oldest institute of higher education in Nashville (1-4 p.m., clickhere to register) – *Moench Entrepreneurship Lecture Series with Payal Kadakia, the founder and executive chairman of ClassPass (5-6 p.m. in the JAAC 4th floor conference room)
Thursday: – Real Talk for Faculty and Staff: an opportunity for faculty and staff to have conversations about diversity and inclusion at Belmont (11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in Beaman A&B) – *Privilege Walk for students, faculty and staff (5-7 p.m. on the Lawn between the Johnson Center and the Randall + Sadie Baskin Center. Dinner will be provided, clickhere to register)
Friday: – *Race and Sports Convocation with Andrew Maraniss, the author of “Strong Inside,” which tells the story of the first African-American basketball player in the Southeastern Conference (10-10:50 a.m. in Beaman A&B) – *Juvenile Injustice Chapel with Judge Sheila Calloway (10-10:50 a.m. in the JAAC Chapel) – Screening of “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” (9 p.m. in the Johnson Center Large Theater)
Ongoing: – IdentiTree: a project where students can write their identity on a leaf to help create a larger Belmont “forest” in the Gabhart Student Center.
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This article written by Lydia Fletcher. Photo courtesy of Belmont.