The annual Diversity and Inclusion Summit is a full-day conference addressing pressing issues related to diversity and inclusion at Boston College and in the higher education field.

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2023 DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION SUMMIT
Power of Community
Growing Our Capacity for Compassionate Belonging
Wednesday, May 24, 2023 | 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. | Gasson Hall

The distinction between a workplace and a campus community is the presence of welcoming, respectful spaces that foster engaging dialogue about differences and commonalities. A commitment to a continuous journey of learning and action at the individual and organizational level cultivates a culture of inclusion and belonging. How do we continue to grow the necessary knowledge, skills, and tools to advance and sustain inclusive excellence at Boston College? This year’s Summit sessions will explore opportunities for learning and action to better equip our community with the knowledge and skills for growing our capacity to foster a compassionate environment of belonging.

Summit Agenda and Information

 

Summit Agenda

8:30 a.m.

light breakfast

9:00 a.m.

Opening Remarks and Morning Keynote

10:30 a.m. 

Break / Transition to Concurrent Session Rooms

10:45 a.m.

Educational Concurrent Sessions 1

12:00 p.m.

Lunch Break - Lyons Hall

12:40 p.m.

Afternoon Panel

1:40 p.m.

Break / Transition to Concurring Session Rooms

1:50 p.m.

Educational Concurrent Sessions 2

3:05 p.m.

Break / Transition to Gasson 100

3:15 p.m.

Community of Practice Discussion and closing remarks

5:00 p.m.

2023 Diversity and Inclusion Summit Concludes

Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington UPDATE PHOTOOTOTOTTOO

Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington

Educational Concurrent Sessions 1 | 10:45 am - 12:00 pm

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Educational Concurrent Sessions 2 | 1:50 pm - 3:05 pm

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Diversity and Inclusion Summit: Cultivating a Culture of Inclusion and Belonging

Wednesday, May 25, 2022

In the spirit of St Ignatius, inclusion is measured by the action while belonging is the desired outcome. Boston College’s mission of building inclusive relationships across differences provides formative opportunities to enhance the quality of human interaction.

Cultivating a sense of belonging as a catalyst for change strengthens hope, optimism, and resilience. As worldwide challenges continue to emerge and impact our campus community, it is vital for each of us to experience a sense of belonging within our common home.

The summit programs will equip you with the knowledge and skill sets necessary for cultivating a culture of inclusion and belonging, moving us toward inclusive excellence.


Featured Speakers: Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington, President & Founder of the Washington Consulting Group (WCG). Shawn McShay, Assistant Dean, Graduate Enrollment Management at Boston College Law School.

The 2022 Diversity & Inclusion Summit: Cultivating a Culture of Inclusion and Belonging hosted over 220 faculty and staff, at the first in-person summit since the pandemic. The day’s programs gave attendees the opportunity to become equipped with the knowledge and skill sets necessary for cultivating a culture of inclusion and belonging, moving us toward inclusive excellence.

In the spirit of St Ignatius, inclusion is measured by the action while belonging is the desired outcome. Boston College’s mission of building inclusive relationships across differences provides formative opportunities to enhance the quality of human interaction.

Cultivating a sense of belonging as a catalyst for change strengthens hope, optimism, and resilience. As worldwide challenges continue to emerge and impact our campus community, it is vital for each of us to experience a sense of belonging within our common home.

Download the 2022 Summit Program Book to review what made the 7th Summit great!

(please be aware that the resources listed on this page require BC Email login to access)

Watch the Invocation by Gregory Kalscheur, S.J., Welcome by William P. Leahy, S.J., Opening Remarks by David Trainor and Morning Keynote presented by Vincent Rougeau

Morning Concurrent Sessions

Interrogating Our Positionality & Values Toward Creating a Culture of Inclusion
Presenter: Dr. Treniece Lewis Harris, Program Director, Master’s Program in Mental Health Counseling
In this interactive workshop, participants used reflective practice, divergent thinking and small group discussion to facilitate innovative thinking about intentional inclusion strategies and assessments of relative belonging for our diverse learning community.

Supporting LGBTQ+ Students from an Intersectional Lens
Presenter: Caroline Davis, Director, Student Outreach and Support Services
This interactive presentation provided participants with a foundation to be able to support LGBTQ+ students from an intersectional lens, and a basic explanation of important terminology and overview of the LGBTQ+ student experience.

Addressing Diversity Issues & Challenges in College Athletics
Presenter: Michael Harris, Director, Student-Athlete Academic Services & Athletics Diversity & Inclusion Designee
Additional Presenters: Jade Morris (Senior Associate Director, Student-Athlete Development), Josh Beekman (Director, Football Initiatives), Kenny Francis (Academic Counselor/Tutorial Coordinator)
This session provided an overview of the diversity issues and challenges within college athletics, i.e., racism, gender inequality, and LGBTQ+ issues, and showed how BC Athletics has responded and sought to make meaningful change.

Afternoon Panel moderated by Shawn McShay, with Richard Jackson, Shawna Cooper Whitehead, Burton Howell, and Katherine Gregory

Watch the Panel 

Afternoon Concurrent Sessions

The Use of Restorative Practices to Develop and Grow an Inclusive Community
Presenter: Corey Kelly, Director, Office of Student Conduct
Additional Presenters: Peter Kwiatek, Associate Director of Student Conduct, Kristen O'Driscoll, Associate Director
This session provided participants with introductory knowledge and skills in restorative practices and their ability to facilitate growth, inclusion and harm repair within the BC community.

The Jesuit Catholic Call to Multifaith Belonging
Presenter: Christopher Darcy, Associate Director, Campus Ministry
Additional Presenters: Kelly Hughes, Campus Minister for Retreats; Emily Egan, Campus Minister for Arrupe; and Rev. James M. Hairston, Campus Minister for Multi-Faith Programs
In this session, participants learned about Boston College’s Multi-Faith ministries, the experience of students from various religious traditions, and practical tips to support Multi-Faith inclusion and belonging.

Cultivating a Culture of Inclusion and Innovation through Human-Centered Design Thinking
Presenter: Sunand Bhattacharya, Associate Vice Provost for Design & Innovation Strategies, Vice Provost for Research
Additional Presenters: Maria Isabelle Carnasciali, Professor of Engineering at the University of New Haven
Through this talk and interactive session, participants had the opportunity to listen, reflect, discern and discuss next gen’s mindsets, habits, and outlook in the context of the future of learning using processes of design thinking, innovation and entrepreneurship to impact society at large through a human-centered approach.

Review the posters submitted to the Summit

Diversity and Inclusion Summit: Catalysts for Change
Wednesday, May 26, 2021 

Featured Speakers: Vincent Rougeau, Dean, Boston College Law School Inaugural Director of the Boston College Forum on Racial Justice in America.
Mara Hermano, Vice President, Institutional Research and Planning.Watch the
Invocation by John Butler, S.J., Welcome by William. Leahy, S.J., Opening Remarks by David Trainor and Morning Keynote presented by Vincent Rougeau

The 2021 Diversity & Inclusion Summit: Catalyst for Change hosted over 340 faculty and staff through a virtual platform.  The day’s programs offered increased engagement while supporting personal and organizational actionable strategies for change. 

The theme of the 2021 Summit centered on  “Catalysts for Change” identifying a catalyst as an agent used to cause or promote a change in the environment in which it is introduced. Diversity, equity, and inclusion change agents move towards intentional and proactive methods to create positive and sustainable change.  

Over this past year, the confluence of twin pandemics, COVID-19, and systemic racism, has reminded us of the work that still needs to be done individually and organizationally.  As catalysts for change, we are committed to promoting and sustaining an inclusive environment that motivates us to be fully engaged in our community, enabling us to bring our whole selves in contributing to a just and equitable Boston College community.

Download the 2021 Summit Program Book to review what made the 6th Summit great!

(please be aware that all the resources listed on this page require BC Email login to access)

 

Watch the Invocation by John Butler, S.J., Welcome by William. Leahy, S.J., Opening Remarks by David Trainor and Morning Keynote presented by Vincent Rougeau

Watch Morning Concurrent sessions 

Watch Afternoon Panel moderated by Mara Hermano, with Frank Bailey, Ximena Soto, and Rafael Luna

Watch Afternoon Concurrent Sessions

Review the posters submitted to the Summit

 

The Office for Institutional Diversity hosted
Diversity and Inclusion Summit: Towards Inclusive Excellence 
on Wednesday, May 20, 2020, virtually via Zoom. 

The 2020 Diversity and Inclusion Summit invited faculty and staff to participate in a full day of learning, conversation, growth, and reflection. This year’s Summit featured didactic concurrent morning sessions on diverse topics paired alongside afternoon workshops focused on skill-building to bridge the gap between knowledge and action.

Thank you to all who attended the 2019 Summit. We hope to see you again next year!

The Office for Institutional Diversity hosted
Diversity and Inclusion Summit: Transformational Dialogue
on Wednesday, May 22, 2019 at Gasson Hall

The 2019 Diversity and Inclusion Summit invited faculty and staff to participate in bold and inclusive conversations, interactive sessions and shared storytelling that encourage and promote transformative and self-reflective dialogue across differences and commonalities.

Watch the Morning Plenary Session presented by Dr. Zareen Karani Araoz.

This plenary seeks to address the foundational issues of cultural differences and cultural identity and values. How do differences arise? How can we better strive for excellence, in our professional and personal spheres and in our relations as individuals and in groups? The session is interactive, helping participants reflect on their own cultural identity, the values they hold dear, how they express them, and how they understand and deal with values and perspectives that differ from their own.

Watch the Afternoon Plenary Session presented by Dr. Tiziana Dearing, Burt Howell, Joy Moore, and Catherine Wong.

As we know, there is no one way to create and sustain brave space for dialogue, action, and emerging allyship. This interactive session highlights several different styles and approaches into transformative dialogue, so that the BC community can enhance its capacity for change in the midst of challenge and its resourcefulness in the building of lasting relationships across campus.

Download the 2019 Summit Program to review some of what (and who) contributed to making this year's event great! Also remember to check out our hashtag on social media to see what participants found exciting or moving: #BCDISummit2019

The Office for Institutional Diversity hosted the
Diversity and Inclusion Summit: One Community, Many Perspectives
on Wednesday, May 23, 2018 in Gasson Hall.

Thank you to all who attended the 2018 Summit. We hope to see you again next year!

The 2018 Diversity and Inclusion Summit: One Community, Many Perspectives, guided by Jesuit principles, focused on the multiple ways our community is building capacity to advance and sustain inclusive excellence.

Watch the Keynote Speaker Address.

Review resources from the Keynote Speaker.

Watch the One Community Many Perspectives video.

Watch the Guided Discussion.

Download the 2018 Summit Program to review some of what (and who) contributed to making this year's event great! Also remember to check out our hashtag on social media to see what participants found exciting or moving: #BCDISummit2018

The Office for Institutional Diversity hosted the
Diversity and Inclusion Summit: Learn, Reflect, Engage
on May 24, 2017

Thank you to over 210 faculty, staff, and administrators who attended the 2017 Summit and made the event a success. We hope to see you again next year for the third annual Summit! The Diversity and Inclusion Summit: Learn, Reflect, Engage explored promising practices that contribute to Boston College’s commitment to enhancing a diverse, welcoming, and inclusive community that respects all and fosters dialogue within our Catholic and Jesuit tradition.

Listen to the Keynote Speech!

Download the 2017 Summit Program to review what made the summit great!

The Office for Institutional Diversity hosted the
Diversity and Inclusion Summit: Building and Leveraging Partnerships Across Campus
on June 1, 2016

Thank you to over 170 faculty, staff and administrators who attended and made the event a success! The Summit focused on how Boston College contributes to the social justice mission of the Society of Jesus through our efforts to create a diverse and inclusive community by building and leveraging partnerships across campus. The Summit, open to faculty and staff, included and looked beyond, compliance to provide insight into the programs, initiatives, and relevant research related to diversity and inclusion, in the hopes of creating a continuous learning experience.

Listen to the Keynote speech!

Download the 2016 Summit Program to review what made the 2016 Summit great!