ISCORE program director Japannah Kellogg invites faculty and staff to put the annual Iowa State Conference on Race and Ethnicity into action, in a very simple way: With office coworkers or perhaps university colleagues doing similar work, choose one or two conference sessions you'll all watch -- and then schedule time after March 4 to discuss what you heard and learned and how it changes perceptions or behaviors.
"That approach, planning ahead and following up, gives the campus community an on-ramp to continue the dialogue on these topics and this conference," Kellogg said. "Now ISCORE isn't just a conference they attended. Now they're taking some actions back to their departments, for example at the next staff meeting.
"It's another way of moving the needle" on issues of equity and inclusion, he noted.
ISCORE 2022 includes a virtual pre-conference for employees and graduate students Wednesday, March 2 (10:45 a.m.-4 p.m.), and an in-person conference for all students, faculty and staff at the Memorial Union Friday, March 4 (8:45 a.m.-5 p.m.). Register online for both events.
Another example of ISCORE in action is a group of academic advisors in the College of Engineering who, for several years, have been meeting a couple of times each semester to discuss a book or movie that focuses on a minority population. Their discussion includes strategizing on how they can use what they learn to help their students. (Hear more from that team during a 1 p.m. breakout session March 2.)
2022 champions
The addition of champions to ISCORE in 2016 gave Iowa State's colleges and library a path to share innovative projects, achievements and best practices -- and integrate their efforts, where appropriate. Two are featured each year. The 2022 champions are the colleges of Business and Liberal Arts and Sciences. Recorded messages from deans David Spalding and Beate Schmittmann, respectively, about their college's recent accomplishments and current projects in inclusivity will be shared during Friday's welcome session (Business) and keynote session (LAS).
All keynotes available virtually
Kellogg said keynote addresses at both the pre-conference and conference will be livestreamed. The ISCORE platform is on Whova.com and individuals need to register for ISCORE to receive access to Whova. The three keynote talks are:
- Wednesday, 3 p.m., "Land-Grab Universities: How Indigenous Lands Funded U.S. Land-Grant Institutions," Robert Lee, history department, University of Cambridge, England, and Tristan Ahtone, member of the Kiowa tribe and editor at large for Grist, an online magazine for environmental news and commentary.
- Friday, 9 a.m. "Calling on the Choir," life experiences that made her part of the diversity, equity and inclusion "choir," Anita Rollins, ISU retiree (2019), Ames city councilwoman, former Ames school board member, owner of Asriel Consulting and Publications.
- Friday, noon, "Navigating Universilandia using Landing Spaces," social and political contexts for opportunities in higher education for historically marginalized communities, Cristobal Salinas Jr., ISU alumnus, educational leadership and research methodology department, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton.
Symphony of diversity
Stick around Friday afternoon. At the ISCORE closing reception March 4, student musicians in ISU's Symphony Orchestra will reprise their 2021 Symphony of Diversity performance, "A Thousand Thunderbolts," first performed last April to commemorate the centennial of the Tulsa Race Massacre. The performance includes recorded video of speeches by living Tulsa civil rights activists and a program of music written by Black American composers.
Director of orchestral activities Jonathan Govias brought his "Symphony of Diversity" concept with him to Iowa State in 2020. He began the concert series in 2017 at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte.
