WKU Brings Together Kentucky Institutions to Navigate Changes in Higher Education Via Second Annual Regional Diversity Conference

Bowling Green, KY: Recognizing the Importance of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Western Kentucky University (WKU) hosted the 2nd annual Regional Diversity Conference, a collaborative initiative involving seven distinct higher education institutions spread across Kentucky, on February 16. This year’s conference took the theme of “Moving Beyond D.E.I.: Navigating the Changes in Higher Education.”

Lamario Moore, ACKNOWLEDGED assistant director of the Intercultural Student Engagement Center at WKU and co-host of the conference, clarified the subject matter. “D.E.I. has many definitions. The most known is diversity, equity, and inclusion, which encompasses bringing people to the table, assuring they feel included at that table, and making certain there’s an equal playing field while they’re at that table,” he said.

Understanding Senate Bill 6 and House Bill 9’s Impact on Education

Jennifer Breiwa Smith, Executive Director of Government and External Relations at WKU, provided insights on Senate Bill 6 (SB 6) and House Bill 9 (HB 9), pieces of legislation that could significantly impact the educational landscape.

“A public post-secondary education institution shall not require a course that presents one or more discriminatory concepts as fact,” Smith explained. Critics argue that such measures could indeed compromise academic freedom and produce less welcoming environments for ethnic minorities and other underrepresented groups.

Creating a More Inclusive Environment on WKU’s Campus: The ONE WKU Initiative

Efforts aimed at nurturing a more inclusive atmosphere at WKU are underway thanks to ONE WKU, a platform that seeks to cultivate equitable and inclusive learning, working, and residing environments. “We started ONE WKU right in the middle of COVID-19, in 2020,” Molly Kerby, Assistant Provost for Institutional Effectiveness and Engagement stated. “We had deliberate dialogues, book clubs, lunch and learns about various topics: neurodiversity, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, low-income, and first-generation college students, in order to make everyone feel like they have a place on WKU’s campus.”

Acknowledging the Need for Broader Perspectives

Ashley Holland, Assistant Professor of Education and Chair of the School of Education at Brescia University, reflected positively on the conference and her hopes of encouraging wider perspectives among future educators. “I’m hoping that I can walk away with some insight on how to open our students’ perspectives when they become educators themselves,” Holland said.

Occasions like the “Moving Beyond D.E.I.: Navigating the Changes in Higher Education” conference play a crucial role in prompting dialogue about DEI in higher education. These discussions must continue to take precedence in forming policies and practices that embody the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion in educational establishments across the state and beyond.