Diversity and Inclusion Workshop
Presented by nationally known experts, Dr. Mark Chesler, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of Michigan and Dr. Diana Kardia, CEO of the Kardia Group
The objectives of the workshop are to:
- Provide an overview of key diversity concepts relating to gender, race/ethnicity, and other social identity factors
- Combine awareness with tools that support changes in attitude, behavior, and understanding
- Empower faculty and staff in their ability to make a contribution to a positive diversity environment
- Build on our history of commitment to diversity and inclusion and the college strategic plan of "empowering our people, enriching our culture"
About the Presenters
Mark A. Chesler, Ph.D.
Mark A. Chesler is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Michigan and Executive Director of Community Resources Ltd. in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Mark is an activist scholar conducting research, teaching, consulting, and organizing on issues of social justice and personal/organizational change around race and gender equity and of the psychosocial impact of childhood cancer. His work focuses on these issues in the contexts of: (1) challenging racism/sexism and implementing multiculturalism in higher educational as well as corporate and community systems, including the ways in which entitlement/privilege and historic oppression are acted out in pedagogies and management styles; (2) the experience of teens, young adults and families surviving childhood cancer and creating and sustaining voluntary and non-profit groups, especially with regard to issues of patient/citizen empowerment and the improvement of social services targeted at families of children with cancer.
Mark’s teaching duties have included the innovation of Community Service Learning projects, leadership in the University of Michigan’s Program on Intergroup Dialogues, and courses/workshops on Qualitative Research Methods and Participatory Action Research. He is the author/editor of 7 books and over 200 articles/chapters/reports and frequently speaks to professional and public audiences. His most recent books around race/gender issues include Challenging Racism in Higher Education: Promoting Justice (with Amanda Lewis & James Crowfoot) and Intergroup Dialogues in Higher Education: Meaningful Learning About Social Justice (with Ximena Zuniga, Ratnesh Nagda and Adena Cytron). He also is the author of: Childhood Cancer and the Family (with Oscar Barbarin), Self-Help and Cancer (with Barbara Chesney), and You are not Alone (with Sara Eldridge), as well as numerous articles dealing with psychosocial issues surrounding childhood cancer. He has been President of the US-based Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation and of the International Confederation of Childhood Cancer Parent Organizations.
Diana Kardia, Ph.D.
Diana Kardia applies her academic training and experience with faculty careers, diversity and multiculturalism, curricular design, student development, and the complex organizational dynamics of colleges and universities to provide coaching and consulting to administrators, departments and institutions. Skilled in organizational change, climate assessment, conflict resolution, strategic planning, diversity, and academic leadership development, she has provided in-depth coaching to more than 50 department chairs, deans, and faculty; brief coaching to over 100 assistant, associate, and full professors; and consulting and facilitation resources for hundreds of faculty and academic administrators through seminar, faculty meeting, and retreat settings. She specializes in longer term projects with departments and colleges that enact a deep transformation of the culture, climate, and success of the academic endeavor.
Diana has taught and conducted research in the fields of statistics, psychology, education, and women's studies; held a variety of administrative roles in academia; and conducted workshops, retreats, and multi-day trainings on organizational change, effective teaching, diversity and dialogue, and the dynamics of academic departments.
About the Kardia Group
The Kardia Group is a network of conversations and collaborations focused on the interesting, unique, and challenging realities of academic institutions and faculty careers. Led by Diana Kardia, Ph.D., developed through collaborations with faculty advisors and organizational experts, and inspired by faculty development and institutional transformation goals originally explored at the University of Michigan, the Kardia Group is an emerging leader of academic leadership development and organizational change.