Fall Symposium
Fall Symposium 2021
The Teaching Transformation and Development Academy (TTaDA) and the Office of Academic Affairs was proud to host the UND Fall Innovative Learning Symposium, Inclusion Across Campus: Strategies for Building Belonging featuring Karen Simms of Meridian K Consulting & Coaching from Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. This hybrid symposium featured a university-wide keynote, staff and faculty workshops, a leadership luncheon, a book read kickoff, and a student listening session. This symposium was open to all UND faculty, staff, administration, and students as well as all North Dakota University System colleges and universities and the tribal colleges of North Dakota. The event was attended by hundreds of participants across all of these institutions and well received.
Symposium Speaker
Karen Simms is an experienced consultant, trainer, facilitator, and coach. She has a master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and has spent over 30 years advocating for individuals, families, and communities who have been marginalized because of race, gender, sexual orientation/identity, health, or socioeconomic status. Specializing in trauma-informed care, culturally responsive practices, community engagement, outcome-based planning, collaborative processes, and evidence-based practices, she is the owner/founder of Meridian K Consulting & Coaching and provides targeted training and technical assistance to schools, community organizations, law enforcement, government entities, not-for-profits, and employers.
Supplemental Materials
The following materials were utilized as presentations and handouts during the sessions of the symposium.
Trauma-Informed Approach to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Presentation
TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE AND HIGHER EDUCATION HANDOUT
Implementation Questions Handout
Leadership Luncheon Presentation
Symposium Survey
The following quotes were taken from the post-symposium survey evaluation.
"Thank you for these sessions! I value that UND has a place for these conversations."
"I hope you continue to allow other campuses to join. This was great!"
"Thank you for picking a wonderful and meaningful topic and speaker!"
Symposium Recordings
The following program outlines the sessions offered in September 2021 as we widened the lens of diversity and inclusive practices in support of Goal 5 to foster a welcoming, safe, and inclusive campus climate at UND and beyond. Except for the leadership luncheon which was not recorded, recordings for all sessions are below.
Tuesday, September 28
Student Listening Session - O'Kelly 343
5:30-7:00 pm
Students joined Karen and UND representatives to talk about belonging at the University of North Dakota.
Watch the Student Listening Session Recording
Wednesday, September 29
Keynote - Memorial Union Ballroom C
8:30-9:30 am
The keynote focused on how inclusive practices could be put into effect across campus in the wake of the global pandemic and the return-to-campus.
Watch the Symposium Keynote Recording
Staff Workshop - O'Kelly 343
10:00-11:00 am
The staff workshop consisted of ways to support others and ourselves in the workplace by minimizing misunderstanding through communication and proactive inclusive strategies.
Watch the Staff Workshop Recording
Leadership Luncheon - Memorial Union Ballroom D
11:30 am-12:30 pm
This luncheon, sponsored by the Office of Academic Affairs, provided opportunities for campus leadership to discuss points of interest, ask questions about inclusive strategies for UND, and identify next steps.
Faculty Workshop - O'Kelly 343
1:00-2:00 pm
The faculty workshop focused on how to respond to and support diverse students experiencing difficulty in the wake of the pandemic no matter how they are taking classes.
Watch the Faculty Workshop Recording
Wrap Up + Book Read Kick Off - Memorial Union Ballroom C
2:30-4:00 pm
This session featured closing remarks to the symposium, next steps for creating inclusive strategies and practices across campus, and the introduction to the TTaDA Fall 2021 DEI Book Read on Diversity’s Promise for Higher Education: Making It Work by Daryl G. Smith. In this book, Smith brings together research from a wide variety of fields to propose a set of clear and realistic practices that will help colleges and universities locate diversity as a strategic imperative and pursue diversity efforts that are inclusive of the varied—and growing—issues apparent on campuses without losing focus on the critical unfinished business of the past. Visit the Book Read page on the TTaDA website for more information about this concluded book read, and visit the Panel Discussions page to view the information and recording of the Diversity's Promise for Excellence featuring the author of the book.
Watch the Wrap-Up/Kick-Off Recording
Additional DEI Sessions
TTaDA will be offering additional sessions on Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion during the Fall 2021 term. A list of available sessions can be found on the main Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion page on the TTaDA website.