The Collaborative Diversity Conference (CDC) will be held April 27-28 at the DoubleTree Hotel on North Glenstone Avenue. This year’s theme is “Connecting Citizens and Fostering Community.”

Missouri State University and the City of Springfield have been longtime partners in highlighting the significance of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). This includes cultivating a community that recognizes the impact of establishing stronger links between community partners throughout the Ozarks region.

As always, you can register for the event on My Learning Connection (MLC) using your noncredit fee waiver or budget transfer. Go to the event calendar on MLC, select the April calendar and filter for “Collaborative Diversity Conference.” You’ll see the various registration/payment options that are available.

The event includes several engaging sessions and is capped by the Inclusive Excellence Fund Gala on Friday evening. The gala’s featured speaker is Dr. Amy Blansit, kinesiology faculty member and Drew Lewis Foundation founder and CEO.

The panels and roundtables

Panels

• Are we there yet? The struggle to recalibrate and rebrand DEI (Thursday).
• Sista docs: Experiences of women of color in the academy (Thursday).
• Interfaith inclusion (Friday).
• A day in the life: Mothers raising diverse children in Springfield (Friday).
• Integrating diverse community resources to address sexual violence (Friday).
• Women empowerment: Blueprint for success (Friday).

Roundtables

• Supporting DEI leaders in the state of Missouri and beyond (Thursday).
• Redefining a sense of belonging (Thursday).
• Unpacking the law: Exploring SB410, the “Do No Harm Act” (Friday).
• Unpacking the law part two: Exploring SB410, the “Do No Harm Act” (Friday).

I’ll be attending the daytime sessions of this signature event. I hope to see you there.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State.

Clif