Sponsored by the Office for Equity & Inclusion, Wesleyan’s second annual Diversity Summit was held from Monday, Jan. 31 to Friday, Feb. 4, and aimed to spark conversation and foster understanding among the wider Wesleyan community. This year’s theme, “Critical Race Theory: From Concept to Action,” was explored through four Zoom events throughout the week. The events were recorded and can be accessed through Google Drive by anyone with a Wesleyan email address.

Dean for Academic Equity, Inclusion, and Success April Ruiz highlighted the importance of implementing the Diversity Summit as a means to bring the Wesleyan community together to talk about social justice. 

“The thinking behind [the summit] was similar to the thinking behind similar events at other institutions,” Ruiz said. “[Equity and inclusion] is all of our work…. It’s work that everyone in every part of the institution—students, faculty, staff, alumni—needs to work toward and engage in.”

In a collaboration with the University of Hartford, the first event on Jan. 31, entitled “Critical Race Theory: What It Is and Isn’t,” Wesleyan hosted former Distinguished Kellner Family Professor of Urban Education at the University of Wisconsin Madison Gloria Ladson-Billings, a critically acclaimed author who examines successful pedagogical practices with African-American students. During the event, Ladson-Billings spoke about the development of Critical Race Theory (CRT), ways to practice it in an academic setting, and why it has received so much attention recently. 

“Before last year, [CRT] was a term people wouldn’t engage [with] unless they went to law school,” Ruiz said. “It’s this [method] of understanding the ways systems are inherently working toward oppression and inequality…but it’s been really highly politicized and thrown around as a descriptor for things that it actually isn’t.” 

The second day of the Diversity Summit included a session on “Inclusive Teaching Practices” and was directed towards educators. Led by Ruiz, the session was conducted on Wednesday, Feb. 2, and focused on giving faculty strategies for ensuring that students of all backgrounds feel comfortable in learning spaces. 

“[The session] had to do with thinking about the ways faculty create their classroom spaces, what you do at the beginning to set up expectations and norms in your classroom, [and] how you can do that in a way where all students are invited in,” Ruiz said. “That workshop was really focused on what it means to meet students where they are, to honor students’ various backgrounds, and to look at teaching as a partnership between the professor and the student.”

The summit’s third event, entitled “Equity & Inclusion @ Wes,” was held on Thursday, Feb. 3, and brought Wesleyan students, faculty, and staff together to provide updates on their efforts towards equity and inclusion. Vice President and Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Amin Gonzalez ’96 and Director of Financial Aid Robert D. Coughlin discussed several programs they recently instituted, including the provision of health insurance grants for students without a sufficient plan and essentials for high-need international students, and emphasized their commitment to meet full demonstrated need for all admitted students. 

In addition, Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) Equity and Inclusion Committee Chair Elena Brennan ’24 shared how the WSA has been working to encourage students from underrepresented backgrounds to run for student government. Two student ombuds also spoke about how the Student Ombuds Program, which was launched in the fall semester, aims to provide a safe and confidential peer resource for conflict resolution and to empower students to better navigate Wesleyan. Embodying Antiracism Initiative (EAI) Associate Producer Ariana Molokwu discussed how the EAI plans to begin providing internship and work opportunities for students and holding events in the local community. 

The summit concluded with a commemoration for Martin Luther King Jr., a long-standing Wesleyan tradition. 

“The MLK commemoration has a much longer history at Wesleyan than the Diversity Summit, but it really made sense to bring those two things together to make that end cap of the week,” Ruiz said. 

The keynote speaker for the commemoration event was Andratesha Fitzgerald, an educational scholar, author, and former teacher who wove her own experience as an elementary school student with King’s legacy as she spoke about the importance of empowerment and anti-racism in education.

Resource Center Director Demetrius Colvin, who oversaw the event’s planning, said its turnout was impressive.

“We had about 250 participants that ended up coming virtually, which was awesome,” Colvin said. “It really was, I think, one of the few all-campus community events [that] brings in the diversity of Wesleyan community members.”

The commemoration also included a saxophone performance of the Black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” by Neo Fleurimond ’24.

“It was a very interesting experience,” Fleurimond said. “That was the first situation on campus where I had to play an instrument on Zoom, and it was [a great feeling] to touch the hearts and souls of other people, whether they were on campus or not. It definitely made me feel like I was making an impact and contribution to Black History Month.” 

Ruiz, who attended Yale University as a first-generation, low-income (FGLI) student herself, was drawn to roles where she could work with students with experiences like her own. At Wesleyan, she has helped direct programs like First Things First, which assists FGLI students as they adjust to Wesleyan; trained faculty in inclusive pedagogy techniques; and worked to promote equity and inclusion at both the student and administrative level. In furthering equity and inclusion at Wesleyan beyond specialized programs, Ruiz spotlighted the Diversity Summit’s ability to promote dialogue and collaboration at Wesleyan.

“It’s one way to get everyone thinking, talking, reflecting at the same time,” Ruiz said. “It’s a cool way to inspire one another.”

Ruiz also applauded the summit as a means to acknowledge all of the work happening in and around the Wesleyan community.

“We’re all keeping our heads down and doing our own work and it’s important to have opportunities to, every once in a while, pick our heads up and look around,” Ruiz said.

 

Jo Harkless contributed reporting and can be reached at jharkless@wesleyan.edu. 

Jonah Rosenthal can be reached at jrosenthal01@wesleyan.edu.