WISE Director, Dr. Jill Williams, speaks as part of CALS Diversity and Inclusion speakers series

Nov. 8, 2017

On November 1, WISE Director, Dr. Jill Wiliams, had the opportunity to speak to faculty, staff, and students from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences as part of the College's Perspectives on Diversity and Inclusion speakers series.  Dr. Williams talk was entitled, "Difficult Dialogues in the Classroom."  Drawing on research that points to the positive effect openly discussing issues of systematic racism and sexism have on students from marginalized groups, Dr. Williams argued that we should proactively integrate these difficult topics into our courses as a means of fostering more inclusive academic spaces and persistence in STEM fields among students from underrepresented groups. She concluded by facilitating an interactive discussion on practical strategies for integrating difficult topics into STEM courses and how to negotiate some of the challenges that faculty face when doing so.