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Twelve ���ϲ����� faculty and staff members will join hundreds of women academics from across the nation for the 2023 Faculty Women of Color in the Academy (FWCA) annual conference April 20-23.

The conference provides educational and professional opportunities for women of color and Indigenous colleagues in higher education to learn from the work of their peers regarding diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) issues and action plans. Talks and workshops are also designed to encourage leadership development, mentoring and empowerment for women of color in the academy. The conference, hosted by Virginia Tech, will be held in Arlington, Virginia.

Marcelle Haddix

Marcelle Haddix, associate provost of strategic initiatives in the Office of Academic Affairs, says the conference provides an excellent opportunity to share research, learn about special initiatives and hear different perspectives about DEIA programs and successes. “We look forward to meeting with counterparts from dozens of colleges and universities on these topics and connecting with peers in a setting that also promotes professional development and academic leadership growth,” says Haddix.

In addition to Haddix, delegates are:

• Kristen Barnes, associate dean for faculty research and professor of law, College of Law
• Renate Chancellor, associate professor of Library and information science, School of Information Studies
• LaVerne Gray, assistant professor, School of Information Studies
• Alicia Hatcher, assistant professor of writing studies, rhetoric and composition, College of Arts and Sciences
• Suzette Meléndez, faculty fellow for the Office of Strategic Initiatives in Academic Affairs and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and teaching professor, College of Law
• Ruth Opara, assistant professor of art and music histories, College of Arts and Sciences
• Jamie Perry, assistant professor of management, Martin J. Whitman School of Management
• Kira Reed, associate professor of management, Whitman School
• Rochele Royster, assistant professor of art therapy, College of Visual and Performing Arts
• Danielle Taana Smith, professor of African American studies, College of Arts and Sciences, and director, Renée Crown University Honors Program
• Melissa Yuen, interim chief curator, ���ϲ����� Art Museum

Several University attendees are presenting talks and workshop sessions. Haddix will speak on “Writing Our Lives: Turning Service into Scholarship” with co-presenters Sherri Williams G’10, G’15, assistant professor in the School of Communication at American University, and Dani Parker Moore, assistant professor of multicultural education at Wake Forest University.

Reed, Smith and Yuen will present a poster session on “The Arts and Engagement in DEIA: A Consideration of Social and Economic Inequities.” They will discuss how they formed strategic campus partnerships with interdisciplinary constituents using art and cultural centers as catalysts for hosting conversations on DEIA topics.

Keynote conference presenters are Katherine S. Cho, assistant professor of higher education at Loyola University Chicago; Tressie McMillan Cottom, associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Information and Library Science; and Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez, a feminist, theologian, advocate and storyteller.