Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Leadership Speaker Series

Each year, the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Leadership program brings leaders in the field of diversity and inclusion to campus for a series of discussions with students, faculty, and community members, culminating in a public lecture.

For more information, to suggest a speaker, or to volunteer for a student leadership opportunity in organizing the event, please contact the program.

2024 Speaker

Poster for 2024 Annual Speaker Lecture featuring Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, Moderated by Lena Williams

Speaker: Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, Moderated by Lena Williams  
Title: Volume one: Justice is Love  
Date: Monday, December 9, 2024, 6:00 – 7:30 pm | Hybrid  
Details: This discussion will examine the ways in which empathy, understanding, and care serve as essential foundations for promoting social justice and equity, with a particular focus on education and public policy. Additionally, it will explore the current political landscape through the lens of Sealey-Ruiz’s Archaeology of Self framework.  

Download poster

2023 Speaker

Unapologetic Leadership: Coming Through Fire

Speaker: Dr. Yvonne Spicer 
Title: Unapologetic Leadership: Coming Through Fire 
Date: Thursday, April 13, 2023 | 5:30-7pm | Hybrid 
Details: This keynote address will cover dynamics and intricacies of leadership, especially in government during very volatile/chaotic times, which was compounded by global pandemic. The Intersectionality of race and gender further exacerbated the need for creative and intentional solutions to challenges while addressing inequities and economic disparities. In this talk, Dr. Spicer will address learned lessons, garnered wisdom, and spiritual enlightenment. In the words of a groundbreaking book written by Martin Luther King Jr., “Where do we go from here: chaos, or community?” It’s important to lay the groundwork for potential opportunities to learn and shift the paradigm.

Past Speakers

poster for 2019 Annual Speaker lecture

Speaker: Celia M. Grant, Vice President of Marketing at Associate Industries of Massachusetts (AIM) 
Title: Annual Lecture: Diversity in Real Life: Is Diversity and Inclusion the Same for Everyone? 
Date: Thursday, April 18, 2019 | 4:30-6pm 
Location: Cabot 702

Download poster

poster for 2018 Annual Speaker lecture

Speaker: Dr. Bryan McKinley Brayboy, of Arizona State University 
Title: Inaugural Leadership Scholar Lecture: A Hairstory of Violence: Connecting Lawful Terror, Indigenous Peoples, Land, and Race 
Date: Monday, March 5, 2018 | 4-6pm 
Location: Crane Room, Paige Hall

Download poster