Diversity Month keynote address to take place April 5

April 4, 2018 | Events, UToday
By Staff



Motivational speaker and educator Dr. Derek Greenfield will visit campus this week as The University of Toledo celebrates Diversity Month.

He will give the keynote address Thursday, April 5, at 6 p.m. in the Driscoll Alumni Center Auditorium.

Motivational educator Dr. Derek Greenfield talked about diversity Oct. 12 in Savage Arena.

Greenfield’s talks and workshops have been featured at a wide range of conferences, companies and colleges. Last October, he gave a presentation to UT student-athletes, coaches and Athletic Department staff members.

Prior to his full-time speaking career, Greenfield spent more than 20 years as a college professor and administrator. He most recently served in the chief diversity officer role at Alcorn State University in Lorman, Miss.

“We celebrate diversity every day at The University of Toledo,” Dr. Michele Soliz, assistant vice president for student success and inclusion, said. “It’s also important to have a month to spotlight cultural backgrounds, beliefs, ethnicities, and gender and sexual identities because our incredible diversity brings us together and makes us stronger.”

Diversity Month is presented by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and the Office of Multicultural Student Success.

Listed by date, other free, public events scheduled include:

• Tuesday, April 10 — “Dark Girls,” a documentary that centers on the topic of colorism, 6 p.m., Thompson Student Union Room 2582. A discussion will take place after the film so viewers can share their own experiences with colorism.

— Imam Khattab Lecture on Islamic Thought, ““Sufism: The Kaleidoscope of the Soul,” by Dr. Ovamir Anjum, UT Imam Khattab Endowed Chair of Islamic Studies, 7 p.m., Law Center McQuade Auditorium. Learn more about Sufism — the mystical belief and practice in which Muslims seek to find the truth of divine love and wisdom through their direct personal experience of God.

• Tuesday, April 17 — Women in Public Service Panel, 6:30 p.m., Thompson Student Union Room 2591. Panelists will include Lucas County Auditor Anita Lopez, Lucas County Treasurer Lindsay Webb, and City of Toledo Chief of Staff Katy Crosby.

• Thursday, April 19 — Holi, the Hindu celebration of spring, 3 p.m., lawn south of Memorial Field House. Join the event known as the “festival of colors.” If the weather doesn’t cooperate to toss colors, the event will be held Thursday, April 26.

• Monday, April 23 — Performance by SouthEastern WaterSpider, an Eastern Woodland Native American drum group, 6 p.m. Thompson Student Union Room 2584. Come hear indigenous songs approved by the group’s elders.

For more information on Diversity Month, click here or call the UT Office of Multicultural Student Success at 419.530.2261.

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