{"219061":{"#nid":"219061","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Event Offers Opportunity for Diversity Dialogue","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA title was all it took to pique Paul Kohn\u2019s curiosity about this year\u2019s Diversity Roundtable event.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI remember that this year\u2019s program title involved fish not seeing water \u2014 language that was catchy enough to make me want to learn more \u2014 so I decided to register for the event,\u201d said Kohn, vice provost for Enrollment Services.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn early June, faculty and staff members from across campus attended the roundtable titled \u201cThe Blindside: Self-Management of Fish Who Don\u2019t See Water.\u201d This was the first year that the event included morning sessions in addition to a lunch program.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKohn, who has attended this and other diversity-focused events in the past, chooses to attend the events for two \u2028reasons.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cFirst off, opportunities to get together with colleagues and address elephants in the room related to diversity are important to me,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I also feel like it\u2019s important for leadership to practice what they preach. If we don\u2019t support these types of events, why should we expect anyone else to?\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPrior to the event, Kohn mentioned that he hoped the event would offer an opportunity to reflect on his own attitudes toward \u2028diversity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI also hope to hear some discussion regarding the status divides on campus among faculty, staff, and students,\u201d he added.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe morning kicked off with a presentation from Charlotte Hamlin, a diversity consultant who created the Diversity Drama training program. Hamlin shared stories about her own eye-opening experiences related to diversity, with one of her key messages being that perception often has more impact on what we think than reality does.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI often see what I want to or expect to see,\u201d Hamlin said. \u201cAnd I may attribute causes of behavior to favor myself or the groups I belong to.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHer parting advice was for the audience to focus on similarities to others \u2014 instead of differences \u2014 and to build communities based on these.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFollowing Hamlin\u2019s presentation, several staff members shared their own diversity-related stories, which were followed by opportunities for the audience to discuss their experiences in small groups.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDanny Ingram, senior technical analyst from the Office of Information Technology, acted out a scene depicting an experience in which he is gay and in the military.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAssociate Dean of Students and Director of Diversity Programs Stephanie Ray shared a story about her father, who was a sharecropper, and the friendship with a white man that would change their lives.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECheryl Cofield, director for culture, diversity, and inclusion, and Pearl Alexander, senior director for people strategies (both in the Office of Human Resources [OHR]), also led a segment where people were encouraged to acknowledge their own prejudices.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor example, Cofield shared that several years ago, she was close to not hiring someone \u2014 who was completely qualified for the job \u2014 because of how the person dressed for the interview.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cToday is an opportunity to hear the truth of personal stories and continue our journey toward creating a culture of dialogue,\u201d Cofield said. \u201cStories can act as a catalyst for self-discovery and connection, as well as our collective transformation. I hope that today\u2019s events help to open our eyes and move us a step closer toward inclusive excellence.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith a little help from the Diversity Dramatists, attendees had a chance to discuss their own thoughts about diversity-focused issues during the lunch program.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe group performed skits that focused on topics ranging from not hiring someone because she \u201cwasn\u2019t a culture fit\u201d to learning how to work with co-workers with different sexual orientations. Following each skit, faculty and staff had a chance to discuss each topic with those at their tables.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI was extremely impressed with the programming,\u201d said Kohn, vice provost for Enrollment Services. \u201cFor example, I was reminded that others may hear your words differently than you mean them.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne moment that stood out in Kohn\u2019s mind occurred at the event\u2019s luncheon, when a woman shared that colleagues using the word \u201cguys\u201d to refer to men and women was offensive to her.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe word \u2018guys\u2019 has always been inclusive to me, kind of like \u2018y\u2019all,\u2019\u201d Kohn said. \u201cBut this woman felt like when people said, \u2018Do you guys want to go to lunch,\u2019 it didn\u2019t include her. This was one of those aha moments I wouldn\u2019t have had if I didn\u2019t attend this event.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe one area that Kohn wished there had been more discussion about was the status divides on campus among faculty, staff, and students.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere can be very real tension among these groups, and I think it\u2019s just as important for us to discuss these issues as it is to discuss topics such as race and sexual orientation,\u201d he added.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring the luncheon, Alexander also provided a progress report on OHR\u2019s diversity efforts.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cYou raised questions, and we\u2019re answering them,\u201d she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESome of this year\u2019s highlights include offering:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EBrown bag lunches focused on topics such as bullying and incivility.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ETraining sessions such as the Fierce Conversations program.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EReading circles, such as the recent event for female faculty and staff members to discuss Sheryl Sandberg\u2019s \u003Cem\u003ELean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlexander and Cofield also announced the creation of the following employee resource groups (ERGs): African Heritage; Hispanic\/Latino; Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Ally; Introvert; Veterans; and Women. Stay tuned to future issues for more information about the ERGs.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA title was all it took to pique Paul Kohn\u2019s curiosity about this year\u2019s Diversity Roundtable event.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A title was all it took to pique Paul Kohn\u2019s curiosity about this year\u2019s Diversity Roundtable event."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2013-06-25 10:02:39","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:14:27","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-06-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2013-06-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"218521":{"id":"218521","type":"image","title":"2013 Diversity Roundtable: Paul Kohn","body":null,"created":"1449180130","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 22:02:10","changed":"1475894885","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:05","alt":"2013 Diversity Roundtable: Paul Kohn","file":{"fid":"197195","name":"paul_diversity.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/paul_diversity_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/paul_diversity_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2038074,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/paul_diversity_0.jpg?itok=dYN0MJLU"}}},"media_ids":["218521"],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"736","name":"diversity"},{"id":"9019","name":"Diversity Roundtable"},{"id":"1506","name":"faculty"},{"id":"8122","name":"Office of Human Resources"},{"id":"10309","name":"Paul Kohn"},{"id":"167018","name":"staff"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications \u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-4142\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}