This one-day gathering, scheduled for February 13th this year, is an opportunity for students, staff, and those in our community to collectively engage in a larger (virtual) conversation with social justice leaders in the United States.

“I look forward to the CEAD conference every year that I’ve been at EOU” says Chealsey Daniel, a senior studying Business Administration and Economics and also serves as the Student Council for Multicultural Affairs Coordinator, whose role includes co-chairing the CEAD Planning Committee. “This conference is an opportunity for me to learn new topics that are social justice-centered, as well as tools that help me shape my experience as a multicultural student/person of color living in this society.” 

The CEAD conference offers diversity training and education for students which serves the University’s mission to provide programming that develops them to “lead responsible and reflective action in a diverse and interconnected world.” Students participating in the CEAD Conference gain a greater awareness and understanding of power, privilege, biases, and stereotypes, as well as gain a broader understanding of differences in groups, backgrounds, cultures, practices, and worldviews through meaningful dialogue. The conference provides a space where participants can engage in thoughtful and informative dialogue that also challenge multiple perspectives and foster understanding.

This year’s conference features diversity and inclusion presentations with an emphasis on social justice issues with components of hope, healing, and renewal. “The presenters for this year’s virtual conference brings a breadth of experiences and perspectives to the conversation around diversity, equity, and inclusion,” says Mika Morton, Assistant Director of Student Diversity and Inclusion. “Given that we are all processing, navigating, and engaging in critical conversations around the issues of systemic racism in the wake of recent social justice movements — as a community and as a nation — our student leaders were intentional in their decision to invite speakers who could speak to what it means to meaningfully engage and connect with each other through constructive dialogue, allyship, and mentorship.”

Opening remarks begin at 9:00 a.m., followed by the opening keynote speaker at 9:30 a.m. All presentations take place within a hybrid virtual webinar and zoom platform. Due to the virtual conference format, participants will be able to engage with the presenters and with each other throughout the conference in different ways through features available in Zoom. Participants will receive a certificate identifying that they have completed four hours of diversity training.

This year’s keynote speaker is TIM WISE. Wise is among the most prominent anti-racist writers and educators in the United States. He has spent the past 25 years speaking to audiences in all 50 states, on over 1500 college and high school campuses, at hundreds of professional and academic conferences, and to community groups across the country. Wise has also trained corporate, government, entertainment, media, law enforcement, military, and medical industry professionals on methods for dismantling racial inequity in their institutions, and has provided anti-racism training to educators and administrators nationwide and internationally, in Canada and Bermuda.

Wise is the author of nine books, including his latest, Dispatches from the Race War (City Lights Books). Other books include Under the Affluence, Dear White America: Letter to a New Minority and Colorblind (all from City Lights Books); his highly-acclaimed memoir, White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son, (recently updated and re-released by Soft Skull Press); Affirmative Action: Racial Preference in Black and White; Speaking Treason Fluently: Anti-Racist Reflections From an Angry White Male; and Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama.

This year’s CEAD conference will also feature spoken word artist, MATT SEDILLO. Sedillo has been described as the “best political poet in America” as well as “the poet laureate of the struggle” by academics, poets, and journalists alike. He has appeared on CSPAN and has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, among other publications. He has spoken at Casa de las Americas in Havana, Cuba, at numerous conferences and forums such as the National Conference on Race & Ethnicity in American Higher Education, and at over a hundred universities and colleges, including the University of Cambridge and Stanford University, among many others.

JAVIER CERVANTES, Director of Institutional Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at Linn Benton Community College in Albany, OR, will be presenting the closing plenary session. In his leadership role at Linn Benton Community College, Cervantes works to prepare students, staff, faculty, and local community members navigate an increasingly diverse society and workforce, including working on issues of equity, cultural responsiveness, as well as helping to break down barriers and increase access to education for students from underrepresented communities.

Online registration is open now until February 11th, 2021. This year, the CEAD conference is FREE for every participant who wishes to attend. Visit eou.edu/mc/programs-services/cead-conference to register. Please visit eou.edu/mc/programs-services/cead-conference/ for details.

This year, CEAD is made possible with support from EOU’s Student Council for Multicultural Affairs, Associated Students of Eastern Oregon University Student Fee Committee, the Office of Student Diversity & Inclusion, and the EOU Diversity Committee.