{"217101":{"#nid":"217101","#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\u003ELast week, 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\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPerception or Reality\u003C\/strong\u003E\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\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Truth of Our Stories\u003C\/strong\u003E\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, \u2028diversity, and inclusion, and Pearl Alexander, senior director for people strategies (both in the Office of Human Resources), 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","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":"2013-06-11 08:19:42","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:14:23","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-06-10T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2013-06-10T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"217071":{"id":"217071","type":"image","title":"Paul Kohn at the 2013 Diversity Roundtable","body":null,"created":"1449180130","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 22:02:10","changed":"1475894882","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:02","alt":"Paul Kohn at the 2013 Diversity Roundtable","file":{"fid":"197147","name":"paul_div.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/paul_div_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/paul_div_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4369414,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/paul_div_0.jpg?itok=Mf_VI6zx"}}},"media_ids":["217071"],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"67851","name":"Cheryl Cofield"},{"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":""}}}