A Listening Session to Enhance the Graduate School Experience for Students from Underrepresented and Underserved Populations

The events of this summer have continued to expose the ongoing, systemic racism and injustice experienced by Black people in our country. The shock of it has led us to stop and consider more deeply the lived experience of graduate students from underrepresented and underserved populations.

Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from current graduate students regarding their experiences and their ideas on how to enhance the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering's diversity and inclusion efforts.

This event is open to faculty and graduate students. We want to hear from you and know that simply having your presence as a listener is extremely valuable.

Access the BlueJeans event: https://bluejeans.com/191152889

This listening session will be facilitated by Stephanie Ray, Associate Dean of Students and Director of Student Diversity Programs at Georgia Tech on Friday, October 23 from 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. 

About the facilitator:

Stephanie Ray is honored to have created two Diversity Offices at two Georgia institutions of higher learning. First, Stephanie is currently the Associate Dean of Students and the Director of the Office of Diversity Programs at the Georgia Institute of Technology.  Secondly, Ms. Ray is the founding Director for the Office of Multicultural Programs at Georgia Southern University.  In addition, Stephanie also created the Women’s Resource Center at Georgia Tech.

Ms. Ray is a graduate of Western Kentucky University where she majored in Speech Communication and History.  She also holds a Master's degree in Student Personnel Services in Higher Education from the same institution.

Stephanie is a keynote speaker and workshop facilitator who speaks on a number of areas, including but not limited to diversity and gender issues, leadership development and communication skills.  Stephanie earned the recognition of Distinguished Toastmaster with Toastmasters International Spring 2020. She is a certified diversity trainer for the National Coalition Building Institute, and she completed the Diversity Training Institute for the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in American Higher Education (NCORE). Dean Ray and her colleague, Dr. Toti Perez, were recently selected by NCORE to present a pre-conference session on “Creating a Strategic Plan in Multicultural Competence in Student Affairs”. Dean Ray is involved in a number of professional organizations. She is a past chair of the Diversity Issues Committee for the Southern Association for College Student Affairs.  She also served as president of the Georgia College Personnel Association.  In addition, Ms. Ray is currently active in the American College Personnel Association and NASPA.

In 2018 Stephanie was named as Administrator of the Year by the GT Student Government Association. Additionally, Ray received the GT Staff Leadership Award, and was recognized by the University System of the Georgia Board of Regents in the same category. Lastly, Dean Ray was honored to serve as a moderator for Governor Sonny Perdue’s state-wide town hall meetings on racial reconciliation.