This Forum considers whether Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives are important within universities. Is DEI work necessary to create a hospitable environment for diverse members of campus communities? Does DEI work contribute to or detract from the aims and missions of universities?
This Forum will be moderated by undergraduate Civil Discourse Fellows Kandace McConnell and Annie Zhang.
Speakers
Eduardo Martinez
Dr. Eduardo J. Martinez is an assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Cincinnati. His research is in democratic theory and focuses on institutions and practices such as administrative agencies, civic education, representation, and political partisanship. He studies the ways we evaluate democracies and particular practices or institutions within them. Dr. Martinez is especially interested in evaluation under non-ideal conditions using theorization guided by empirical research from the social sciences. His recent book, Boxed In: Making Identities Safe for Democracy, which is co-authored with Derrick Darby, explores the ways in which tightly scripted social identities shape our lives in ways that pose challenges for democracy. They offer a novel solution that involves taking up civic responsibilities to search for, make visible, and attend to group differences in background, perspective, and empowerment.
Kevin Wallsten
Dr. Kevin Wallsten is a professor in the Department of Political Science at California State University, Long Beach and former president of the American Political Science Association’s Section on Information Technology and Politics. His research focuses on American elections, public opinion, political communication, social media and race and ethnic politics. His papers have been cited in nearly 1,300 published works and his most recent book, entitled “Politics of the Pill” (co-authored with Rachel VanSickle-Ward), was published with Oxford University Press in 2019. In recent work, Dr. Wallsten explores potential conflicts between DEI initiatives, free speech, and academic freedom at universities.
Moderators
Kandace McConnell
Kandace is a first-year Morrill Scholar majoring in English on the pre-law track. She is also minoring in Spanish and Civic Engagement. She serves as the DEI chair for her Community Council and is an active member as a Law and Society Scholar. Outside of academics, Kandace works as the Arps Hall Student Librarian. Before college, Kandace had an internship with the Columbus Metropolitan Library where she promoted literacy and accessibility in education for youth.
Annie Zhang
Annie is a second-year student double majoring in Psychology and Public Management, Leadership and Policy. Passionate about social impact, discussing novel ideas, and coaching, she is involved in Undergraduate Student Government, TEDxOhioStateUniversity, and the Global Leadership Institute cohort. In her hometown, St. Louis, she has worked as a political canvasser for several local and congressional campaigns. In her spare time, she enjoys meeting new people, playing piano, and hip hop dance.
This student-moderated discussion is part of CEHV's "Civil Discourse Forums" series. Forum topics are selected by our undergraduate Civil Discourse Fellows trained in the 4Cs of civil discourse (Be Curious, Be Charitable, Be Conscientious, Be Constructive). We are grateful to the Derrow Family Foundation for continuing support.
