CULTIVATING COMMUNITY
OSDO’s goal is to have the University’s work, communications, and events reflect the needs of our students, faculty, and staff to promote inclusive excellence. We strive to be thoughtful and intentional about the stories and voices we highlight. We aim to spearhead campus-wide events that are relevant to the interests of the BU community, aligned with our values, and hosted in partnership with diverse departments and organizations.
Innovation to Action Speaker Series: Advancing a Culture of Care — Leading from the Front Line
Join Boston University's Human Resources Office and the Office of the Senior Diversity Officer on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, for the fourth Innovation to Action Speaker Series event. Attendees will learn how front-line supervisors have the power to advance workplace culture by developing teams through inclusive excellence, technology, strategic outcomes, and more. Attendees will hear from innovative thought leaders and subject matter experts. We are excited to continue fostering thoughtful and nuanced discussions about workplace culture within the BU community.
Live Q&A: Submit a question to the panelists
Workplace Culture: Innovation to Action Speaker Series – ChatGPT and HR: The Next Workplace Frontier
On Wednesday, October 25, 2023, Boston University's Human Resources Office, Office of the Senior Diversity Officer, and the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences hosted a third segment of the Workplace Culture: Innovation to Action Speaker Series. Attendees learned about workplace culture practices and concepts from significant thought leaders and subject matter experts. This fall session raised awareness and shared successful techniques to help staff supervisors navigate HR strategy and administration in the new era of ChatGPT.
Commemorating Juneteenth: Exploring the Significance of Black Traditions & Community Engagement
On Wednesday, June 14th, the Office of the Senior Diversity Officer and College of Fine Arts hosted a virtual educational event with Sedrick Huckaby (CFA '97) and Letitia Huckaby, artists and co-founders of Kinfolk House, a collaborative project space that inhabits a 100-year-old historic home where community and art converge. Moderated by Dean Harvey Young, the Huckabys discussed the legacy, mission, and current projects at Kinfolk House and how this non-profit's values and vision align with the Juneteenth commemoration.
Boston Terror – The Origins of Ecological Genocide In Your Backyard (and how you can stop it)
On Tuesday, April 25th, join BU Sustainability, Office of the Senior Diversity Officer, Institute for Global Sustainability, and the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground as we celebrate Earth Day 365: a new series of events across Boston University that highlight how the importance of protecting our planet should be focused not only on Earth Day but every day of the year. In this lecture, Anthropologist David Shane Lowry, Ph.D., will shed light on BU’s proximities to and relationships with the creation of policies, educational models, and corporate cultures that displace Indigenous peoples in the United States. The conversation will focus on the tension at the center of American life that needs to be resolved: widescale suppression of Indigenous presence in everyday American institutions vs. a rapidly increasing need for the United States and the world to have access to Indigenous knowledge and political authority.
Workplace Culture: Innovation to Action Speaker Series – Managing Mental Health at Work
On Wednesday, March 29, 2023, Boston University's Office of Human Resources and the Office of the Senior Diversity Officer hosted their second Workplace Culture: Innovation to Action Speaker Series. This spring session is devoted to "Managing Mental Health at Work" and highlighted workplace culture practices and concepts from significant thought leaders and subject matter experts.
Keynote Speaker:
- David Ulrich, Rensis Likert Professor, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan
Moderator:
- Judy Platt, Chief Health Officer & Executive Director of Student Health Services, Boston University
Panelists:
- Constance Noonan Hadley, Lecturer for Management and Organizations, Questrom School of Business, Boston University
- Manuel Cuevas-Trisán, Vice President of Human Resources, Harvard University
- Karen Brouhard, Director, Faculty & Staff Assistance Office, Boston University
Martin Luther King Jr. Day: A New Sense of Direction
On Monday, January 16, 2023, Mayor Michelle Wu and the City of Boston, along with Dean of Students, the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground, and the Senior Diversity Officer, honored the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. This event featured remarks from Mayor Wu and Dr. Andrea Kaylan,President of the New England Conservatory. It also included a keynote educational conversation with Dr. Derrick L Williams, Professor of Communication Studies at Cuyahoga Community College – Metropolitan Campus, and Nicholas Bates, Interim Director of the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground. The New England Conservatory arranged musical selections throughout the program. Click here to view coverage of this event by CBS Boston.
Workplace Culture: Innovation to Action Speaker Series
Boston University's Human Resources and the Office of the Senior Diversity Officer hosted their inaugural Workplace Culture: Innovation to Action Speaker Series event on Tuesday, November 1st. Members of the BU community learned about workplace culture practices and concepts from significant thought leaders and subject matter experts. This session was devoted to raising awareness and helping staff and supervisors learn how to manage burnout and well-being in the new world of remote, hybrid, and in-person work.
Opening remarks:
- Colette Hands, Associate Vice President, Chief Human Resource Officer; Oakton Community College
Keynote speaker:
- Nicole Overley, Senior Manager, Higher Education Practice; Deloitte Consulting
Moderator:
- Evan Apfelbaum, Associate Professor of Management & Organizations; BU Questrom School of Business
Panelists:
- Jill Andy, former Senior Vice President, Human Resources; Amica Insurance
- Ronald "Ron" Arigo, Senior Vice President, Human Resources; AAA Northeast
- Stephanie Franklin, Senior Vice President, and Chief Human Resources Officer; Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Commemorating Indigenous Peoples’ Day: Community, Culture, and Connections
On Tuesday, October 4, the Office of the Senior Diversity Officer and BU Diversity & Inclusion hosted an educational panel commemorating Indigenous People's Day. During this event, experts from varied disciplines will discuss the importance of Native American representation in diverse contexts through the lens of community, culture, and connection.
Panelists:
Camille Madison, Language Keeper & Educator; Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project
Dr. Kyle Mays, Associate Professor, Department of African American Studies and American Indian Studies; University of California, Los Angeles
Dr. LeManuel "Lee" Bitsóí, Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Brandeis University
Moderator:
Dr. Wade Campbell, Assistant Professor of Archaeology and Anthropology; BU College of Arts & Sciences
Senior Diversity Officer’s Panel on Critical Race Theory
On February 10, 2022, the Office of the Senior Diversity Officer hosted an educational discussion on Critical Race Theory (CRT) - a body of legal scholarship and an academic movement of U.S. civil rights scholars and activists who are critically examining the intersection of race and U.S. law and challenging mainstream American approaches to racial justice. In collaboration with the Dean of Students Office, BU School of Law, Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, and BU School of Public Health, this panel approached CRT from a multidisciplinary approach to better inform and equip the next generation of leaders with a deeper understanding of complex issues and to promote constructive dialogue within the BU community and beyond.
Panelists included:
Dr. Janet Dewart Bell - Founder and President, LEAD InterGenerational Solutions, Inc.
Dr. Laura M. Jiménez - Associate Dean of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion; Wheelock College of Education & Human Development
Dr. Craig Andrade - Associate Dean for Practice and Director of the Activist Lab; BU School of Public Health
Moderated by:
Dr. Angela Onwuachi-Willig - Dean of Ryan Roth Gallo & Ernest J. Gallo Professor of Law, BU School of Law