Diversity and Inclusion Week Runs Through April 19

EWU’s Diversity and Inclusion Week, now in its 13^TH year, revisits favorite events, like the popular Diversity Festival, while introducing plenty of new opportunities for our campus community to celebrate, appreciate and learn.

“This is one week a year where we just really come together as a campus community and continue to elevate and discuss topics that are difficult. This is an opportunity for us to really invite every single person on campus from every single culture to be a part of it,” says Kim Davis, senior director for Diversity and Inclusion.

The week runs April 15-19 and includes 11 events that were planned collaboratively starting last fall, with Davis giving a special shout-out to Tom Shaffer and Samantha Stragier, for helping with logistics for each event. Davis says, “The committee could not accomplish this complex week of events without their expertise and commitment.”

A few highlights include a global crafting workshop, a panel discussion on Building Feminist Futures, featuring notable community leaders Natasha Hill, Lili Navarrete and KJ January, and Realizing Authentic Black Identity, featuring Angela Schwendiman, director of Africana Studies.

Davis is particularly excited for the Monday kickoff event, featuring Keynote Speaker Jenny Slagle, co-founder of Indigenous Eats. The eatery, near downtown Spokane, was recently picked by USA Today readers as the fourth-best new restaurant in the country.

An enrolled member of the Yakama Nation, and descendant of the Northern Arapaho Tribe, Slagle is the first person in her family to graduate from college. People can listen to Slagle’s Navigating Diversity Through Two Worlds presentation, as they enjoy some of the restaurant’s acclaimed cuisine – for free!

Although the keynote address officially begins at noon, Davis recommends arriving early, starting at 11:30 a.m., to get a plate of food and find a seat for the presentation.

The Diversity Festival, which features tabling from campus groups, multicultural pop-up shops and food and performances from around the world, will be held at the PUB’s NCR to make it more centrally accessible.

Davis hopes busy students, faculty and staff will find a few minutes to stop by as many events as possible – with free snacks and prize drawings as added incentives. 

There will also be plenty of T-shirt giveaways. The shirts feature this year’s “Love our Difference” theme with a logo designed by Jasmine Hoffer, a junior studying communication and public relations who is also minoring in design. Jasmine’s concept was selected from 11 student entries.

Davis hopes the takeaway from this year’s D&I Week is that people realize that “every single person in this community matters and they are part of the Eagle Pride, part of what makes us an amazing university.”

**For questions about D&I Week or accommodations, please contact Kim Davis at kdavis2@ewu.edu.

D&I Week Highlights (Visit the Diversity and Inclusion Week webpage for full event descriptions and Zoom links as they become available.)

Monday, April 15

Noon-1 p.m. | Keynote Address | Jenny Slagle, Co-Founder of Indigenous Eats |PUB NCR

Tuesday, April 16

10 a.m.-2 p.m. | Selena Day: Honoring and Celebrating Selena Quintanilla |PUB Skirts 

Noon to 1 p.m. | Realizing Authentic Black Identity at EWU Featuring Angela Schwendiman | PUB NCR

4-5 p.m. | First Time Home documentary screening and Q&A with EWU student Noemi Librado-Sanchez, co-director of the film | JFK Auditorium

Wednesday, April 17

11 a.m.-1 p.m. | Around the Globe Cultural Experience and Cultural Crafting | PUB NCR

2-3:30 p.m. | Escalation Workshop Through OneLove Foundation | JKF Auditorium

6-7 p.m. | DEI Guest Lecture, Embedding DEI in Business Practices | Kim Davis | Catalyst in Spokane

Thursday, April 18

11 a.m.- 2 p.m. | Diversity & Inclusion Week 2024 Festival PUB NCR, PUB Skirts and Outside on the campus mall

2-3 p.m. | Supporting Autistic Students, Featuring Professor Heidi Hillman | Faculty Commons

4-5:15 p.m. | Panel: Building Feminist Futures | Natasha Hill; Lili Navarrete; KJ January | Monroe Hall, WAGE Center, Room 207

Friday, April 19

9 a.m. to 2 p.m. | MESA Students Career Tabling Event | PUB NCR