Past #NCLUDE Learning Groups

Co-sponsored by Career Services, Open to Faculty and Staff.

Anchor: CJ Venable

Meeting Dates: Friday at 1PM (9/15/23, 9/29/23, 10/13/23, 10/27/23, 11/10/23, 12/1/23), Nebraska City Union

The Morrill Act of 1862 and the Nebraska Enabling Act of 1864 sold over 130,000 acres of land to financially support the creation of the University of Nebraska (now UNL). This land was considered ‘unclaimed,’ despite Indigenous Peoples residing in what is now Nebraska since prior to European colonization. This group will explore this past and present of settler colonialism in higher education, including competing narratives about land-grant universities, through Leigh Patel’s book No Study Without Struggle and the Land Grab Universities project from Robert Lee and Tristan Ahtone. Join us to consider how and why settler colonialism remains and what we might do differently in our work at a land-grant institution.

Anchor: Jerri Harner & German Avila

Meeting Dates: Wednesday at 2PM (9/20, 10/4, 10/25, 11/1, 11/15, 12/6), Nebraska City Campus

Get ready to focus on the single most important thing you can do to live a happy, healthy and successful life: BELONG. This group will read Belong by Radha Agrawal and discuss intentional ways to build and nurture community and belonging for all at UNL. As Agrawal says, “Belonging is the opposite of loneliness. It’s a feeling of home, of “I can exhale here and be fully myself with no judgment or insecurity.” Belonging is about shared values and responsibility, and the desire to participate in making your community better. It’s about taking pride, showing up, and offering your unique gifts to others. You can’t belong if you only take.

Co-Sponsored by ORED. Open to staff, faculty and administrators.

Anchor: Becky Carter

Meeting Dates: Tuesday at 3PM (8/29, 9/12, 9/26, 10/10, 10/24, 10/31), Virtual **Note Change in time. 

ORED Learning and Development in partnership with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion’s #NCLUDE program
will read and discuss The Person You Mean to Be:  How Good People Fight Bias by Dolly Chugh.  Dolly applies a
growth mindset to help confront difficult issues, including sexism, racism, inequality, and injustice.  "She argues that
the only way to be on the right side of history is to be a good-ish --rather than a good-- person. Good-ish people
are always growing."

Co-Sponsored by ORED. Open to staff, faculty and administrators.

Anchor: Becky Carter
 

Meeting Dates: Tuesday at 9:30 AM (8/29, 9/12, 9/26, 10/10, 10/24, 10/31), Virtual **Note change in day**

This #NCLUDE learning group will read short stories from the book What If: Short Stories to Spark Inclusion & Diversity Dialogue by Steve L. Robbins. Virtual meetings will occur approximately every two weeks throughout the fall semester, where we’ll discuss the stories and how to apply the lessons of inclusive excellence. The goal will be to increase our knowledge and skillset specific to diversity and inclusion so that we can create more inclusive team cultures. This group is a great match for anyone newer to learning about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) or new to applying DEI concepts.     

Open to Faculty and Staff. 

Anchor: Jennifer PeeksMease & Karen Wills

Meeting Dates: Wednesdays at 4PM (9/6, 9/20, 10/4, 10/18,  11/1, 11/15), Nebraska City Campus

This #NCLUDE group will focus on collectively and individually discerning guiding principles and everyday actions that faculty and staff can incorporate into their daily activities to positively impact and support first generation students. Some weeks we'll read common material, while other weeks participants will each read unique materials in order to bring their knowledge to the group.

Open to faculty, staff, students, and Lincoln community members.

Anchor: Peiwen Wang & Timothy Janda

Meeting Dates: Wednesday from 12PM (9/6, 9/20, 10/4, 10/18, 11/1, 11/15, 11/29), Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center

The International Empowerment #NCLUDE small group will focus on increasing our knowledge on how to advocate for international students as a minoritized population in the US and how this affects identity and experiences while living abroad here in the US. Discussion materials will be provided. We welcome all international community members and those who seek to learn more about international perspectives.

Open to faculty, staff, students, and Lincoln community members.

Anchor: Georgia Jones & Joann Ross

Meeting Dates: Thursday from 9AM (9/7, 9/21, 10/5, 10/19, 11/2, 11/16), East Campus

This #NCLUDE small group is for anyone who wants to grow their cultural competence. For some, not knowing how to engage in culturally sensitive conversations prevents them from opening the door to building deeper relationships. Using Vernā Myers’ book, What if I Say the Wrong Thing?, group members will read and reflect on different scenarios to help build understanding and confidence.

Co-Sponsored by Center for Transformative Teaching. Open to faculty, staff, students, and Lincoln community members who teach or help students develop themselves.

Anchor: Steven Cain & Amy Ort

Meeting Dates: Tuesday at 10 AM (9/5, 9/19, 10/3, 10/24, 11/7, 11/21), Virtual

Postpandemic, many instructors and educational professionals grapple with a false dichotomy between flexibility and rigor. In this #NCLUDE group we'll be discussing, Mind Over Monsters: Supporting Youth Mental Health with Compassionate Challenge. It provides an alternative mindset focused on holding students accountable for rising to authentic challenges during their educational process and doing so compassionately with their development in mind. 

Open to faculty, staff, students, and Lincoln community members.

Anchor: Heng Liang

Meeting Dates: Friday at 2PM (9/1, 9/8, 9/15, 9/22, 9/29, 10/6), Virtual

Is it true that only people with super quick, sharp, and stable minds can do science? Can people with intellectual disabilities also be successful at research? How do you live with, fight with, or get along with disabilities you may have? How do you cooperate with those who have mental disabilities? Or do you simply want to listen and learn more about this topic? Everyone is welcome. Please join us as we read the book Inclusive Research: Is the Road More or Less Well Travelled? and share our thoughts, experiences, and understandings.

Open to faculty, staff, students, and Lincoln community members.
 

Anchor: Ryan Lahne & Andrew Brown

Meeting Dates: Thursday at 1PM (9/7 & 9/14 (1-2 pm), 9/26 (9 am - 12 pm), 10/11 (11 am - 12 pm), 10/26 (9 am - 12 pm), 11/9 & 11/16 (1 - 2 pm)) In-person @ the Nebraska Union all dates excecpt, On-site experience (Sept. 26 - PBA and Oct. 26 - Center for People in Need)

This #NCLUDE group will focus on ethics of working toward change in our local communities. This semester we'll focus on homelessness and its impact on our Lincoln community. In addition to our small group meetings, we'll have two hands-on experiences to grow our understanding of our role in change and impact we can each have. We'll each focus on building a personal action plan to guide our personal efforts to ethically engage in work that strengthens our community.

Co-Sponsored by the University Honors Program, and Global Experiences. Open to faculty, staff, and students. Travel interest or experience helpful but not required.

Anchor: Rebecca Baskerville & Tamy Burnett

Meeting Dates: Tuesday at 2:15 PM (9/5, 9/12, 9/26, 10/10, 10/24, 10/31), Knoll Residential Center

Using Anu Taranath’s book, Beyond Guilt Trips: Mindful Travel in an Unequal World, group members will grow their intercultural competence as they "cultivate a global traveling lens that helps us look at the complexities and layers that are all around us, both far away and closer to home.” Topics include global citizenship, do-good travel, friendship across difference, being seen and un-seen, centering dignity, and unpacking the journey upon return. Ideal for faculty, staff, and students with experience or interest in global travel, particularly to the Global South.

Co-Sponsored by the Graduate School. Open to faculty and staff.

Anchor: Angela Bryan & Rebecca Wachs

Meeting Dates: Thursday at 2PM (9/7, 9/21, 10/5, 10/19, 11/2, 11/16), TBD

Graduate students comprise a sizable student population with unique challenges and specific needs. How can we better support, train, and socialize graduate students to enhance their academic, professional, and personal success in ways that account for their diverse backgrounds, lived experiences, and identities? Guided by selected readings and critical reflection, this group will explore the graduate student experience at UNL, identifying current issues and strategies to create inclusive graduate communities. We invite those who engage regularly with graduate students – particularly graduate faculty and departmental staff – to join the conversation.

Anchor: Mikayla Cruickshank & Mallory Asay

Meeting Dates: Tuesday at 10 AM (8/29, 9/12, 9/26, 10/10, 10/24, 11/7), Hybrid

This #NCLUDE small group offers the opportunity to analyze how current methods and “best practices” leaves marginalized people feeling frustrated and unconvinced of their leaders’ sincerity. We'll work to bridge the neatness of theory with the messiness of practice. Using “DEI Deconstructed: Your No-Nonsense Guide to Doing the Work and Doing It Right” (Zheng, 2022), we will reflect on becoming a more effective DEI advocate, ally, and leader.

Co-Sponsored by Libraries. Open to Libraries faculty and staff. Please contact diversity@unl.edu if you would like to participate, but are not currently employed in the libraries.

Anchor: Jannah Vanié

Meeting Dates: Wednesday 1PM (9/06, 9/20, 10/04, 10/18, 11/01, 11/15), Love Library 

Storytelling is a powerful and impactful part of creating more inclusive environments. This #NCLUDE learning group invites participants to hear about stories and share their own stories about race or ethnic background, culture, and identity. Storytelling helps us understand each other better. The aim is to reflect on our experiences and gain a deeper perspective about the experiences of people in our workplace. This will enable us to approach our work and relationships through a different lens and move forward with inclusive excellence.

Open to Faculty, Staff, Students, and Community Members.

Anchor: Mackayla Kelsey

Meeting Dates: Friday at 9:30AM (9/15, 9/29, 10/13, 10/27, 11/10, 12/01), Location TBD

Grounded in Dunne and Raby’s Speculative Everything (2013), this NCLUDE group will encounter and engage in worldbuilding, storytelling, and other foundational practices derived from emerging media arts.  We’ll use these concepts to collectively imagine, build, and maintain experiences of empathy, joy, serendipity, and collective care, for our presents and futures.