Workshops and Lectures
Derek Greenfield | Confronting Ourselves: Building for Inclusive Excellence and Equity at Bridgewater College
Monday, January 21st at 1:30 pm | Cole Hall
In this dynamic, interactive session, participants will be challenged to look deeply within themselves and Bridgewater College to appreciate our collective strengths, to identify critical areas for growth and change so that all members of our beloved community feel valued, and to adopt the framework of inclusive excellence as a vehicle for ensuring that everyone can function and perform at their best. Following a series of community-building activities, the presenter will engage participants in exercises that highlight the ways in which their cultural identities shape their belief systems and patterns of behavior. By confronting our own unconscious biases and discovering strategies for deeper understanding in this session, the Bridgewater family will be better positioned to intentionally adopt more inclusive philosophies and practices. The presenter will also offer a host of proven skills for effective cross-cultural communication that can be implemented immediately to bring people closer together and foster healthier conversations around challenging issues. The session concludes with a powerful opportunity for participants to share personally and celebrate one another, offering a transformative experience that strengthens bonds of trust and commitment.
Dr. Derek Greenfield is a visionary speaker, consultant, and thought leader dedicated to inclusive excellence and positive change. With his dynamic and interactive approach, creative ideas, track record of success, and sense of humor, Dr. Greenfield has become a highly requested presenter across the globe. His powerful keynotes and workshops have been featured at a wide range of conferences, companies, and colleges, including McDonald’s Corporation, NCAA, International Conference on Cultural Diversity, Hilton Hotels, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, National Dropout Prevention Conference, Progress Energy, and the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks. Initially employed as a youth worker in inner-city Chicago, Dr. Greenfield began his full-time speaking career after spending over twenty years as an award-winning college professor and administrator, including three years in the chief diversity officer role at Alcorn State University. He competed a prestigious fellowship with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and was Co-Founder of the Higher Education Leadership Foundation. Dr. Greenfield earned his BA and MA degrees in Sociology from Northwestern University as well as two doctoral degrees — the EdD from Cape Peninsula of Technology in South Africa and the PhD from the University of Washington.
Nikki Giovanni | An Evening of Poetry, Love, and Enlightenment
Monday, January 21st at 7:30 pm | Cole Hall
Nikki Giovanni is a world-renowned poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. Over the past 30 years, her outspokenness, in her writing and in lectures, has brought the eyes of the world upon her. One of the most widely-read American poets, she prides herself on being “a Black American, a daughter, a mother, a professor of English.” Giovanni remains as determined and committed as ever to the fight for civil rights and equality. Always insisting on presenting the truth as she sees it, she has maintained a prominent place as a strong voice of the Black community. Her focus is on the individual, specifically, on the power one has to make a difference in oneself, and thus, in the lives of others.
Nikki Giovanni was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and grew up in Lincoln Heights, an all-black suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. She and her sister spent their summers with their grandparents in Knoxville, and she graduated with honors from Fisk University, her grandfather’s alma mater, in 1968; after graduating from Fisk, she attended the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University. She published her first book of poetry, Black Feeling Black Talk, in 1968, and within the next year published a second book, thus launching her career as a writer. Early in her career she was dubbed the “Princess of Black Poetry,” and over the course of more than three decades of publishing and lecturing she has come to be called both a “National Treasure” and, most recently, one of Oprah Winfrey’s twenty-five “Living Legends.”
Many of Giovanni’s books have received honors and awards. Her autobiography, Gemini, was a finalist for the National Book Award; Love Poems, Blues: For All the Changes, and Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea were all honored with NAACP Image Awards. Blues: For All the Changes reached #4 on the Los Angeles Times Best-Seller list, a rare achievement for a book of poems. Most recently, her children’s picture book Rosa, about the civil rights legend Rosa Parks, became a Caldecott Honors Book, and Bryan Collier, the illustrator, was given the Coretta Scott King award for best illustration. Rosa also reached #3 on the New York Times Best-Seller List.
Giovanni’s spoken word recordings have also achieved widespread recognition and honors. Her album Truth Is On Its Way, on which she reads her poetry against a background of gospel music, was a top 100 album and received the Best Spoken Word Album given by the National Association of Radio and Television Announcers. Her Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection, on which she reads and talks about her poetry, was one of five finalists for a Grammy Award.
Giovanni’s honors and awards have been steady and plentiful throughout her career. The recipient of some 25 honorary degrees, she has been named Woman of the Year by Mademoiselle Magazine, Ladies Home Journal, and Ebony Magazine. She was tapped for the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame and named an Outstanding Woman of Tennessee. Giovanni has also received Governor’s Awards from both Tennessee and Virginia. She was the first recipient of the Rosa L. Parks Woman of Courage Award, and she has also been awarded the Langston Hughes Medal for poetry. She is an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and has received Life Membership and Scroll from The National Council of Negro Women. A member of PEN, she was honored for her life and career by The History Makers. She has received the keys to more than two dozen cities. A scientist who admires her work even named a new species of bat he discovered for her!
The author of some 30 books for both adults and children, Nikki Giovanni is a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia and is the recipient of Virginia Tech’s highest honor, the Alumni Outreach Award.
This program is sponsored by the W. Harold Row Symposium on Reconciliation, a program of the Endowed Lectures Series at Bridgewater College