Oregon community college and university representatives attended and presented at the 2022 National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education. This conference provides a significant forum for discussion and critical dialogue about race, ethnicity, and its intersections in higher education.
This professional development opportunity was supported by funding from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
Conference Takeaways
Here are some of the takeaways that Oregon attendees are thinking about after the event.
NCORE really emphasized connection and inclusivity. Introspective skills, growth, and doing what is right was emphasized in all aspects of the conference. This was an amazing experience and I am so thankful I was able to go! – Anonymous
I learned a lot, some of it easy, and some of it hard. A lot of what I learned was very practical, like leaving space for others, letting the people most affected by an issue take the lead. It was a valuable learning experience. I definitely want to do this again. – Anonymous
Higher education has been built on systems of privilege and oppression. This same system is resistant to change, and institutional lag is rampant. But, energetic, dedicated, and passionate people are working to transform higher education into a place where all forms of knowing and learning are honored. – Monica Olvera
The importance of access to knowledge. Academia, including conferences, act as gatekeepers of knowledge. While at the conference, I could not help but to think about the cost of it and my inability to access it without the support of OER. – Esmeralda J. Julyan
Our Constitution and Declaration of Independence as well as subsequent laws are rooted in legalizing anti-blackness. It took 240 attempts to get an anti-lynching bill passed. The second amendment is rooted in justifying slave patrol militias. – Anonymous
NCORE was simply inspiring and highly relevant to my work. I learned some new things and relearned some old things. To be in community with other practitioners was rejuvenating. Would love to see if there is a way to provide some support of support even when NCORE is out of town. The content is so meaningful and is unique compared to the other sorts of training and conference experiences that are provided locally. In my mind the value to the community outweighs the coast to participate. – Anonymous
Presentations
Oregonians were represented on the program. Here are the OER-related presentation materials created by our colleagues:
Open Education for Equity in Human Development/Family Studies Courses
Expensive textbooks are a barrier to student success and can hurt retention, time to degree, and completion. Open Educational Resources (OER) are free online or print at a low cost, providing day-one access to all students. Further, because they are openly licensed, they can be customized to meet the needs of specific student populations and tailored to specific learning objectives. This includes transforming curricula by considering open educational practices with an equity lens, including universal design, cultural relevance, and diverse perspectives.
Oregon’s statewide OER program received funding through the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief program to support faculty authors from Oregon community colleges and universities developing high-quality, accessible open educational resources with an equity, diversity, and inclusion lens for Human Development/Family courses Studies. Five grant team members will share their takeaways from participating in the grant projects to design targeted pathway courses for equity on this panel.
- Yvonne Smith, Instructor, Gerontology and Human Services at Clackamas Community College, is the lead author of a Human Services Internship course that addresses the intersection of the student experience, the client experience, and the agency. She will discuss the diverse experiences students bring with them and how that may impact their experience, help them develop an appreciation for the diverse experiences of their clients, and help them identify institutional barriers and biases that may exist in their agency.
- Monica Laura Olvera, PhD, Senior Instructor I, Program of Human Development and Family Sciences at Oregon State University, contributes to a Contemporary Families in the US course. She will discuss creating welcoming places and policies for DACA students, undocumented students, and students with mixed-immigration status families.
- Esmeralda Janeth, Graduate Student at Oregon State University, is coauthoring an Infant and Child Development course. She will discuss moving away from using Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) as buzzwords to intentionally incorporating DEI in teaching.
- Heather Blicher, MLIS, is a community college librarian participating in the project as our equity consultant. She will discuss her collaboration with project leadership and author teams to support the centering of equity through reflective activities and discussions, engaging participants to share their lived experiences.
- Veronica Vold, PhD, Open Education Instructional Designer, Open Oregon Educational Resources, supports teams in designing open courses that integrate with pathway textbooks. She will discuss course design tools that support open, accessible, and inclusive learning pathways.
