Before Registering:

If your institution IS a member of NCHC:
Unless you hold a current NCHC Institutional or Professional membership, you must sign up as a "Contact" to be affiliated with your institution and receive member pricing for event registration. Sign up as a Contact Here

If your institution is NOT a member of NCHC:
Please proceed as a "Guest". Members receive a 50% discount on all NCHC event registrations - contact the NCHC Office for more details on joining!

Institute Focus

The purpose of this summer institute is to support honors faculty and staff in the cultivation of antiracist practices in their university and academic work and in their lives. As we strive to increase diversity in our programs, honors faculty and staff need professional development and support in this area. Because we recognize that this material and exploration can be very taxing for us, particularly for those of us who are directly affected by racism, we believe this work should not be undertaken in isolation. The collaborative setting of an intensive workshop series is necessary to support such vital, difficult work. A three-day virtual anti-racism workshop focused on understanding and implementing anti-racist theories and approaches for discussion within a community of honors faculty and staff. 

This workshop is dedicated to understanding, identifying, and implementing anti-racist strategies in honors programs and colleges. Morning sessions will focus on common reads. Participants will break for lunch with afternoon sessions focused on applying these theories to admissions, curriculum, and co-curricular programming. These sessions will be a combination of discussion, peer feedback, and consultations on proposed program changes and implementation strategies. Program participants will commit to presenting their designed strategies at future NCHC conferences in either an in-person or virtual format.

Audience

This session is designed for honors faculty, staff, and administrators who are beginning diversity, equity, and inclusion work within their program or college. (Unsure if this session is for you? Contact a facilitator for more information.)

Learning Objectives

Participants will:

• Design or re-envision an anti-racism component within the participant’s honors program
• Develop a network of honors faculty and staff invested in anti-racism approaches to honors
  
• Discover presentation venues for their results, such as an NCHC conference presentation or a contribution to the NCHC Diversity and Inclusion Roundtable

Tentative Schedule

View the Beginner Institute Draft Agenda

Facilitators

Fawn-Amber Montoya, James Madison University

Fawn-Amber Montoya is the Associate Dean for Diversity, Inclusion and External Engagement for the James Madison University Honors College.  Dr. Montoya is Professor of History and an affiliate faculty member in Latin American, Latinx, and Caribbean Studies, and Africana, African-American and Diaspora Studies. Dr. Montoya teaches race, ethnicity, and gender courses focusing on Latinx history. Dr. Montoya consults on museum exhibits for History Colorado: The Colorado Historical Society. Exhibits included Borderlands of Southern Colorado, Salt Creek Memory, El Movimiento in Colorado and Pueblo, and The Children of Ludlow.  She serves as the Co-Chair of the NCHC Diversity Committee, NCHC Board Member, Chair of the Board of Directors for the Scholars Latino Initiative, a non-profit organization that supports Latino/a/x high school students with college access through rigorous academic challenge, leadership development, scholarships, and supportive mentorships. Dr. Montoya is the co-author of Practicing Oral History to Connect University to Community and editor of Making An American Workforce: The Colorado Fuel and Iron Company’s Construction of a Workforce during the Rockefeller Years, and co-Editor of Communities of Ludlow:  Collaborative Stewardship and the Ludlow Centennial Commemoration Commission. 

Sherese Williams, The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

A native of Savannah, GA, Sherese Williams is a proud graduate of the Clark Atlanta University where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Mass Media Arts and her master’s degree in History. While earning her master’s degree, Ms. Williams worked in the Honors Program as the Program Manager. She then took her talents to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where she currently serves as the Director of Operations and Admissions of the UTC Honors College. 

An advocate for underserved and underrepresented students, Sherese has focused her energy on cultivating spaces and programs for students of color on the campus of UTC. Most recently launching “Sweet Tea with Sherese” a topic-based series that focuses on issues that impact and affect minority women. Topics have included the black community and mental health, mentorship, and managing stress and anxiety. 

Refunds

All requests for refunds MUST be submitted in writing to the national office and RECEIVED no later than seven days in advance of the NCHC Summer Institute.

• Received prior to 7 days before Institute:          Full refund, less a $50 per person administrative fee
• Received within 7 days before Institute:            No refunds granted

Questions? Contact the NCHC office at (402) 472-9150 or nchc@unl.edu.