ATLANTA— More than 600 student-athletes, faculty and college administrators gathered over the weekend to discuss ways that they can transform their institutions into places that embrace diversity, equity and inclusion.
The 2019 NCAA Inclusion Forum—now in its eighth year—became the space for individuals to share their personal stories, hear from experts and have “courageous conversations” about topics ranging from racism, homophobia, gender disparities and mental health.
Through a combination of lectures, panel discussions and interactive exercises that pushed participants to venture outside of their comfort zones, this year’s convening titled “Dreaming Out Loud: Transforming Passion to Action,” is the latest example that the NCAA is beefing up its efforts to promote diversity and inclusion on campuses across the nation.
“I think that the energy of our participants and the content of the sessions just makes it electric,” said Dr. Katrice A. Albert, executive vice president for Inclusion and Human Resources at the NCAA. “I think the membership is hungry for the scholarship around inclusive excellence, blueprints of things that are working, the ways that they may be able to go back to their campuses and activate, and then having our student-athletes voice at the center of this work.”
Indeed, that is what has made this forum different from others.
According to Albert, student participation was up by 25 percent. During an opening plenary session, student-athletes discussed how they have been the driving forces behind inclusive excellence initiatives on their respective campuses.
Centering student voices in these conversations was intentional, said Albert, who added that having the forum in Atlanta this year—the cradle of the civil rights movement—was particularly significant given that it was student leaders who propelled the movement forward in the 1960s.
