This year’s Day of Dialogue highlighted conversations that will inspire action long after the event is over. On February 18-19, 2020, the university came together for the sixth consecutive year to reflect on our shared values and how we can build an even stronger commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

ERIC P. NEWMAN EDUCATION CENTER
Medical Campus
EPNEC auditorium, unless otherwise noted

Daytime programming

Check-in, continental breakfast reception, & timeline exploration: history of the desegregation of the Washington University Medical Campus

Restorative Practices have been proven to support healing and strengthen relationship that is so vital in healthcare. Acknowledgment of harm done creates space for healing as we work to achieve health equity in our region. A historical timeline about the desegregation of the medical campus will be on display in the EPNEC lobby all day along with a reflection board. Come by at your convenience to learn and share reflections of how the past informs your present work and experiences at Washington University School of Medicine.

Mindfulness: disrupting bias with compassion and inspiring positive change

This session will define a restorative practice framework and tools to support productive dialogue and action throughout the day and beyond. Mindfulness has been proven to ease stress, mitigate bias, cultivate compassion, and inspire us to engage in difficult conversations which will foster positive change. We will be exploring the practice of mindfulness together and begin to grow present moment attention skills. Through the practices we become aware of the barriers our biases play in fully being present and connecting to others. The mindful inquiry supports the inner work that is necessary for lasting positive change.

Presenters: Meg Krejci & Erin Stampp

Dialogue session #1 Action item: move from bystander to upstander

What is an Upstander and why does it matter? This interactive session will outline the difference between being a bystander and being an upstander. Participants will learn the importance of having upstanders to foster inclusive work culture. The session will introduce techniques and skills for becoming an effective upstander and explore these key concepts through scenarios.

Presenter: Sherree Wilson

Engagement sessions

  • Dialogue Circles
    Gladys Smith
    Dialogue Circles are the primary form of restorative practice for repairing harm and building community by providing an opportunity to speak and listen to one another in an atmosphere of safety, decorum and equality. This session will provide space to reflect on and discuss issues related to health equity, racial equity, segregation, historical trauma and other responses to the historical timeline of the desegregation of the Washington University Medical Campus
  • Shaping Our Future by Understanding Our Past: The History of the Desegregation of the Washington University Medical Campus
    Erin Stampp
    This session will provide participants a context for the inequities we see on the medical campus from direct patient care to research and teaching. We will use a culture change framework to understand the impact of segregation on our individual bias, providing patient centered care, and doing research that incorporates diversity and inclusion. The discussion will focus on learning how we got here to inform our future work.

Dialogue session #2 Changing the question: why we ALL need to be trauma informed

Alive and Well STL is working to make St. Louis a trauma-informed community. Trauma Informed healthcare is vital to that mission and will help Washington University School of Medicine meet patients, students, and colleagues where they are to achieve our goals around health equity and inclusion. This session features a panel of WUSM physicians and Alive and Well STL partners who will share what being informed means and provide examples of trauma informed care already happening at WUSM.

Dialogue circle

Dialogue Circles are the primary form of restorative practice for repairing harm and building community by providing an opportunity to speak and listen to one another in an atmosphere of safety, decorum and equality. This session will provide space to reflect on and discuss issues related to health equity, racial equity, segregation, historical trauma and other responses to the historical timeline of the desegregation of the Washington University Medical Campus.

Dialogue session #3 Moving from dialogue to action

So now what? Dialogue is vital to creating awareness and understanding to inform the actions we take but is futile if we don’t do something with what we gain in dialogue. This group of panelists will share how they as individuals and their organizations are actively working to create a more equitable and inclusive St. Louis and medical campus community. They will share ways that you can take action.

Evening programming

Welcome & introduction

Welcome by Chancellor Andrew D. Martin and introduction by David H. Perlmutter, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean, School of Medicine

KEYNOTE – “Other People: Unpacking our assumptions & learning how to speak up”

Keynote by Aisha Sultan Film In this short film shot in St. Louis, Tarek finds himself in awkward situations as he navigates spaces where he is different from everyone around him. During this powerful film screening and discussion, we will explore the choices Tarek makes while challenging our own assumptions. Panelists: Braveheart Gillani, James Zerkel, Gmerice Hammond, Bethany Johnson-Javois

Closing remarks

Remarks by Sherree Wilson

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

DANFORTH CAMPUS
Hillman Hall, unless otherwise noted

Dialogue session #2 Divided City

Denise Ward Brown, Larissa Sattler, Carolyn Gaidis, moderated by Tila Neguse

The Divided City Initiative is a joint project of the Center for the Humanities and the Sam Fox School, College of Architecture and Urban Design. The goal of the project is to place humanities scholars into productive interdisciplinary dialogue with architects, urban designers, and other scholars to address issues of segregation. This panel will showcase the multi-faceted nature of the Divided City initiative, particularly highlighting the areas of curriculum, collaboration, and graduate student research.

Engagement session 1

  • History lives in our imaginations: poetry and translation on race, place, and belonging: Clark-Fox Forum
    Aaron Coleman, Introduction by Ignacio Infante
    Aaron Coleman reads his poems alongside his translations of AfroCuban poet Nicolás Guillén to explore how poetry and translation cultivate empathy, community and creativity in our society and in our imaginations. Coleman’s work reconsiders what lives and histories we value, opening space for conversations on race, gender and national identity.
  • Radical hospitality: Brown 100
    Rev. Callista Isabelle, Adrienne Davis, Jill Stratton and Zach Romo How do we define radical hospitality and why does it matter? What specific strategies do we use in our work and in our lives to create a space of radical hospitality? Please join this conversation between practitioners across the university who employ radical hospitality techniques to bolster inclusion and build community.
  • We’re all biased – now what?: Brown Lounge
    Clara Wilkins, Calvin Lai. Moderated by Gary Parker
    In this session, we examine the role implicit bias plays in our daily lives and explore how we can reduce the impact of our own biases in both our private and professional world. Presenters highlight the effect that group membership has on the perception of victimization and how social change can further group divisions. Presenters address how to reduce biases generally as well as how to strategically reduce the impact of bias to create a more equitable community.
  • The phases of culture change workshop: Hillman 50-53 (study rooms)
    Adam Layne & Sarah Hobson
    In this workshop, participants will have the opportunity to explore shared language and understanding around multi-level culture change. Through the lens of events in Washington University’s past, participants will investigate what is needed to advance and sustain inclusive campus culture and climate.

INSPIRE: Emerging Student Voices

What is Inspire? Inspired by the national Ignite framework, it is a presentation format where, featuring incredible student thought and talent, student speakers are given exactly 5 minutes for the presentation of 20 slides that automatically advance every 15 seconds. The presentations are meant to “inspire” the audience on a subject, i.e., to generate awareness and to stimulate thought and action on the subjects presented.

Facilitated by Ruth Durrell

Engagement session 2

  • Mindfulness: Disrupting biases with compassion and inspiring positive change: Brown Lounge
    Meg Krejci
    Mindfulness can ease stress, mitigate bias, cultivate compassion, and inspire us to engage in difficult conversations to foster positive change. We will be exploring the practice of mindfulness together and begin to grow present moment attention skills. Through the practices we become aware of the barriers our biases play in fully being present and connecting to others. The mindful inquiry supports the inner work that is necessary for lasting positive change.
  • Washington University and the St. Louis K-12 student community
    Hillman 70
    How is WashU engaging with the next generation of students, and what opportunities are available to current WashU students looking to get involved? This program will highlight a few offerings:• Catalysts for Change — for high school girls, involving the undergraduate Women in Science program• College Prep — for high-achieving, first-generation students, who come from backgrounds of limited financial resources, preparing them for college success• K-12 Connections — for students from high-need and urban districts, offering field trips to campus and other events.
  • Creating personal narratives for compelling dialogue: Goldfarb 132
    Aisha Sultan
    Learn strategies on how to write more effective personal essays, commentary and narratives. This workshop explores how personal experience can be woven into compelling conversation.
  • Influences that move culture change workshop: Hillman 50-53 (study rooms)
    Adam Layne & Sarah Hobson
    In this workshop, participants will explore leadership, institution building, campus climate and culture, and external factors that influence a path to changing culture at WashU. Participants will build an interpretive lens to decision making through a range of WashU’s historical events.
  • The work of the Academy for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
    Clark-Fox Forum
    An update and information session about approach of the Academy, the first year of work, and how it continues to evolve.

Dialogue session #3 “In St. Louis, for St. Louis”

In his inaugural address, Chancellor Martin identified a commitment to St. Louis as one of the university’s three pillars of focus. In this working session, participants will hear highlights from Executive Vice Chancellor Henry Webber’s research on the economic and demographic profile of the St. Louis region, then work in small groups to provide insight, feedback, and ideas to Chancellor Martin on what “In St. Louis, for St. Louis,” means for them.

Critical conversations: tools and tips for student employees on dialoguing around difference

Student employees on college campuses are regularly encountering moments where they might struggle interacting with students not as peers but as a professional employed by WashU. In this session, student employees will learn useful skills around how to navigate difficult conversations in various contexts.

Presenter: Derek Bell

Closing reflections

Nicole Hudson

CDI: 5 years in the making

The Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) opened in the summer 2014 to serve as advocacy support for historically marginalized and underrepresented student populations, and to work collaboratively with units in and outside of the Washington University community for the promotion of dialogue and social change. After five years and the recent addition of a new associate vice chancellor for student affairs / dean of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, this event serves as a time to revisit where we have been and explore where we are going. Join the CDI team, WashU community members, and special guests in active reflection and dialogue about the future of diversity, equity and inclusion work on campus.