Terrapin Strong Symposium

On October 24th, the 2nd TerrapinSTRONG Symposium was held at Stamp Student Union. A unique symposium organized for both faculty and staff members, the event provided an opportunity for participants to learn from each other about diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and belonging (DEIJB) topics. Focused on the theme of Inclusive Leadership for 2024, presentations bridged the work of scholars, researchers, and practitioners across our campus community to provide insights and encourage collaboration.

The event kicked off with opening remarks from Laura Rosenthal, Director for Faculty Leadership and Professor of English; Rythee Lambert-Jones, Assistant Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer; Georgina Dodge, Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion; and Leslie Krafft, Director, TerrapinSTRONG Education, with each emphasizing the value of bringing faculty and staff together to learn about inclusive leadership.

Over 175 participants attended 19 presentations on a wide variety of topics related to the Symposium’s theme, ranging from inclusive classroom leadership to inclusive hiring to advocacy for change. Laura Rosenthal shared, “Seeing faculty and staff members come together and share knowledge about inclusive leadership made for an exciting and thought-provoking day. There were panels on everything from communication skills to cultivating diverse teams to the origin of UMD's new enslavement acknowledgment.” Other event highlights included a workshop that explored the concept of psychological safety led by Monette Bailey and Katie Conlin from the Center for Leadership & Organizational Change; a presentation on building inclusive community through data by Abigail Do and Danelle Glazer from the Office of Institutional Research, Planning & Assessment and a panel on identity and power with Suzanne Ashour-Bailey (Director, Engineering Academic Services), Nneka Chisolm (DEI Officer, University Libraries), and Dean Chang (Chief Innovation Officer).

The day concluded with an inspiring plenary panel in which Stephanie Shonekan, Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, joined her co-authors of Dear Department Chair: Letters from Black Women Leaders to the Next Generation (Stephanie Evans, Sandra Jowers, April Langley, Stephanie Adams, Julia Jordan-Zachery, and Eunice Jeffries) in a discussion of the book’s takeaways. During the panel, the authors offered their reflections and perspectives on race, gender, and higher education leadership and thoughtfully answered questions from the audience.

TerrapinSTRONG, one of 12 initiatives identified by President Pines on his first day in office, was established to welcome new members into our community, enhance inclusion and sense of belonging, and act upon the University of Maryland's diversity, equity, and inclusion goals. Its aim is to bring UMD together as a community, show what we value, and share our history and traditions. With this in mind and recognizing the need for faculty and staff to connect, representatives from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Office of Faculty Affairs, and University Human Resources, joined together to organize an event that embodied the vision, mission, and priorities of TerrapinSTRONG.

In reflecting on the events of the day, Leslie Krafft noted that “[attendees] spent the day connecting with each other and learning from the incredible wisdom contained right here on our own campus. Attendees left feeling inspired, supported, and motivated to keep doing the important work of creating an inclusive community where we all belong and can succeed.” 
Having solicited feedback from attendees and presenters, TerrapinSTRONG Symposium conveners will be discussing the event’s future in the coming weeks. As noted by Laura Rosenthal, “I am looking forward to next year's symposium, and I hope that even more faculty members will join us.”

Learn more about the TerrapinSTRONG Symposium.