Tippie 1st Gen Instagram Takeover and Other Nov DEI Events
November brings us celebrations of remembrance and of gratitude. With the turning of the seasons full upon us, we reflect on what we owe to those who have come before us and what we give thanks for in the richness of our lives.
DEI themes for fall focus on belonging—and what better way to focus on belonging than to celebrate the inclusion of first-generation faculty, staff, and students at Tippie during National First-Gen College Celebration Week.
DEI committee events this month invite us to hear from current first-gen Tippie students on their experiences navigating the college and from former Tippie student and president of the Native American student association Thom Johnson on finding your community and adding value.
Read on for details—and thank you for all you do to make Tippie a welcoming and inclusive place for all of us who work and study here.
Pam Bourjaily, on behalf of the Tippie DEI Committee (Julie Alexander, Kris Arens, Pam Bourjaily, Gabby Chelette, Larry Cook, Amy McDonald, Gabriela Rivera, Michele Williams, Ying Yang, Armando Zavaleta and student liaisons Jacob Mascardo and Mina Song)
Facebook highlight of First-Gen faculty has been posted. Here is the direct link to that post. Charles Keene, Alexandra Nica, and Mike Colbert were kind enough to participate!
The Tippie College 1st Gen Instagram Takeover will occur today! Tippie first-gen student panelists met with creative and social media specialist Hannah Hilgenkamp on Friday to be filmed answering the prompt: “What being first generation means to me.”
Hannah will post each video today as an Instagram story, and the final story will link to the 1stGen@Iowa events calendar. Enjoy!
Featured Tippie event First-Gen event
Lunch & Learn student panel: How do Tippie First-Gen students experience Tippie?
Wed. Nov. 16, Noon – 1:00 pm in W401.
Hear directly from Tippie students about how they are navigating Tippie academics and student organizations.
Students from 1st year to 4th year will share what they would like faculty to know about their Tippie experience and what we can do to improve inclusivity in the classroom and belonging across the college.
Major programs represented on the student panel are Business Analytics, Finance, Management, and Marketing. Students on the panel include those entering the college as Direct Admit students and those who have transferred in. Those experiences can differ—as these students will share.
Bring your lunch; cookies and drinks will be available.
Synchronous Zoom also available for those unable to attend in person, but the session will not be recorded at the request of the student panelists.
https://uiowa.zoom.us/j/97053541824?pwd=ZnpYaHhqUmZRc1RVZ3NjMzF2U1B5UT09
Meeting ID: 970 5354 1824
Passcode: 724901
Roughly one-fifth of UI undergrads identify as first-generation college students. If you’re looking for some resources on how faculty can jump start First-Gen success, the UI has compiled a digital toolkit with its workshop and best-practices resources https://firstgen.uiowa.edu/resources
We hope you can take advantage of this opportunity to hear directly from Tippie First-Gen students about how they experience our classes and what we do that helps—or doesn’t help– to facilitate their success.
Featured Tippie event for Native American heritage month
Tippie Monday Memoir: Mon. Nov. 14, 12:30 – 1:00 pm (Zoom)
“Finding your Community & Adding Value” with Thom Johnson
Join Zoom Meeting
https://uiowa.zoom.us/j/5349208362
Please join us for our 3rd Monday Memoir as we feature a former Tippie student and UI alumnus, Thom Johnson ’16.
Thom served as a Senator in the UI Student Government, President of the Native American Student Association, and was selected to receive the UI Student Leadership Award his senior year.
The highlight of his student involvement was helping to bring back the Annual UI Powwow Celebration. After graduation Thom moved to Washington, D.C. to sell SAS analytics software to the Federal Government.
He returned to Iowa City in 2019 and now works locally at the Iowa City Area Business Partnership, where he serves as the Director of Member Services.
Featured UI Calendar events relating to DEI and to belonging
For a fuller listing of all that is available in the UI community please check out the Division of DEI’s events https://diversity.uiowa.edu/Celebrations/november-2022-celebrations
Native American Heritage Month: initially celebrated in 1916 in New York state and designated a heritage month in 1990 by President George HW Bush
https://multicultural.uiowa.edu/celebrations/native-american-heritage-month
UI Asian Pacific American Cultural Center Week: Every day in the week of Nov 7 – 11 features an event focusing on the Asian American identity and experience
https://multicultural.uiowa.edu/apacc-week
National First-Generation College Celebration: Here’s a link to the UI’s National First-Generation College Celebration Page
Veteran’s Day: November 11: a day to honor and appreciate those who have served our country through military service Here’s a link to UI events https://veterans.uiowa.edu/current-students/veterans-week-2022-events
Veteran’s Day events include:
Army Jazz Band Concert (FREE!)
Thursday Nov. 10
7:30 PM Voxman Music Building Concert Hall
The Jazz Ambassadors is the United States Army’s premier big band. This 19-member ensemble, formed in 1969, has received great acclaim both at home and abroad performing America’s original art form, jazz.
This performance is free and open to the public. https://fb.me/e/4WnM0UHOp
Hawks of Color: Adam Potter
Friday Nov 11
11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. – University Capitol Centre, 2750
Adam Potter, a retired Army veteran and current Senior HR Specialist at the University of Iowa, will lead the discussion at the Hawks of Color event sponsored by the Division of DEI.
Adam will share his personal journey, as well as jump into current projects and initiatives at Iowa.
Veterans flag display on the Pentacrest
Monday, Nov. 7 – Sunday, Nov. 13
Each flag of the block “I” display was requested by family, friends, or a loved one on behalf of a Veteran. Information about the Veteran is attached to the flag.
We invite members of the campus community to visit and admire the display, which will be located on the west lawn of the Pentacrest.
Transgender Day of Remembrance: Nov. 20: Started in 1999 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman killed in 1998. https://www.glaad.org/tdor
Ongoing UI workshops and trainings relating to DEI and belonging
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion-Related Workshops for faculty, staff, and grad students (incl. Sparkshops!):
** Check out Sparkshops: In partnership with Faculty Senate and Center for Teaching, Inclusive Education and Strategic Initiatives host 20-minute sessions focused on one specific skill or practice.
Our goals are that individuals who participate in these sessions will:
- Explore quick skills and tips around relevant DEI-related topics
- Increase connection and exposure to larger initiatives across campus
- Build confidence around inclusive and equitable practices
Each session is framed around thinking about what, so what, and now what.
Cultivating Inclusive Communities: New, online, and voluntary, DEI simulation-based professional development program available for faculty and staff this fall.
Using Kognito’s learning methodology, game design, and simulation sciences, the program will enhance conversational skills in a practice-based scenario.
These communication strategies will improve confidence and preparedness to have conversations across differences while supporting faculty and staff’s role in cultivating inclusive communities.
We end with a little history of the celebration of Thanksgiving as a holiday in the U.S: Until Abraham Lincoln proclaimed it a holiday for all states in 1863, the observation of Thanksgiving varied from state to state.
Lincoln chose the last Thursday in November in celebration of Union victories and calling upon citizens “with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience . . . fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation.” A nationwide Thanksgiving celebration did not occur until the late 1870s following the end of the Civil War and Reconstruction.
FDR tried to move the date of Thanksgiving in 1939 to the next-to-last Thursday of the month to boost the economy with a longer holiday shopping season given the Nov. 30 Thanksgiving date that year. The date change was not popular, and states again started to choose their own date for the holiday.
Finally in 1941, FDR changed the official Thanksgiving date to the 4th Thursday in November, thereby pacifying the traditionalists and ensuring we would never have a Thanksgiving fall on the 30th (or 29th) of the month again!