Greetings Mountaineers,

As the Division for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, we are responsible for ensuring students and employees with disabilities have equal access to all aspects of the University which makes us an integral part of the disability community. We are joining with various organizations dedicated to improving the lives of individuals with intellectual disabilities by joining the national campaign called “Spread the Word to End the Word.” This campaign is an ongoing effort by two organizations, Special Olympics and Best Buddies, to raise the consciousness of society about the demeaning and hurtful effects of the word “retard(ed)”. The campaign asks people to pledge to stop saying the R-word as a starting point toward creating more accepting attitudes and communities for all people.

This national campaign has reached our campus. President Clements and wife, are featured on the video linked below to discuss the importance of joining this effort. You will also see Coach Huggins speaking in support of the campaign. As the Chief Diversity Officer for West Virginia University, I invite you to join with my staff and I to take the pledge “To Spread the Word To End the Word.” It is just one easy step; please click here” and sign the pledge and submit. Also, please take the time to view the video with President Clements and Coach Huggins and see some other friends from the campus as well. Spread the Word to all of your Mountaineer family members and friends and ask them to take the pledge as well. You can view the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAokKdNSCms.

Thank you so much for your support. I know that together, we can stop the hurtful use of the R-word.

Warmest Regards,

David M. Fryson, Esq.
Chief Diversity Officer

West Virginia University

April 27th and 28th
Overnight Float Trip down Smoke Hole Canyon

Join us for an overnight tip to beautiful Smoke Hole Canyon. As a group you will travel by van roughly three hours from Morgantown. Accommodations for the evening will be a tent with an inflatable mattress. You will enjoy a day of rafting and canoeing down the South Branch River. The terrain will not be 100% ADA compliant, but it will be navigable by individuals who like a bit of adventure. Your transportation and food are included in this *FREE *activity. Interpreters will be provided if requested.

All participants will be required to participate in a ‘training/prep’ day on the evening of Thursday, April 25th. This will allow for some initial training on safety procedures for the rafts and water, and ensure that once you get to Smoke Hole Canyon everyone is ready to have some FUN!

There is limited space available and students will be accepted on a first come first accepted basis. To sign up contact the Office of Disability Services by emailing Rebecca.Berger@mail.wvu.edu with Outdoor Adventure Series in the subject line.

The Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion announces the 2013 Neil S. Bucklew Lifetime Achievement Award to WVU Law Professor Franklin Cleckley.

A native of Huntington, West Virginia, Professor Cleckley received his Juris Doctor degree from the School of Law at Indiana University, in Bloomington, Indiana, in 1965. Professor Cleckley joined the faculty at the West Virginia University College of Law in 1969. In 1994, former Governor Gaston Caperton appointed Professor Cleckley to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals – the first African-American Justice in West Virginia history. He has been an advocate for civil rights.

The Colloquium for Aspiring Minority Doctoral Candidates is designed to promote graduate education at West Virginia University (WVU) to prospective and current high-achieving, underrepresented minority graduate students. It is an opportunity to familiarize students with academic programs, admission standards, and resources for funding graduate education at WVU.

It will be held October 10 – 12, 2013.

For More Information:
Colloquium XIII for Aspiring Minority Doctoral Candidates

The Social Justice Liaisons will be meeting April 19, 2012, from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. in the Greenbrier Room of the Mountainlair.

WVU’s Social Justice Liaisons are a group of individuals from various departments on campus who work together to tackle relevant diversity and inclusiveness issues that come up in practice throughout the university. They are educated and trained on practical issues. The liaisons serve as a link from the President’s Office for Social Justice to WVU’s many departments, colleges, and campuses. Meetings are held regularly for the purpose of discussing topics of mutual interest and for the liaisons to receive training.

Most recently, this March, Social Justice Liasions received training in the topic: “Treatment of Students and Employees With Disabilities at WVU Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, Its Amendments and GINA: What You Need To Know, Where You Need To Go, and Who You Need To Contact”. This training was conducted by Mary Roberta “Bobbie” Brandt, JD, ADA Coordinator and Assoc. Director for the WVU President’s Office for Social Justice.

Social Justice Liaisons are appointed by the Executive Officer for Social Justice based on recommendations of administrative heads. For more information on the Liaisons, please contact Sharon.Mallow@mail.wvu.edu or visit the Liaisons webpage at http://socialjustice.wvu.edu/councils_liaisons/liaisons.

The President’s Office for Social Justice congratulates WVU Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism associate professor Joel Beeson on his recognition as a 2012 Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award. The award, given out annually by the WVU Center for Black Culture and Research, recognizes an individual embodying the legacy of Dr. King by furthering civil rights, humanitarianism and equality in the state, according to WVU Today.

Professor Beeson is continually a supporter of social justice and annually a presenter at our Diversity Week. This year, he presented “Soldiers of the Coalfields”, where he unveiled hidden stories about race in the coalfields of McDowell County, West Virginia.

Further, Professor Beeson’s oral history project, the West Virginia Veteran’s History Project, which documents the stories of West Virginia WWII veterans, was used this November when the President’s Office for Social Justice recognized WWII Veteran Charles Brown, of Kingwood, at the annual Veterans Appreciation Breakfast.

For more information, please read http://wvutoday.wvu.edu/n/2012/01/16/wvu-martin-luther-king-jr-event-recognizes-photographer-who-shines-light-on-injustice.

The President’s Office for Social Justice’s Global Culture Series connects WVU students with local high school students as part of the “Building an Inclusive Community” partnership between WVU, the City of Morgantown, and the Monongalia County School System.

Read More…

Photos from the President’s Office for Social Justice’s Fall 2011 events have been added to our Media Galleries.

Photos from Diversity Week 2011, Colloquium XI, and the Veterans Appreciation have been added.

You can access the Media Galleries at http://socialjustice.wvu.edu/r_images_galleries_.

The President’s Office for Social Justice, as a continual supporter of OneWVU, loves to see OneWVU represented around campus. This photo, submitted to us by Teresa Nestor, shows the staff of JACS in the WVU Mountainlair Student Union sporting our pink Breast Cancer Awareness OneWVU t-shirts.

The 5th Annual KY-WV Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Research Symposium was successfully hosted by the WVU President’s Office for Social Justice and WVU last week. This annual symposium is designed to promote research among minority students. It was held Oct. 6-7 at the West Virginia University main campus and the Waterfront Hotel.

Jennifer McIntosh, Executive Officer of the President’s Office for Social Justice, Title IX Coordinator, Director, AA/EO, Director ADA Compliance, has traveled to the KY-WV LSAMP Symposium to speak in the past, and she was proud that West Virginia University served as the host of this year’s symposium.

Read more…