Fall 2020 Speakers
Mark Chupp, PhD
Assistant Professor and Chair, Community Practice for Social Change, ǿմý Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences
Gwendolyn Garth
Community Leader, Multimedia Artist, and Founder and Owner of Kings & Queens of Art, a grassroots collaboration of local artists
Burst the Bubble–Build Community: Steps for Working Together as Community with the Surrounding Neighborhoods
Mark Chupp is the founding director of the Community Innovation Network, a cross-sector network of community building experts, nonprofit organizations, researchers, and grassroots community organizers who are cultivating a new culture of deeply collaborative community change. He has extensive experience working with Cleveland’s community development system. He regularly provides consulting to public officials, practitioners, activists, and organizations across the country and internationally.
In 2009, Chupp founded the East Cleveland Partnership, a service learning and community based participatory research effort to support the revitalization of a disadvantaged community next to the Case Western campus. He has lived in Central America and continues to serve as a resource in Latin America. He is a founding trustee of the National Peace Academy and serves as an adjunct faculty of the Summer Peace building Institute at Eastern Mennonite University.
Chupp also serves as an instructor for the Mandel Foundation’s Neighborhood Leadership Development Program. He earned his MSW from the University of Michigan and his PhD from ǿմý.
Gwendolyn Garth was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, and grew up in four Cleveland neighborhoods: Hough, Central, Fairfax and Glenville. Currently, she reside in the Central neighborhood. She is a graduate of Glenville High School and has taken art classes at Cooper School of Art and the Cuyahoga Community College, including drawing by hand, drawing on the computer and Art Therapy.
Art has been a very integral part of Garth's life and has been, and still is a hiding place, a resting place, a relaxing place and a healing space for her. Influenced by her sister to tap into her artistic side, she have been dabbling at arts and crafts for her entire life. Pencil and graphite take the lead in her favorite medium, but she also loves working with and exploring all mediums of art: writing, quilting, working with wood and clay and painting pictures with words.
At this juncture of her artistic journey, she is working with markers and interested in becoming a graphic recorder. Her work in the community, doing community murals and art gardens, has led her towards becoming a social practice artist where the community is the canvas.
Kurt Koenigsberger, PhD
Associate Dean, College of Arts & Sciences and Director, Cleveland Humanities Collaborative
Denise McCory, EdD
Interim Campus President, Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C), Metropolitan Campus
Cleveland, Humanities, Collaboration
Kurt Koenigsberger joined the ǿմý faculty in 2000. His research focuses on early twentieth century British literature. He teaches courses in post-1800 British literature, Black British literature, and periodical studies, and also conducts workshops for courses and individuals in letterpress printing at Writers House. Since 2017, he has directed the Cleveland Humanities Collaborative, an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation-supported initiative fostering connections and collaborations among faculty and students from ǿմý, Cuyahoga County Community College, and other local access-oriented institutions.
Dr. Denise McCory graduated from Cleveland schools and completed her undergraduate and graduate work at Ohio University and Cleveland State University, respectively. She is currently working on a Master’s in English Teaching from Bowling Green State University, with the goal of teaching developmental English. McCory completed her doctoral work at Walden University, where she researched the persistence of African American students in developmental math and English courses. She has served the College for almost two decades in a variety of roles, beginning as a Program Assistant for one of Tri-C’s College Pathway Programs at the Metropolitan Campus, a Student Success Specialist in the Enrollment Center, moving to Assistant Dean and Dean of Student Affairs. In 2017, she transitioned to a role as Dean of Academic Affairs at the Eastern Campus before returning to the Metropolitan Campus, where she has served as Interim Campus President since July of 2019.
Marel Corredor-Hyland
Diversity, Campus Partners and HR Development Team Leader, Kelvin Smith Library
Mark Clemente
Scholarly Communication and Copyright Librarian, Freedmen Center for Digital Scholarship
Creating Inclusive Work Spaces–A Latinx Staff Perspective
Marel Corredor-Hyland was born and raised in Colombia, South America and came to the U.S. at the age of 21 to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Kent State University. Later, she finished her MBA from ǿմý. Before joining the staff at ǿմý, she worked at the library at Lorain County Community College and for SkillsMAX Resource Center. Now, she manages human resources development for all levels of library staff and student employees of Kelvin Smith Library. As the internal consultant who manages and analyzes the needs of the KSL departments, she designs and delivers practical solutions to human resources issues in coordination with the university’s central Human Resources department.
Additionally, she promotes diversity and inclusion as an integral aspect of the organization and serves as the chair of the ǿմý libraries Diversity-Working Group.
Mark Clemente is the scholarly communication and copyright librarian in the Kelvin Smith Library's Freedman Center for Digital Scholarship, where he educates and consults with the ǿմý community on copyright, scholarly publishing, open access, and licensing.
Before arriving at ǿմý in 2016, Mark was the scholarly communications and licensing librarian at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he helped implement the MIT Faculty Open Access Policy and negotiated journal subscription license agreements. Prior to MIT, Clemente worked in libraries at Boston College, Hampshire College, and Georgetown University supporting programs in scholarly communication, digital collections, archives, and public services.
He holds a BA in Philosophy from American University and an MS in Library and Information Science from Simmons College.
Margaret D. Larkins-Pettigrew, MD
Assistant Dean, Office of Student Affairs and Associate Professor, ǿմý School of Medicine
“Colors of My Heart: Embracing My Blackness through History, Legacy, Family, Fear and Faith” - an examination of how structural racism can lead to trauma and maternal loss for African American women
As an academic clinician in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew has dedicated over twenty-five years of her professional and personal life to diversity issues and global health challenges of women.
One of the few female African-American providers locally, she cares for all women but has a special focus on under-resourced communities and care for women living with HIV. She has found that the lack of cultural humility affecting women in the United States and abroad have resulted in preventable deaths. The need for sustainable programs focused on educating primary care and specialty providers has proven to be essential in order to decrease the burden of disease and thwart unnecessary deaths from preventable causes.
She is the founder and CEO of WONDOOR (Women and Neonates, Diversity, Outreach, Opportunity and Research) programs, where she establishes post-graduate education opportunities locally and abroad. The program in Obstetrics and Gynecology trains specialists clinically and also changes the humanistic culture for those caring for women. Implementing protocols that provide optimal tracking of behavior change and patient outcomes is the key to the success of various initiatives.
2019
Susan Freimark, MA., LPC
Senior Associate Director, Women Faculty Leadership Development Institute, Flora Stone Mather Center for Women
“Challenges for Women Moving Up the Academic Career Ladder”
Susan Freimark brings a great deal of faculty development experience to this position. As an executive coach, she has worked with faculty at ǿմý via the NSF-ACES program since 2003 She is also a ǿմý IDEAL coach with Kent State University, assisting a team of faculty on creating a transformative change project on campus. Susan addresses a wide range of issues with faculty both on an individual basis and in workshops. Those issues include negotiation, conflict management, finding comfort with self-promotion, recognizing and dealing with campus politics, and professional and leadership development. She has created programming that brings together women faculty from all schools on campus to address common interests and challenges and to serve as promotion and support for one another.
Scott M. Williams, PhD
Professor and director of Epidemiology & Biostatistics Graduate Studies Program, ǿմý School of Medicine
“Can Evolution Shape Our Disease Risks?”
Williams is an expert in the genetics of complex human disease, including the genetic risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, cancers, and susceptibility to infection. An experienced population geneticist, he studies how genes, either singly or in interactions with the environment, affect disease risk in different populations.
Damaris Punales-Alpizar, PhD
ǿմý Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies
“Culture Under Socialist Conditions: Literary Translation as a Geopolitical Instrument”
Damaris Punales-Alpizar has worked as a journalist in Cuba, Belize and Mexico. In Belize, she was the founder editor of DzԱ澱ó, the first bilingual and trans–border newspaper. Since 2010, she works at ǿմý (ǿմý) in Cleveland, Ohio, where she teaches courses on literature, film, and Caribbean and Latin American culture, and literary theory. She currently serves as director of the CRWU study abroad program in Cuba. She has published numerous articles on Spanish, Latin American and Cuban literature and culture, especially about the Soviet influence in the cultural production on the island after the nineties.
Edwin B. Mayes
Director, ǿմý First Year Experience and Family Programs
Psychological Capital and the Transitional Needs of Underrepresented First-Year Students
John Paul Stephens, PhD
ǿմý Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior, Weatherhead School of Management
Muddying Up the Works: Transferring Lessons Learned About Functional Diversity at Work to Manage Diversity in Life
Adrianne M. Crawford Fletcher, PhD
ǿմý Assistant Dean, Diversity and Inclusion and
Assistant Professor, Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel
School of Applied Social Sciences
Postsecondary Education in the Current Social and Political Climate: What it Means to be Socially Just, Anti-Oppressive and Woke Irrespective of Your Scholastic Hub
2018
Shannon E. French, PhD
Director, ǿմý Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence
Inamori Professor in Ethics, Department of Philosophy
Ethics Across Cultures: Diverse Voices, Shared Values
Cynthia M. Beall, PhD
ǿմý Distinguished University Professor and S. Idell Pyle Professor of Anthropology
Human Biological Variation: Where It Comes From and Why
Jonathan Sadowsky, PhD
Theodore J. Castele Professor, Professor, Department of History
'Why Does This Class Spend So Much Time on Race?' My Answe
Mark Joseph, PhD
“The Everyday Vigilance Required to Make Real Progress Toward Racial Equity & Inclusion"
Grace Clifford, MAEd
Associate Director, ǿմý Education Student Services Disability Resources
“Building a Culture of Inclusion: Creating Campus Advocates for Students with Disabilities in the Health Sciences”
Cheryl Toman, PhD
Chair, ǿմý Department of Modern Languages and Literature & Professor of French
Director of Women’s and Gender Studies Program
“The Fight for Inclusion in the African Canon: Women Writers of Cameroon & Gabon.”
2017
Monica Webb Hooper, PhD
ǿմý Professor, Oncology, Psychological Sciences, Family Medicine & Community Health
"We are Not Low Hanging Fruit: Meaningful Science to Address Racial Disparities in Tobacco Cessation"
Jeremy Bendik-Keymer, PhD
ǿմý Beamer-Schneider Professor of Ethics, Department of Philosophy
“Poverty & Depression, the Power of Imagination, and One Still Secret of Justice”
Molly Watkins
ǿմý Executive Director for International Affairs
“The Value of Global Diversity during Tumultuous Times”
Ramez Islambouli
Head of Arabic Language, ǿմý Dept. of Modern Languages
Lecturer of Islam, ǿմý Dept. of Religious Studies
Adjunct Professor, ǿմý School
“Changing the Narrative about Islam and Muslims”
Liz Roccoforte
Director, ǿմý’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center
“Centering the Intersections: LGBTQ Community Building Over the Next Four Years”
Laura Hengehold, PhD
Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Philosophy
“Relevant to Whom? Anonymous for Whom? How Philosophy Reveals and Conceals Human Uniqueness”
2016
Cassi L. Pittman, PhD
ǿմý Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology
Race, Class and Place: Rethinking Middle-Class Blacks Residential Preferences and Consequences of Minority Suburbanization.
Michiko Watanabe, PhD
ǿմý Professor of Pediatrics, Genetics, Anatomy
Exploring the Tiny Beating Heart: Rewards of Diversity & Teamwork in Research on Heart Development
G. Dean Patterson. Jr.
Associate Vice President for Student Affairs
The Journey First Begins From Within
Lisa Nielson, PhD
Anisfield-Wolf SAGES Fellow
Lecturer, Department of Music, College of Arts and Sciences
Concubines, Courtesans, Poets and Slaves: Music and Politics in the Medieval Islamic Courts
Melvin L. Smith, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Organizational Behavior & Faculty Director of Executive Education at the Weatherhead School of Management
Managing Diverse Relationships via Emotional Intelligence
2015
Camille Warner, PhD
Assistant Professor, School of Nursing
Support and Social Equality: In the Classroom and Community
Carlos E. Crespo-Hernández, PhD
Associate Professor of Chemistry;
Co-Director, Center for Chemical Dynamics
Diversity in the Physical Sciences: A Personal Journey
Blanton S. Tolbert, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry
Molecules of HIV: The Importance of Diverse Perspectives
Jessie Hill, JD
Associate Dean of Faculty Development and Research; Professor of Law and Laura Chisolm Distinguished Research Scholar, School of Law
Reproductive Rights or Reproductive Justice?
2014
Ruqaiijah Yearby, JD, MPH
Professor of Law and Associate Director of ǿմý's Law-Medicine Center
Separate and Unequal Health Care in a 'Post- Racial' World: The Paradox of Fixing Racial Disparities in Health Without Addressing Racial Bias
Ronald Hickman, PhD, RN, ACNP-BC
Assistant Professor at ǿմý's Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing; Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center
Leveraging the Power of the Community to Improve Health
Anna Maria Santiago, PhD
ǿմý Leona Bevis & Marguerite Haynam Professor of Community Development, Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences
Fifty Years Later: From a War on Poverty To a War on the Poor
Andrew M. Rollins, PhD
ǿմý Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Medicine;
Faculty Advisor of Engineers Without Borders and MIND
Developing Our Students and the World, Through Service
2013
Kristin Williams DDS, MPH
ǿմý Dental Public Health, Assistant Professor, Department of Community Dentistry
Meeting a Community Need: Increasing Diversity Within the Dental Health Profession
Dorothy Miller, PhD
Founding Director of the Flora Stone Mather Center for Women;
Clinical Associate Professor at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at ǿմý
Struggling to Get It Right: Gender, Race and Class Through a Lesbian, Feminist Len
Deepak Sarma, PhD
Professor of South Asian religions and philosophy, ǿմý
DARE: Articulating Race and Ethnicity
John H. Flores, PhD
ǿմý Assistant Professor of History and Climo Junior Professor, College of Arts and Sciences
The Brown Power Movement of the 1920s: Reinterpreting Mexican Chicago
2012
Emmitt R. Jolly, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Center for Global Health and Disease
The Biochemistry of Life: A Model of Diversity
Joy R. Bostic, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Religious Studies
Justice-Making and the Beloved Community: The Power of Diversity in University Circle
2011
Raymond Ku, JD
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, co-director of the Center for Law, Technology and the Arts, and co-director of the Cyberspace Law and Policy Office.
Hate, Affinity and Merit: Why Diversity Matters
Sana Loue, PhD
Professor and Director in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics;
Director of the Center for Minority Public Health of the School of Medicine.
Bread for the Body, Bread for the Mind: The Need for Active Culture
LaShanda T. Korley, PhD
Nord Distinguished Assistant Professor, Macromolecular Science and Engineering;
Principal Investigator of the Korley Research Group
Promoting Diversity in Academia: The Importance of Mentoring
2010
Sue Hinze, PhD
Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of Women's and Gender Studies at ǿմý
The Power of Diversity or the Diversity of Power? Reflections on Difference, Power and Privilege