2017 Conference
The 2017 Women of Color in the Academy Conference was co-chaired by the primary grant authors, Nicole Aljoe and Barbara Guthrie. The Planning Committee was composed of faculty and staff representing Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, ADVANCE Office of Faculty Development, Northeastern Crossing, Bouve College of Health Sciences, and the College of Social Sciences and Humanities. The conference was sponsored by Tufts University Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Boston University ARROWS Program (Advance, Recruit, Retain & Organize Women in STEM), HERC (Higher Education Recruitment Consortium), MIT Consortium for Graduate Studies in Gender, Culture, Women, and Sexuality, Northeastern Urban Health Research and Practice, Northeastern Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies, and each of the nine Northeastern colleges. There was considerable interest with 156 registrants (42 on a wait list). On the conference survey, participants reported being overwhelmingly positive about the experience with 100% reporting they would participate again.
Participants reported there were three things that most resonated from the conference:
- The connection and networking with other women of color in academic positions.
- The very hands on real strategies and tools provided to enhance their academic careers.
- They were inspired and uplifted by hearing and sharing stories with other women of color.
In their own words, participants share their thoughts of the 2017 conference:
“I will be more intentional about developing my scholarly identity and learning how to articulate it well and align my research and service.”
“Understanding, you are not alone! You must remain confident/diligent in your path!”
“I felt the tips and experiences that were shared throughout the conference by presenters and participants were so valuable and rich, it made the conversation dynamic and thoughtful.”