Inside BFSA
Your information source for BFSA - January/February 2021
Next BFSA Meeting - Tuesday, February 16, 2021 @ 2 p.m.
Tuesday, February 16, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. Central Time
via ZOOM or FreeConferenceCall.com
ZOOM link: https://murraystate.zoom.us/j/96401972139
A G E N D A
Welcome..........................................................................................................................................
Information from the top........................................................................Office of the President
Presenters: Dr. Robert Jackson, President
and/or
Mr. Jordan Smith, Executive Director of Governmental and Institutional Relations
The Office of the President has partnered with BFSA & MSU Advance to host Dr. Koritha Mitchell who will be presenting on faculty mentoring.
CPE 2021 Academic Leadership Development Institute (ALDI) Nominee
Racer Safe & Healthy tied to Vaccinations
Racer Safe & Healthy Behavior Recognition
Mentoring Interest............................................................................Complete the Survey...............
Black & Connected Series................................................................................................................
Black & Connected Committee (Professional Development) coming in Spring 2021*
Black & Connected is an onboarding and continuous retention initiative for new Black professionals to have opportunity to connect with seasoned Black colleagues on campus that have a historical knowledge of campus, city of Murray and county of Calloway as well as the area of Western Kentucky, share a wide array of experiences reflected through employment longevity (5+ years] at the University. Black & Connected’s goal is to provide information, initiate possibilities for mentoring relationships, support, guidance, a sense of belonging, and impact retention of Black employees through an informal conversation concept coupled with educational session/tracks along the way.
Track 1: Health & Wellness
Track 2: Financial Health
Track 3: Career Development
Track 4: Research & Publications
Track 5: Other Areas of Professional Development
Currently connecting with session facilitators to plan a Yoga set of sessions via ZOOM under Track 1, a Financial Wellness and Wills session under Track 2. COMING SOON!
BFSA Liaisons................................................................................................................................
Need an individual in each category to serve as a liaison.
Black Student Council Liaison - Carruth Kitrell - ckitrell@murraystate.edu (UNCONFIRMED)
Liaison to Black Student Council - connects with Black Student Council and supplies regular reports to BFSA.
Student Recruitment Liaison - Kendrick Quisenberry - kquisenberry@murraystate.edu (UNCONFIRMED)
Liaison to Student Recruitment - connects with Student Recruitment (specifically with underrepresented students) or is a Recruitment Specialist in the Office of Recruitment specifically connecting with underrepresented students and supplies regular reports to Black Faculty and Staff
Faculty Senate Liaison - Dr. Brian Clardy - bclardy@murraystate.edu (UNCONFIRMED)
Liaison to Faculty Senate connects with Faculty Senate or is an underrepresented member/officer of Faculty Senate and supplies regular reports to Black Faculty and Staff.
Staff Congress Liaison - Dr. Jessica Evans - jevans15@murraystate.edu
Liaison to Staff Congress connects with Staff Congress or is a member/officer of Staff Congress and supplies regular reports to Black Faculty and Staff.
Athletics Liaison - Charde Hudspeth - lhudspeth@murraystate.edu
Liaison to Athletics connects with Athletics or is an underrepresented minority member of Athletics and supplies regular reports to Black Faculty and Staff.
BFSA Blue & Gold Spectrums: A Welcome Committee.............................Dr. Bellah Ezumah, bezumah@murraystate.edu, 809-3171 & Dr. Esther Malm, 809-6360, emalm@murraystate.edu, bezumah@murraystate.edu
The Blue & Gold Spectrums Welcome Committee is led by the two Co-Chairs and focuses on reaching out to newly hired employees to help them transition to the University and surrounding community. We facilitate networking with colleagues and connect new hires with university and community resources. Additionally, the Blue & Gold Spectrums Committee would maintain the Welcome Guide for Underrepresented faculty and staff candidates. We, also, upon request, meet with candidates for faculty and staff positions during the interview process and provide information about the University experience and life in Western Kentucky.
BFSA Membership & Book Committee............................................Ms. Mary-Elaine Horn, Chair
mhorn@murraystate.edu, 270-707-1549
This committee is led by the Membership & Book Scholarship Development Committee Chair markets the BFSA to black employees of the University, inviting them to become active members, raising money for the Book Scholarship distributed annually to the Douglass Reunion Scholarship recipient and attending the annual Douglass Reunion to award the scholarship. This Committee shall also be responsible for inviting former employees and affiliates of the BFSA to become non-voting members of the BFSA. Further, this committee may also be chiefly responsible for accepting general donations to further the BFSA.
BFSA Events/Social Networking & Recognition Committee...............Ms. Kim Newbern, Chair
knewbern@murraystate.edu, (270) 809-6953
This committee is led by the Events, Social & Recognition Chair who partners with members of the committee to plan, organize and execute special events designed to cultivate social networks as well as provide recognition (birthdays, work anniversaries, accomplishments, honors, awards, etc.). This committee hosts a variety of events which include but are not limited to: Welcome Back (August), Photo Shoot (September), Homecoming Connection with Alumni (October), Holiday Party (December), Black History Month (February), The Year in Review (May), Juneteenth Celebration (June) and Douglass Reunion Outreach (July/August)
BFSA Bravos!...................................................................................................Ms. Kim Newbern
Share your joy in our recognition portion of the agenda! Engage during this time to tell us about honors, awards, milestones, publications, and other achievements.
Cheers from BFSA Peers................................................................................Ms. Kim Newbern
Learned of a Black Faculty or Staff employee demonstrating a job well done or going above and beyond the call of duty? Take this moment during the agenda to share the praise!
Other.................................................................................................................................................
BFSA Welcome Guide geared toward Black Faculty and Staff (edited by Dr. Esther Malm, 809-6360, May 2020)
KEY LINKS & INFO shared at the meeting:
Join us for:
- the Koritha Mitchell virtual session by registering online at by Feb. 26: https://forms.gle/up9HX8yrug9W83Bx5.
- the Dr. Marquise Carter recital on Feb. 24th at 4:30 p.m. which will be streaming on the Music Department's Facebook page.
- OMA's Black History Month Celebration
- Sign up for your COVID-19 vaccine using the Calloway County Health Department's link.
- Nominating students and/or student groups who are demonstrating Racer Safe and Healthy Guidelines as a part of their student work, student leadership, and/or daily lives at MSU. Send name of student or student group and why they should be recognized as demonstrating Racer Safe & Healthy Behaviors to msu.racersafeandhealthy@murraystate.edu
- Faculty, apply for the 2021 Faculty Innovation Initiative (Grants). Please see website for information and application form: Faculty Innovation Initiative (murraystate.edu)
- Dr. Oluwabunmi "Bunmi" Dada as the MSU CPE 2021 Academic Leadership Development Institute (ALDI) Nominee.
- Dedrick Brooks as he is working on completing his Master's Degree at Murray State University.
- Stephen Keene on his new position in SSS (Student Support Services) a TRIOs program. His new contact information is: 809-3242; 264A Blackburn Science; skeene@murraystate.edu
- Dr. Marquise Carter on being nominated as the non-STEM Emerging Scholar.
- Dr. Marquise Carter on the progression towards achieving the Black Yoga Instructor Certification. Dr. Carter will be leading some Yoga Sessions via ZOOM especially for BFSA and these sessions will also assist in satisfying the teaching requirements connected to the certification. Interested in participating in the Yoga Sessions, provide us with your name and contact information here. Dr. Carter will reach out with the dates, times and ZOOM links to those who register.
Our mission
The Black Faculty and Staff Association (BFSA) is dedicated to supporting the academic and professional development of faculty, staff and students through cultural awareness, campus governance, programs, services and mentoring while enriching the campus and surrounding communities. In short the BFSAs Mission can be summarized in 5 parts in that BFSA exists to:
(1) assist in University efforts to connect within the recruiting process of potential black employees (faculty and staff) where possible;
(2) assist in University efforts to connect to the student recruitment and retention process where possible;
(3) advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion for black employees at Murray State University;
(4) articulate feedback to University administration about the black employee experience at Murray State University;
(5) host events that benefit the professionalism, growth, and engagement of black employees at Murray State University.
Our vision
The Black Faculty and Staff Association aspires to create a campus climate that is inviting, nurturing, and hospitable.
SPEAK for the Staff Employees as a Board of Regents member - Run for Staff Regent!
File for Candidacy on or before February 22, 2020 at 4:30 p.m.
Staff Regent Election
Applications are being accepted for the Staff Regent Election. The Staff Regent represents non-teaching staff on the Murray State Board of Regents. Non-teaching staff who have been employed at Murray State for at least three years as of the date of the election, March 9, may run for the three-year term that begins July 1. Qualifications and candidacy intent forms are available at http://staffvote.mymurraystate.com. The filing deadline is Feb. 22 at 4:30 p.m.
Two meet-the-candidate forums are scheduled on Zoom. The first forum will be Tuesday, March 2 at 10:30 a.m. The second forum will be Wednesday, March 3 at 3 p.m.
The election will be held online March 9 - 11. Staff will vote through myGate.
Questions regarding the election process may be directed to Orville Herndon at oherndon@murraystate.edu or 270-809-4491.
Special Co-hosted Event: MSU Advance, Office of the President and Black Faculty & Staff Association (BFSA)
Please join us for this event! Watch your email for more information to participate!
The ADVANCE Grant, the Office of the President, Murray State Office of IDEA and Black Faculty and Staff Association are proud to sponsor Dr. Koritha Mitchell of the Ohio State University on March 3 from 2 - 4:30 p.m. presenting a Zoom workshop Ethical Orientations for Collegiality, Mentoring, and Teaching by Dr. Koritha Mitchell of Ohio State University. From Murray State ADVANCE, "When Americans aren’t ignoring inequities altogether, we focus on cultivating empathy for other people’s hardships. Unfortunately, this approach only reinforces the status quo. In contrast, this workshop helps attendees see that changing our environments requires a laser focus on unearned advantages. Too often, people in dominant identity categories assume they are good and decent without reference to actual standards. However, operating ethically as a colleague, mentor, or teacher requires holding oneself to objective standards, not simply assuming you’re good at your job because no one has compelled you to do it better."
Koritha Mitchell is an award-winning author, cultural critic, and professional development expert. She has been invited to offer guidance to scholars at every stage of their careers by various types of institutions, including the Ford Foundation, the American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR), the New Jersey Department of Education, Vanderbilt University, Michigan State University, the College of Wooster and Princeton University. In addition to serving as external reviewer for tenure dossiers, she has chaired and/or served on committees to select the winners of postdoctoral fellowships, essay awards and book awards. In 2018, she was named Undergraduate Professor of the Year by Ohio State University's English Undergraduate Organization. On Twitter, she's @ProfKori.
Register here by Feb. 26: https://forms.gle/up9HX8yrug9W83Bx5.
VITA - Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program
Next BFSA Special Session meeting - Tuesday, February 2, 2021 @ 2pm via ZOOM
Special Session Agenda with Black Murray State University Board of Regents
Join us for a very special invitation-only session with the Black members of our University Board of Regents.
INVITATION ONLY - ZOOM link
BLACK HISTORY MONTH: The Origin Story
Celebrating 95 years of sharing OUR story
The precursor to Black History Month was created in 1926 in the United States when historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History announced the second week of February to be "Negro History Week".
Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history. Also known as African American History Month, the event grew out of “Negro History Week,” the brainchild of noted historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. Other countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating Black history.
Origins of Black History Month
The story of Black History Month begins in 1915, half a century after the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in the United States.
That September, the Harvard-trained historian Carter G. Woodson and the prominent minister Jesse E. Moorland founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), an organization dedicated to researching and promoting achievements by Black Americans and other peoples of African descent.
Known today as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), the group sponsored a national Negro History week in 1926, choosing the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. The event inspired schools and communities nationwide to organize local celebrations, establish history clubs, and host performances and lectures.
In the decades that followed, mayors of cities across the country began issuing yearly proclamations recognizing Negro History Week. By the late 1960s, thanks in part to the civil rights movement and a growing awareness of Black identity, Negro History Week had evolved into Black History Month on many college campuses.
President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month in 1976, calling upon the public to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”
Black History Month 2021 Theme
Since 1976, every American president has designated February as Black History Month and endorsed a specific theme.
The Black History Month 2021 theme, “Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity” explores the African diaspora and the spread of Black families across the United States.
Source: https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-month
Other Virtual Black History Month Events
Murray State Athletics honors Dennis Jackson, the first African-American student-athlete at MSU, by naming the Dennis Jackson Racer Room in Roy Stewart Stadium.
A celebration of the event for the Racers’ Distinguished Alumnus, multi-sport star, and 2007 Murray State Athletics Hall of Fame inductee will be conducted on Sunday, March 21st at 12:30 pm. The event will take place in the Dennis Jackson Racer Room prior to the Racers hosting Tennessee State at 2:00 pm in Stewart Stadium. Murray State Athletics will stream the event, making it available to those who may not be able to attend.
“We are very pleased to honor Mr. Dennis Jackson with the naming of the Racer Room,” said University President Dr. Bob Jackson. “Dennis is one of the all-time greats and it is only fitting to name this part of the Stewart Stadium in order to recognize his many achievements and lifetime of service to Murray State University.”
The Dennis Jackson Racer Room is currently under renovation in order to create a first-class environment to support student-athlete development as well as host both game day and community hospitality events. This state-of-the-art space will also serve as an ideal location to host prospective student-athletes and their families. It will be outfitted with the latest audio/visual equipment, Murray State branding and sport-specific mannequins donning Nike gear, resourced via the department-wide apparel deal with Nike/BSN. The Dennis Jackson Racer Room will also include a nutrition/fueling station for current Racer student-athletes and a special area to commemorate Dennis Jackson's life and contributions.
GET A DEGREE: Use your tuition waiver benefit!
College costs may be rapidly rising, but using your tuition waiver benefit is one great way to minimize your out of pocket costs associated with earning a degree. A waiver of tuition is an education benefit provided by University to its employees. Learn more about the benefit by selecting the links below:
GLOBAL NEWS
The Role of Experimentation and Medical Mistrust in COVID-19 Vaccine Skepticism
For many people in the United States, the approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines symbolize hope for the end of a virus that has plagued this country and the world. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has reported 373,167 COVID-19-related deaths across the United States as of January 11, with Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) being disproportionately impacted.
In November, the CDC reported that when compared to White/non-Latinx persons; Indigenous, Asian, Black, and Latinx folks are more likely to be diagnosed, hospitalized, and die from COVID-19. Yet a recent national survey conducted by the COVID Collaborative, Langer Research, UnidosUS, and the NAACP found that the majority of Black and Latinx people do not trust the vaccine to be effective or safe.
Courtney J. Jones Carney
So how can there be such levels of distrust in a vaccine and its effectiveness among some of the most impacted populations? While the answer to this is complex, it is directly connected to White supremacy, the all-encompassing centrality and assumed superiority of people defined and perceived as White and the practices and standards of norms based upon that assumption, and the role that structurally oppressive systems play in giving privilege to those with agent identities while disenfranchising others. Themes of power and dominance can be present in interactions between patients and doctors and the manner in which vaccination skeptics are often ridiculed or dismissed as uneducated. It is the way that some anchor institutions have centered their will and domination over the neighborhoods that they occupy.
The Tuskegee syphilis experiment seems to be the most mentioned medical experiment when discussing BIPOC medical mistrust, but the legacy of experimentation and unethical research of BIPOC and marginalized populations does not begin and end with Tuskegee. Instead, the roots of medical mistrust are much deeper and wider. One of the earliest documented cases involved experiments on enslaved women of African descent at the hands of J. Marion Sims, who is referred to as the “Father of Modern Gynecology.” His experiments on Anarcha, Betsy, and Lucy were conducted without anesthesia due to its high cost and high risk, the “subjects” being viewed as property, and the belief that Black people did not feel pain in the same way as White people. The latter, while seemly antiquated prevails in modern medical settings.
A 2016 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, found that 50 percent of medical trainees surveyed believed at least one of the following: Black people’s nerve endings are less sensitive than White people’s, Black people’s skin is thicker than White people’s, and Black people’s blood coagulates more quickly than White people’s. Additionally, a textbook used in educating nurses, Nursing: A Concept-Based Approach to Learning, advises readers that “a client’s culture influences their response to, and beliefs about pain.” It lists the following:
- “Arabs/Muslims may not request pain medicine but instead thank Allah for pain if it is the result of the healing medical process.”
- “Clients from Asian cultures often value stoicism as a response to pain. A client who complains openly about pain is thought to have poor social skills.”
- “Blacks often report higher pain intensity than other cultures.”
- “Hispanics may believe that pain is a form of punishment and that suffering must be endured if they are to enter heaven.”
- “Jews may be vocal and demand assistance.”
- “Native Americans may prefer to receive medications that have been blessed by a tribal shaman.”
Stereotypes like the ones above position medical professionals to employ bias to evaluate pain instead of listening to patients and assessing needs. It is inaccuracies like these that contribute to mistreatment of BIPOC patients, which contributes to medical mistrust. It is important to note that once Sims perfected his surgeries, they were performed on white women under sedation.
In the space afforded, I could not provide an exhaustive list of medical and scientific experiments, so the educator in me was compelled to leave the reader with an assignment. Below is a timeline that illustrates that scientific/medical experimentation are not isolated, spans across centuries, and impacts people across race, ethnicity, age, socio-economic status, freedom, language, and nationality. I urge you to conduct your own research on these and other experiments with the intention of understanding the historical and current context of medical mistrust and responses to COVID-19 vaccines.
As the country moves forward with vaccinations that may be scrutinized by BIPOC and marginalized populations, we should all acknowledge that feelings of skepticism are valid and understandable. Educators, especially in health and human services fields, should create educational opportunities for students to unpack the history of experimentation and implications for professional practice and encourage genuine dialogue around fears and opportunities evoked across social identities based on historical knowledge, lived experiences, and the accelerated production and testing of the vaccines.
1845 (four years): Gynecological surgical experiments
1879 (94 years): Assimilation experiments on Indigenous children
1927: Lyles Station (Indiana) radiation experiment
1932 (40 years): Tuskegee (Alabama) syphilis experiment
1940s: Stateville Penitentiary (Illinois) malaria study
1948: Guatemala syphilis experiments
1951: Henrietta Lacks
1952 (20-plus years): Project 4.1 Marshall Islands
1960 (11 years): University of Cincinnati radiation study
1973 (three years): Indian Health Service involuntary sterilization
1993: Baltimore lead paint study
Courtney J. Jones Carney is the executive director of the Univ. of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) Intercultural Leadership and Engagement Center and director of the Intercultural Center, Division of Student Affairs; the Intercultural Leadership Post-baccalaureate Certificate program director and faculty at the University of Maryland Graduate School. She is also a doctoral candidate in the public administration program at the University of Baltimore. Her dissertation explores the impact of exposure to racial and ethnic microaggressions and employee engagement.
Source: https://diverseeducation.com/article/200823/?utm_campaign=5475&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua
Time for Anti-Racism: A Way Forward for America and Higher Education
The Classical Association of the Atlantic States (CAAS) recently held a virtual workshop on anti-racism, titled “A Way Forward.” CAAS is one of the main organizations in the field of classics, along with the American Philological Association (APA), which in 2013 rebranded as the Society for Classical Studies (SCS). One need not dig too deep to find the roots of the SCS, a professional organization for teachers and lay supporters of the study of Greece and Rome. Basel Lanneau Gildersleeve, a scholar of Greek and Latin and veteran of the Confederate States Army, founded the APA in 1869. The field would seem to have come a long way since then, and even since it disinvited the Black classicist William Sanders Scarborough from its segregated conference in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1909. This January 2021, the SCS welcomed its first African American president, Shelley P. Haley, Edward North Chair of Classics and Professor of Africana Studies at Hamilton College. The CAAS workshop was consistent with these major changes in the academic field.
The current state of play in this particular academic field of study, electing a president to its première national organization, who happens to be Black, and beginning 2021 with an anti-racism Zoom session attended by over 100 people, reflects some promising trends across the country. After the brutal killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, the Minneapolis City Council passed a resolution declaring racism a public health emergency. Many other cities and organizations followed suit, including Richmond, Virginia, where mayor Levar Stoney acknowledged racism as a national epidemic and tore down some of its prominent symbols across the city, the Confederate monuments that line one of its main thoroughfares. Across the country, the focus of major news outlets such as Business Insider on race and anti-racism has been persistent.
Dr. Patrice Rankine
Anti-racism seems to have found its moment, although Classical Studies in specific has some heavy lifting to undo the role of its legacy as a bastion of White supremacy. Vassar College classics professor Curtis Dozier acknowledges this and has an online platform, Pharos, whose “first purpose is to document appropriations of Greco-Roman culture by hate groups online.”
There remains, however, much work to be done, not only in the academy. After George Floyd was killed, outgoing National Security Advisor Robert C. O’Brien denied that there was such a thing as systemic racism, and his perspective is no doubt shared by millions of people. What is to be done? Is there a way forward? Below I list three necessary focal points if we are to heal the damage of the past:
Acknowledgement. To paraphrase the German playwright Bertolt Brecht, difficulties cannot be overcome by keeping silent about them. I am hopeful that Americans, indeed, contemporary people across the globe, will come to a recognition that White supremacy is the default position of our existence, not an abnormality. Ever since Carl Linnaeus separated homo sapiens into distinct, sub-races, a hierarchy has been inscribed. David Hume rationalized divergent creation stories to explain differences in skin pigmentation and phenotype. In the United States, the Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 did not only justify segregation, but it reinforced harmful distinctions that extended the logic of Black African transatlantic slavery well into the 20th century. Research on the pernicious impact of this everyday White supremacy was infamously evident in the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court argument in 1954, the psychological harm of non-White children choosing White dolls over those that looked like them.
White supremacy is quotidian, and it is also operative in what New York University professor Cristina Beltrán sees as the “multiracial” coalition that led to the Jan. 6, 2021, siege of Congress. If we accept that race is a harmful social construct that we must dismantle, then we would also concur with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist, that in order to do so, we have to take a stand. If racism is the default, then we all have a bit of a racist inside of us.
Support. An ongoing dynamic that was on display during the CAAS workshop I mentioned at the start of this article is the emotional disparity between how we experience and talk about race. Non-whites — as those drawing the short stick of a random, racial hierarchy that functions like fate — are accustomed to disparagement. We are also used to talking about it. At the CAAS workshop and in classrooms and boardrooms across the country and world, we speak up and testify. This is a heavy burden. In a recent meeting where I was the only executive not to raise my hand in the affirmative when asked if I would take the COVID-19 vaccine, I was silent when asked why I was hesitant. (Disclaimer: I am not an anti-vaxxer; my fears about the vaccine owe to a history of Black bodies being used in medicine.) I was not in a vigilant mood and did not take on the conversation. I know that many minorities across all walks of life share in this existential fatigue.
Because of this state of play, White people need spaces where they can talk about race and racism, independent of the dominant presence of non-Whites. Whites need to gain facility in surfacing their own, invisible experiences with race and ask important questions — First time you knew you were White? First non-White friend? First non-White teacher or boss? What have been your feelings and reactions about these things? These conversations need to take place in safety and deep confidentiality. I know that many will say that all space is White space, but Whiteness needs to be denaturalized. This can only happen with support.
Coalition. Once we have lain the foundation of acknowledgement and support, we can begin to build strong coalitions to undo the reign of race over our lives. If race is at the root of modernity (Linnaeus, Hume), slavery was only one of its many rotten fruit. Non-Whites could not independently dismantle the slave trade. Rather, the abolitionist movement mobilized powerful, majority people across industry, education, and the justice system. We need a new abolitionist movement to dismantle race, racial thinking, and racism. This is not as easy as declaring a post-racial era; we have to work for it.
If it is truly time for anti-racism, I see two ways forward, each of which must be taken. The first is backwards, to an understanding of our history and past, the pathways that led us to this time and place. This is personal and public work, individual and collective. Classical Studies and other academic fields that study the past are in excellent positions to help. Secondly, a way forward is inward, to know ourselves. Each of us has racial experience, whether we are White or non-White. We can bear witness to one another’s experiences, which means everyone speaks up, and lends support.
Patrice Rankine is Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences and Professor of Classics at the University of Richmond.
Professional Development & Growth Info
Racers Helping Racers
IN THEIR WORDS...
Tackling Racism
“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality…. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.” - Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Good Leaders are...
Why BLM?
Unity and moving together...
Key University Info
Cheri Movie Theatres
Website: www.moviesinmurray.com
Email: cheri@moviesinmurray.com
Phone: 270-753-8084
Theatre Hours:
Friday -- 3:30pm to 7:45pm
Saturday and Sunday -- 12:15pm to 7:45pm
Monday thru Thursday -- 3:30pm to 7:45pm
Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man - YouTube
Quick Campus Tour: Faces, Places and Spaces
Mary Elaine Horn
Coordinator - Fort Campbell Campus
Dr. Alicia Carthell
Assistant Professor
English & Philosophy
Angela Guyton
Administrative Assistant II.
Jones College of Science, Engineering & Technology
Dr. LeRon Harrison
Dr. Oluwabunmi Dada
Dr. Esther Malm
Dr. Debbie Owens
Dr. Barbara Washington
Dr. Bella Ezumah
Dr. Joshua Easterling
Mr. Raymond Sims
Tony Jones
Dr. Marquese Carter
Carruth Kitrell
Charde Hudspeth
Renita Avery
Kim Newbern
Stephen Keene
Ivy Anderson
Kendrick Quisenberry
Dr. Donald Adongo
Justin Parks
General Manager, Athletics
Shane Nichols
Assistant Coach
Men's Basketball
Casey Long
Assistant Coach
Men's Basketball
Ronrico White
Director of Player Development
Athletics
Jauwan Scaife
Assistant Women's Basketball Coach
Athletics
Chris Cunningham
Special Teams Coordinator
Athletics
Darius Hart
Assistant Coach, Football
Athletics
Frederick Walker
Assistant Coach, Football
Athletics
Dr. Firm Faith Watson
Faculty Development Center Director
University Libraries
Dr. Omer Yayenie
Professor
Math Department
Dr. Brian Clardy
Associate Professor
History Department
Dr. Seid Hassan
Professor
Economics and Finance
Camisha Duffy
Executive Director of the Office of IDEA
Institutional Title IX Coordinator
Lecturer, Organizational Communication & Leadership
serving as the institutional Chief Diversity OfficerDr. Jessica Evans
Director of Assessment & Accreditation
College of Education and Human Services
Regina Hudspeth
Lecturer
Organizational Communication & Leadership
Dedrick Brooks
Buffy Blanton
Tiffany Emerson
Academic Coordinator
Talent Search
Dr. S. G. Carthell
Teresa Palmer
Associate Director
Student Financial Aid
Robert "Bobby" Daniels
Coordinator of Housing Maintenance
Housing & Residence Life
Azia Rouse
Sarah Jones
Ada Bailey
Dr. Cleon Hendricks
Kaitlyn Black
Adrian Benton
Office of Recruitment
Lester Buckner
Laboratory Technician
Breathitt Veterinary Center
Glendale Olive
Central Receiving
Retirees
MSU Future Academic Calendars
Scholar Stage features students at MSU
Please turn your attention to the Scholar Stage which features outstanding students in their field at MSU. You will note several of our minority students are featured on the website which rotates. This is one of the places you can turn to when referring students.
You'll be interested in such profiles as:
Kevonte Turnley
Jade Townsley
Jasmine Groves
Shantaye Powell
Ja Morant
Mustafa Alhussain
Early Scholar Stage Recipient: Ryan Hudson
Holiday and University Closures
Athletic Events
University Calendar
About BFSA
Email: msu.idea@murraystate.edu
Website: www.murraystate.edu/bfsa
Location: 103 Wells Hall, Murray, KY 42071
Phone: 270-809-3155
Participate in meetings via Conference Call
Every. single. voice is important! Let's have a great showing of Black faculty and staff at this exclusive event with the Academic Leaders!
Call Instructions: Dial-in number (US): (605) 313-5111 Access code: 357013#
REMINDERS:
PLEASE keep your mute button engaged until you are ready to speak to minimize background noise. Recognize that the HOLD button may have music attached to it that will be audible, so use the MUTE button instead.
KABHE Conference (Kentucky Association of Blacks in Higher Education)
ZOOM Etiquette
Practices for Virtual Meetings/Events
Speaker:
Play to the camera. Put the camera at eye level and look directly into it.
The camera should frame your neck, face and shoulders. People are drawn to faces
Use a standing desk or position your laptop so you can stand eye level with the computer. Standing provides a higher energy level and forces our body in a more presentation like mode. If you have to sit, lean forward as if you were in a real presentation.
Be animated. To keep people virtually engaged requires you to be engaging
Pace yourself – don’t talk too fast or too slow
Do a trial run of the presentation and include a sound check
Use a direct wired internet connection for a strong signal and stable connection
If using slides, use high quality graphics and limit text
Engage participants – incorporate chats, polls, raise hand features. Try not to speak for more than 10 minutes at a time without some sort of audience engagement
Have a co-host monitor chats
Record session for evaluation purposes
Be yourself and have fun
Attendee:
Make sure your microphone is muted
Do not share the Zoom link with anyone that is not invited
Make sure you are in a quiet area free of distractions
Avoid multi-tasking
Make sure your cell phone is silenced
Don’t interrupt other speakers
Make sure you have a professional appearance and location