The Division of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion will host a panel discussion and recognition ceremony featuring Black female faculty at Texas Tech University.

Texas Tech University's Office of Institutional Diversity, part of the Division of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DDEI) will host "Black Women in The Academy" at 2 p.m. Thursday (Oct. 22). The virtual event, held via Zoom, will include the recognition of Black women who are full professors at Texas Tech and a panel discussion that focuses on the journey of Black women in academia.

"The Office of Institutional Diversity is very proud to honor these women, who are both scholars in their respective fields and leaders in higher education," said Carol A. Sumner, chief diversity officer and DDEI vice president. "Texas Tech is fortunate to have such outstanding faculty, scholars and community leaders. We look forward to learning from them and the achievements they have made while often being amongst a small number of Black women at the institution. Their experiences and insights will provide a great backdrop to the advice and wisdom they have to share. We celebrate their achievements and successes in higher education as women of color in the academy."

The event is free and open to the public. Attendees may register online in advance of the event. Information on how to join the Zoom meeting will be provided after registration is complete.

Six faculty members will be honored at the event:

• Earnstein Dukes, dean of Texas Tech University Libraries;
• Naïma Moustaïd-Moussa, professor of nutritional sciences in the College of Human Sciences and director of the Obesity Research Institute in the Office of Research & Innovation;
• Faith Maina, professor of curriculum and instruction in the College of Education;
• Mary W. Murimi, professor of nutritional sciences in the College of Human Sciences;
• aretha faye marbley, professor of educational psychology and leadership in the College of Education; and
• Wendy Tolson Ross, professor in the School of Law.

"I am very honored to be recognized among the very few Black women who are full professors at Texas Tech, and I specifically thank Dr. Sumner and the Division of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for their outstanding efforts in fostering cultural awareness and inclusiveness on campus," said Moustaïd-Moussa, who received a 2020 Outstanding Researcher Award. "These efforts will greatly enhance diversity at Texas Tech and increase recruitment and retention of Black and other minority faculty at the university."

The panel discussion will be facilitated by Sumner and includes Maina and Murimi, along with Raegan Higgins, associate professor of mathematics and statistics in the College of Arts & Sciences; Debra Lavender-Bratcher, professor of practice in social work in the College of Arts & Sciences; and Texas Tech alumna Danielle Gant Booker, assistant professor of accounting at Loyola University.

"The panelists will discuss their journeys in academia," Higgins said. "In particular, we will share our successes, challenges and goals for the future. As the saying goes, 'You can't be what you can't see.' So, it's important to have programs such as these to inspire and build community."

For more information, visit the "Black Women in the Academy" event page on the DDEI website.

Article by Amanda Castro-Crist, Texas Tech Today (October 21, 2020)