Christine Crouse-Dick, Rachel Epp Buller and Sheryl Wilson will co-present a workshop Wednesday, March 1, as part of a national conference on promoting social justice in higher education.

The Center for Teaching, Learning and Innovation at Hudson County Community College (HCCC) in Jersey City, N.J., is sponsoring the Teaching and Learning Symposium on Social Justice in Higher Education, Feb. 27-March 3.

It is free to all participants and held mostly virtually.

Christine Crouse-Dick, Ph.D., professor of communication arts, Rachel Epp Buller, Ph.D., professor of visual arts and design and Bethel faculty chair, and Sheryl Wilson, M.L.S., executive director of the Kansas Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (KIPCOR), will present “Slow Leadership: A New Model for Higher Education.”

Their session is on March 1 at noon Central Standard Time (1 p.m. Eastern).

It is “ideal for higher education leaders (faculty and administrators) seeking innovative communication strategies to better address institutional dissatisfaction, low morale and inequity,” according to the symposium program.

“Our experience as leaders in cross-disciplinary settings, at both classroom and institutional levels, and within antiracist and social justice initiatives on campus, affirms our belief that transformative, relational leadership happens not in silos but at all levels and across boundaries.

“The strategies explored in this session can be applied in committees, boardrooms and classrooms, modeling more sustainable, relationally driven ways to promote critical thinking experiences.

“With Slow Leadership, we can bring a generative spirit of collaboration to various types of work.”

The complete program is at https://www.hccc.edu/page/symposium-agenda.html

Those interested in attending any or all the virtual sessions must register at https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwtd-yvrDIqE9wYs_f5u1ba04fbi4cmdVHK (To attend any March 1 session, check “March 1, 9 a.m.”; the link you receive can be used at noon Central time for “Slow Leadership: A New Model for Higher Education.”)

In 2022, HCCC’s Center for Teaching, Learning and Innovation presented a first for New Jersey higher education – a national symposium dedicated to teaching and learning practices that promote social justice in colleges and universities.

The symposium was enormously successful, with many of the nearly 500 registrants from seven states and 47 colleges and universities encouraging HCCC to make it an annual event.

Close to 40 presenters and panelists at this year’s conference include nationally prominent educators, authors, college and university presidents and trustees, community advocates and leaders, and students who will examine how social and racial issues impact employment, health and the health-care system, the environment, mental health, spirituality, the justice system, corporate responsibility and youth advocacy.

“We are exceedingly proud to present this comprehensive symposium, [which] has been a full year in the making,” said HCCC President Christopher Reber, Ph.D.

“Realizing that the need for teaching about social justice grows more essential every day, Dr. Paula Roberson, founding director of our HCCC Center for Teaching, Learning and Innovation, has worked passionately to prepare a roster of important topics and to engage expert presenters from across the United States.”

The 2023 symposium will open with remarks from Brian Bridges, Ph.D., Secretary of Higher Education for the State of New Jersey and former vice president of research and member engagement at the United Negro College Fund. Wayne A. I. Frederick, Ph.D., president of Howard University and Charles R. Drew Distinguished Professor of Surgery, will give the keynote address.

Among the symposium’s expert presenters and panelists are Dr. Johnetta B. Cole, former (and first female African-American) president of Spelman College; John K. Pierre, Esq., chancellor of Southern University Law Center; Jacquie Abram, author of Hush Money; Matthew J. Platkin, Attorney General for the State of New Jersey; Dr. Jessica Pryce, child advocate, social scientist, TED presenter and executive director of the Florida Institute for Child Welfare; Dr. Sarah Ketchen-Lipson, Fulbright scholar and assistant professor in the Department of Health, Law, Policy and Management at Boston University (sponsored by Christie Campus Health); James McGreevey, former New Jersey governor and chairman of New Jersey Reentry Corporation; Esther Suarez, prosecutor, Hudson County (N.J.) Prosecutor’s Office; Carmella Glover, Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Officer of Arthur W. Page Society and adjunct professor at Georgetown University; and Dr. Teik Lim, ninth president of the New Jersey Institute of Technology and distinguished professor of mechanical engineering.

Information about the HCCC 2023 Teaching and Learning Symposium on Social Justice in Higher Education is available from Dr. Paula Roberson at proberson@hccc.edu or 201-360-4775.

“Social and racial issues affect each and every person in this country in different ways,” Reber said. “Teaching and learning about social justice, and how we can develop and strengthen our collective sense of equality, equity and fairness, are essential to the wellbeing of our communities. We invite all to attend these critically important sessions.”

Hudson County Community College serves more than 18,000 credit and non-credit students annually. The college offers nearly 90 degree and certificate programs, and partners with major four-year colleges and universities in the greater New Jersey-New York area and beyond to accommodate seamless transfer of credits for further undergraduate and graduate education.

Bethel is a four-year liberal arts college founded in 1887 and is the oldest Mennonite college in North America. Known for academic excellence, Bethel ranks at #14 in the Washington Monthly list of “Best Bachelor’s Colleges,” and #24 in the U.S. News & World Report rankings of “Best Regional Colleges Midwest,” both for 2022-23. Bethel is the only Kansas college or university to be named a Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Center. For more information, see www.bethelks.edu