In February 2023, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion was honored to be invited to visit with and present to students, faculty, staff, and administrators at Salem State University (SSU). IU’s connection—and now friendship and partnership— with SSU began in March 2021, following Kovener Fellows’ presentation “Inclusivity through Engaged Pedagogy: A Student-Faculty Program's Impact” delivered at the American Association of Colleges and Universities conference. A year later, modeled after our Kovener Teaching Fellows program, SSU launched its own teaching excellence program, Building Inclusive Academically Engaged Communities.
Damaris Peña (2022-2023 Kovener student fellow), Drs. Tri Keah Henry and Richard Henne-Ochoa (2022-2023 Kovener senior faculty fellows), and Dr. Carmen Henne-Ochoa (program director) comprised the team that travelled to SSU and represented the College’s Kovener program through their expertise, as well as commitment to and enthusiasm for excellence in teaching.
"Having the opportunity to present highlighted my growth as a speaker. I was hesitant to speak, and I had notecards. But, thanks to the Kovener program and my small pod with professors, I’ve learned to trust my voice. My visit to and experiences at Salem State University illuminated for me that the way I relate to educators has changed."
-Damaris Peña (Kovener student fellow, 2022-2023)
"Thank you for the valuable insights shared by your team in strengthening inclusive and engaged pedagogical practices."
-Dr. Binneh Minteh (Faculty Fellow, Salem State University)
"We came away re-inspired and are working away at developing our [year] Y3 plans."
-Dr. Keja Valens (Interim Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion, directs Building Inclusive Academically Engaged Communities, Salem State University)
We look forward to continuing to learn, share, and grow across our institutions.