Symposium on Inclusive Excellence

By Kayleigh Johnson ‘22, staff writer

LVC will hold its annual Symposium on Inclusive Excellence on Tuesday, Jan. 21, which will include a keynote speaker as well as informative sessions in the afternoon.

This year’s keynote speaker is Ruth Naomi Floyd, an accomplished musician. She is a vocalist, composer and flautist. Floyd is also the director of jazz studies at Cairn University in Langhorne, PA. As both a musician herself and a dedicated music educator, Floyd will hold two afternoon sessions after her talk called “The Life and Work of Frederick Douglass” and “The History and Celebration of African American Spirituals, Blues, Gospel Music, & Jazz.”

Some other afternoon sessions include “The Long Road: LGBTQ+ Traveling History Museum,” “Walls of Poverty” and “Diversity and Inclusion on a College Campus: Embracing Difference for a Better U.” Interested students may also participate in a poverty simulation. The simulation will place participants in the situation of an impoverished family for a month. They must try to budget and deal with catastrophes that occur as best they can.

The Vernon and Doris Bishop Library will be hosting two afternoon sessions called “The Human Library.” The library, Center for Global Education, Intercultural Affairs & Inclusive Programs and Student Affairs staff have collaborated in finding a diverse, interesting group of people to act as a living library. Participants of the sessions will be able to ask the human “books” questions about their lives and stories. There will be four LVC alumni and one current LVC student featured among the Human Library. For more information on the presenters, visit @bishop_library on Instagram or Lebanon Valley College Bishop Library’s Facebook page.