The campus community of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, as well as members of the public, had a chance to be part of discussions of the diverse kind on Aug. 27 and 28.
About 850 people, including SIUE faculty, staff and students, listened to the internationally renowned documentary filmmaker and master diversity trainer Lee Mun Wah. The program entailed a student dialogue session, a faculty and staff training session, and a public showing of his film “IF These Halls Could Talk” followed by a discussion.
“I love it. I think everyone should be here,” said Anne Hunter, office support specialist at Lovejoy Library, at the faculty and staff training session. “It’s a completely different way of looking at diversity. Sometimes when we talk about diversity, we talk about it from an employment aspect.
At the onset of the faculty and staff training session Lee Mun Wah engaged the audience. When addressing men, he used their names and showed warm, inviting body language. When he asked women the same question, Lee did not call their names and used body language that could be perceived as cool or dismissive. The purpose of the exercise, according to Lee, was to demonstrate the sometimes subtleties of the “isms.”
“It’s not something I’m unaware of intellectually,” said Dr. Stephen Tamari, associate professor in historical studies, “to show respect and fairness to people. But he offers a way to get beyond the talk and take risks.”
For more information about Lee Mun Wah visit, stirfryseminars.com, facebook.com/leemunwah or youtube.com/stirfryberkeley.
The SIUE Campus Wide Diversity Event was sponsored by the Department of Anthropology, the Department of Psychology, the School of Education’s Diversity Committee, the Department of Theater and Dance; the College of Arts and Sciences; Student Affairs, Faculty Development Council and the Office for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion.
Photo Information:
Lee Mun Wah, master diversity trainer, makes a point during the Faculty and Staff Diversity Conversations portion on Wednesday. In the background is Tianlong Yu, associate professor in the Department of Educational Leadership.