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DEI Spotlight Events

  • Diversity at NOVA

As an academic institution that values open dialogue and excellence in education, Northern Virginia Community College is committed to the free exchange of ideas by its faculty, staff and students. NOVA welcomes guest speakers from all ideological perspectives to visit campus and present their ideas. The views expressed by guest speakers are their own and not necessarily shared by the College. As an institution, NOVA remains neutral with respect to political speech at the College.

For more information on free speech and expressive activities, please see NOVA's Speech and Expression policy and procedure.

The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion proudly presents NOVA's monthly DEI Spotlight Series. Each month, NOVA will feature a speaker or performer highlighting an important DEI theme. The monthly DEI Spotlight Event will rotate between NOVA's different campuses. In addition, each DEI Spotlight Event will be recorded and made available to enrolled NOVA students and NOVA faculty and staff. Check below for more information about the upcoming DEI Spotlight Events!

To access past DEI Spotlight Event recordings with captioning, please visit https://online.nvcc.edu/videoservices/. Click "Panopto," and then log in with your MyNOVA account. Next, search "DEI.”

For future DEI Spotlight events, contact Sherrene DeLong (sdelong@nvcc.edu) for questions or accommodations. Requests for accommodations must be made at least two weeks prior to the event.

Fall 2022 DEI Spotlight Events

Dr. Gina Garcia

September: Dr. Gina Garcia

TOPIC: Hispanic Heritage Month
DATE: Thursday, September 22, 2022, 1-2:30 pm
LOCATION: Woodbridge, WAS 139

SPEAKER BIO: Dr. Gina Ann Garcia is an associate professor in the department of Educational Foundations, Organizations, and Policy at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research centers on issues of equity and justice in higher education with an emphasis on understanding how Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) embrace and enact an organizational identity for serving minoritized populations. She also seeks to understand the experiences of administrators, faculty, and staff within HSIs and the outcomes and experiences of students attending these institutions. Finally, her research looks at the ways that race and racism have shaped the experiences of minoritized groups in higher education.

Dr. Garcia is the author of Becoming Hispanic-Serving Institutions: Opportunities for Colleges & Universities (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2019) for which she won the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education Book of the Year Award in 2020. Read Dr. Garcia's full bio here: https://www.ginaanngarcia.com/about

A recording of this event is now available for enrolled NOVA students and NOVA faculty and staff! To watch a recording of this event, please visit https://online.nvcc.edu/videoservices/. Click "Panopto", and then log in with your MyNOVA account. Next, search "DEI".

Eric Garcia

October: Eric Garcia

TOPIC: Neurodiversity
DATE: Thursday, October 20, 2022, 2-3pm
LOCATION: Annandale, CA 302

SPEAKER BIO: Eric Garcia is the senior Washington correspondent at The Independent and a columnist at MSNBC. He's the author of the book We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation, which NPR called "lyrical mix of myth-busting, memoir, history, field interviews, and straight-up advice on how to better understand the autism spectrum, how to talk about it, and why it impacts every one of us." He lives in Washington, D.C. You can read more about Eric at http://www.ericmgarcia.net/

Three signed copies of Eric’s book will be raffled off during this event!

Mark Charles

November: Mark Charles

TOPIC: Indigenous People's Month
DATE: Thursday, November 10, 2022, 11am-noon
LOCATION: Loudoun, HEC Event Center

SPEAKER BIO: Mark Charles is a speaker, writer, and consultant. The son of an American woman (of Dutch heritage) and a Navajo man, Mark teaches the complexities of American history regarding race, culture, and Christendom in order to help forge a path of healing and conciliation for the nation. In 2012, Mark hosted a public reading at the US Capitol of the buried apology to Native peoples in the 2010 Department of Defense Appropriations Bill given by the 111th Congress. He is the co-author of the book, Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery, and he authors the blog Reflections from the Hogan. He is a co-founder of the Would Jesus Eat Frybread? college-conference series and has served on the boards of the Christian Reformed Church of North America and the Christian Community Development Association. Mark ran as an independent candidate for the presidency of the United States in 2020, advocating for a Truth and Conciliation Commission – a formal and national dialogue on issues of race, gender, and class. Find out more about Mark on his website: https://wirelesshogan.com/

Three signed copies of Mark’s book will be raffled off during this event!

Past Events

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