Columbus State University’s annual Diversity Forum—scheduled for March 29-30 on the CSU campus—will highlight issues of diversity, poverty and inequality in a two-day format.

The forum, which has grown in size and scope from the original 2012 partnership between CSU and the Mayor’s Commission on Diversity and Unity, now works with advocates, supporters and groups within the Columbus community to facilitate conversations about diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging to the forefront.

Diversity Forum activities begin Wednesday evening in Columbus State’s Frank G. Lumpkin Jr. Center with the March 29 Legacy Dinner Celebration featuring keynote speaker Xernona Clayton. Clayton, a civil rights leader and broadcasting executive, is the founder, president and CEO of the Trumpet Awards Foundation, which celebrates the accomplishments of Black Americans who have succeeded against immense odds of racism and poverty while achieving special greatness.

On Thursday, March 30, the Diversity Conference will convene in Columbus State’s Cunningham Center. The day-long conference will include sessions spanning a variety of topics of interest to professionals in higher education, social and community services, the faith community and the business sector. Those include sessions entitled:

Talking with the Enemy: Fostering Dialogue Across Divides
A Day in the Life of a Mexican-American: Workplace Edition
Action Required: What's Your Part?
Engaging Neurodiversity in Education, Wellness and the Workplace
Multicultural Competencies
Emotional Bias and Its Impact on our Lives and Decisions
Can Great Jokes and Art Change the World?
Presentation by Diversity Peer Educators
Thursday’s lunch program will feature a conversation with Jo Anne Hill, a longtime champion for diversity, inclusion and engagement, and currently the inaugural executive director of diversity and inclusion for Piedmont Healthcare.

Tickets for the Diversity Forum can be purchased online and include both the March 29 Legacy Celebration dinner and the full-day Diversity Conference on March 30. Single tickets are $45. Groups, organizations and businesses can purchase a table for eight for $340. The deadline to register is Friday, March 24.

Corporate sponsors currently include Aflac, Aramark, Barnes & Noble campus bookstore, Buffalo Rock, Coca-Cola UNITED, the Greater Columbus Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Pepsi, St. Thomas Episcopal Church, and the Tri-City Latino Festival.

For more information on sponsoring Columbus State’s Diversity Forum, contact David Mitchell (706-507-8906 or [email protected]) or Julio Llanos (706-507-8297 or [email protected]).

For more information about the Diversity Forum or Diversity Programs and Services, visit columbusstate.edu/diversity, call 706.507.8589 or email [email protected].