April 21, 2020
College of Agriculture Diversity Programs Office (DPO) Update
Submitted by College of Agriculture Diversity Programs Office (DPO)
Thanks to all who joined in kicking off National Women’s History Month! On Tuesday, March 3, the College of Agriculture/KSRE Diversity Programs Office hosted the sixth “Growing our Mindset” diversity forum. The event featured Demetha Sanders, Cargill’s Global Head of Inclusion and Talent Management. We would like to thank our partners, Diversity & Multicultural Student Affairs (DMSA), the College of Agriculture/KSRE, Cargill, and the College of Agriculture/KSRE Diversity Programs Office (DPO) for their continued support. Special thanks to our speaker, Demetha Sanders, for sharing her time and talents with us.
All K-State campuses have moved to remote classes for the remainder of the Spring 2020 semester. However, the College of Agriculture Diversity Programs Office (DPO) continues to function and assist students during these times of uncertainty. Visit the DPO website, https://www.ag.k-state.edu/about/diversity/, for more information and tools provided by the DPO staff. You can also find additional information on the DPO social media sites.
The K-State MANRRS Chapter also continues to press through the COVID-19 pandemic. All executive board meetings have been converted to virtual meetings. The first virtual general body meeting will be Wednesday, April 22, at 6 p.m. via zoom video calling. The executive board and K-State Chapter leadership is working diligently to support the members and prepare for the Fall 2020 semester.
Due to COVID-19, the 2020 National MANRRS Conference has been cancelled. The conference was scheduled to take place April 1-4 in Minneapolis, MN. Although the conference was cancelled, the National Society of MANRRS continued with the officer elections which usually occurs at the conference. Raymond Thomas, master’s student in Agricultural Economics, ran for the Region IV Graduate Vice President position. Vitual elections were held last week as delegates from each chapter selected their regional and national representatives.
The 2020 KSRE Summer Research Fellowship Program has also been converted to virtual status for the summer. There are currently five students who will be participating in this year’s program. All students will work on their research projects remotely as they meet and collaborate with a K-State College of Agriculture faculty member.
Please continue to look for more diversity news as we carry on with the 2020 spring semester remotely and prepare for the Fall 2020 semester. We appreciate all your support. For more information about upcoming events, please contact Dr. Zelia Wiley, Assistant Dean and Director of Diversity Programs, at 785-532-5793 or zwiley@ksu.edu.