Dr. Osaro E. Airen Director of Multicultural Affairs Adjunct Professor, Human Services Stephen F. Austin State University

 Thinking about what Multicultural means:  Multicultural: relating to or including many different cultures

 It includes:  Social Justice  Thought provoking  Topics that many may avoid  Topics that promote the importance of respecting diversity  Topics that highlight our differences and celebrates them

 It has to be:  short and catchy  a name that you feel invested in  a name that is connected with what you want to do  It has to be a name that is connected with your VISION  So what is your VISION?

 What is your vision  Who is your target audience?  What time(s) do you want the program to occur?  How many speakers will you have per semester?  What do you want your audience to take away from the event?

 Conscious Speakers Series  Conscious means:  Awake and able to understand what is happening around you  Ties in perfectly with the definition of Multicultural  Ties in perfectly with our VISION  What is our VISION?

 Develop a professional develop series for faculty/staff/community members that raises awareness about diversity related issues  How did we do this:  Being deliberate w/ our Speaker selections

 Make it Simple:  Use the history weeks/months as a way to develop speaker ideas  Use important dates/themes attached to your school  Collaborate with faculty/staff to think up ideas-can help increase attendance

 Speakers Speakers

 It is nothing without advertisement  How we advertised:  Went to nearly every department on campus to tell them about the speakers (Direct Contact)  Created posters and handbills (placed throughout campus  Student newspaper  Utilize local media: newspaper and news (KTRE/Daily Sentinel)

 Utilize any school electronic form of advertisement-SFA Today  Social Media-Facebook, Twitter, etc.  Invite the community to Speaker Series

 Get the most bang out of your buck  Hire your Conscious Speaker to do a program for students as well (Ex. Dr. Joshua Joseph & Jes Baker) It can increase your attendance and enhance your community ties  It can be very cost effective so it is important to use speakers that would interest students as well as faculty/staff/community (May get donations)

 Needed to develop new ways of advertisement  Developed a group of faculty/staff to help get the word out (OMA Caucus)OMA Caucus  Less speakers per semester  Start advertising early (Problem is…)  Create more and more partnerships (collaboration is key)  Do not get discouraged w/ poor attendance  Need to assess every program  Utilize focus groups

 Paper and pen surveys works much better than online  Utilize surveys right after the program completes  Keeps surveys short and simple  Helps you tailor future programs  Helps you determine whether a program should be replicated

 Our Most popular speaker event: Drum Circle  Because…