NACU News

NACU Speaker Series Will Feature Equity and Justice Champions

August 25

To commemorate its 25th anniversary year and celebrate its campuses who are dedicated to improving the human condition, the New American Colleges and Universities (NACU) will host Champions, a virtual series featuring thought leaders that demonstrate the equity and justice mission of higher education and have improved countless lives through their teaching, scholarship, and leadership. 

For the 2020-21 academic year, Champions will feature three previous Ernest Boyer Award recipients and the 2021 Boyer Award recipient. The speakers will be:

  • September 2020: Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum (2017 Boyer Award)
  • October 2020: Dr. Jose Antonio Bowen (2018 Boyer Award)
  • January 2021: Dr. Freeman Hrabowski (2021 Boyer Award)
  • February 2021: Dr. Cathy Davidson, (2016 Boyer Award)

“Our 25th anniversary is a good occasion to reflect on what NACU campuses truly have in common, and that is to prepare their graduates to apply their knowledge and skills to make a difference in society,” said Sean Creighton, NACU president. “We thought it would be fitting to hear from four individuals who have devoted so much of their careers to improving the lives of others.”

The series will begin with a moderated discussion with Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum on Wednesday, September 30, at 2 pm ET.

Dr. Tatum, president emerita of Spelman College, is a clinical psychologist widely known for both her expertise on race relations and as a thought leader in higher education. Her thirteen years as the president of Spelman College from 2002 to 2015 were marked by innovation and growth, and her visionary leadership was recognized in 2013 with the Carnegie Academic Leadership Award. The author of several books including the best-selling “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” and Other Conversations About Race (2017 20th anniversary edition) and Can We Talk About Race? and Other Conversations in an Era of School Resegregation (2007), Tatum is a sought-after speaker on the topics of racial identity development, race and education, strategies for creating inclusive campus environments, and higher education leadership. Dr. Ruta Shah-Gordon, vice president for Internationalization, Intercultural Affairs, and Campus Life at Wagner College, will serve as the moderator for the session.

All Champions webinars, except for the 2021 Boyer Award presentation in January, will be available only to NACU campuses.