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Education and Outreach

The core effort of the Triandiflou Institute is to work with individuals and groups, on campus and beyond, to better understand issues of identity and to better communicate across differences. To these ends we strive to create spaces to learn concepts, share ideas, ask questions, and honor the many experiences and identities that coexist in our community.

Recent Work and Workshops

During Laker Launch 2021 , all first-year students participated in workshops to understand SUNY Oswego's commitment to an inclusive community. Participants explored personal and social identity, understanding bias, and the practice of cultural humility. 

DEI training was offered across summer 2021 to Laker Leaders, EOP Peer Leaders, First Year Success Coaches, Peer Educators, and Laker Links on topics including identifying and addressing microaggressions and dialogue practice on the topic of free speech on an inclusive campus.

Beginning in fall 2020, an asynchronous education module covering diversity, equity, and inclusion resources, concepts, and expectations was embedded into every incoming student's online orientation experience.

Professional Development

Presentations during CELT Winter Breakout Sessions included:

  • Trauma Informed Practice in a College Setting
  • Cultural Humility and the Inclusive Classroom
  • Nonviolent Communication for Difficult Conversations

Professional development sessions for the EXCEL team, Career Services, and First Year Experience Instructors included Social Identity, Empathy, Asset-Framing, Racial Identity Development, and Addressing Bias.

Community and Collaboration

Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Kendra Cadogan chairs our Campus-City Relations Committee (CCRC) and has furthered working partnerships with organizations such as the El Hindi Center for Dialogue and Action at Interfaith Works.

In spring 2020, the office developed Laker Live, an initiative to allow any member of the campus community to virtually host anything from a how-to session or a performance to a fitness class or a painting lesson - whatever their skill or passion might be that could resonate with others - to share as a fundraiser for the Student Emergency Fund.

Anti-Racism Research Guide

Committed to celebrating underrepresented voices in our community of personnel and users by showcasing them in collections, services, and programs, Penfield Library has some valuable in-print and online videos, eBooks, and literature highlighting discussions about racism to share and. The library can further connect you to remote resources beyond our campus.

Resources That Inform Our Work

Implicit Bias Training Modules from The Kirwan Institute at The Ohio State University introduces participants to insights about how our minds operate and help us understand the origins of implicit associations. Participants will also uncover some of their own biases and learn strategies for addressing them. Each module is divided into a short series of lessons, many taking less than 10 minutes to complete. 

The CNY 21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge was an opportunity to start developing more effective social justice habits - particularly around the issues of race, power, privilege, and leadership. Thousands of Central New Yorkers participated in fall 2020, committed to improving themselves, and their community, through an act of collective self-discovery. The daily challenges and resources are archived here.

Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is a great resource for navigating difficult conversations. NVC contains four basic components: Observations, Feelings, Needs/Values, and Requests (referred to as OFNR). They are used when empathizing with our self and others, or in sharing our honest self-expression.

A valuable tool for allyship and change, Cultural Humility is a framework that encourages a lifelong commitment to:

  • self-evaluation and critique
  • redressing power imbalances
  • developing mutually beneficial and non-paternalistic partnerships with communities on behalf of individuals and defined populations"

Intergroup Dialogue supports sustained dialogue with diverse peers that integrates content learning and experiential knowledge. Intergroup dialogue encourages students to be intellectually challenged and emotionally engaged. Through these facilitated relationships students gain understanding of their own and others' experiences in society and cultivate individual and collective agency to effect social change