Faculty members present ideas on addressing racism in CSD education

Two members of Lamar University’s faculty have been selected to present during a virtual webinar, “Addressing Racism in Communication Sciences and Disorders Education.”

Monica Bellon-Harn, department chair and professor in LU’s Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, and Lekeitha Morris, an associate professor in the department, will present during the event on the use of cross-cultural peer mentoring in CSD.

The free seminar hosted by Teaching and Learning in the Communication Science and Disorders  seeks to address curricular and pedagogical issues regarding culturally sensitive educational practices in CSD.  Cross cultural peer mentoring is one piece of the puzzle that may be used to combat the systematic racism that exists within CSD. Drs. Harn and Morris will discuss implementing cross-cultural peer mentoring in CSD programs while also providing suggestions on how faculty can engage productively in mentoring students of

color.

“During the presentation we will share with others in the profession how we use peer mentoring as an attempt to increase the number of underrepresented students striving to become speech-language pathologists and audiologists,” said Morris.  “Additionally, we will offer suggestions on ways in which faculty can engage productively in mentoring underrepresented students.”  

The CEU-approved webinar, August 3 and 5 at noon via Zoom, will help educators identify key elements of cultural humility and the characteristics needed to decrease bias and help them design inclusive learning environments that include multicultural curriculum and anti-racist content.

Speakers will address topics in 12-minute intervals focusing on introducing and applying content. Topics included are cultural humility, cross cultural peer mentoring, multicultural counseling, diversity in learners in face-to-face and online contexts, implicit bias in the CSD classroom, inclusivity in the classroom/online, support systems for underrepresented students, mentoring

minority doctoral students, and curricular approaches for antiracist education in university CSD programs.

LU’s Speech and Hearing Sciences Department is having conversations about ways to address racism by assessing the climate of current and past students, scheduling speakers to educate faculty on topics related to systemic and systematic racism.

“There are an array of things that programs can do to combat racism in CSD, however many programs still struggle as evidenced by the lack of diversity in the professions,” said Bellon-Harn. “The overall purpose of the webinar is for programs across the country to learn from each other and as a profession attempt to dismantle racism in our professions.  As a department we are planning several activities and learning opportunities across the next several years to address this issue.”

Register now for the discussion.
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