10/18/2004

Contact: K.E. Schwab  -- 724-738-2199;  e-mail: karl.schwab@sru.edu

SRU TO HOST FIRST HARAMBEE SUMMIT NOV.5-7 FOR STUDENTS OF COLOR

          SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Western Pennsylvania Diversity Consortium will host its first Harambee Summit on the Slippery Rock University campus Nov 5-7 as part of an educational conference geared toward students of color and their allies allowing them to address issues pertinent to success at predominantly white colleges and universities. 

The term “Harambee” is most fitting for a program of this caliber, says DaNine Fleming, director of SRU’s Office of Intercultural Programs. She explains “Harambee” is Swahili for “let's pull together.” Students will come together to educate themselves on how to contribute to the well-being of their world and all that is around them which will elevate their minds to enhance both their inner and outer world and empower them to be more proactive and strive to live in harmony with those within their circle and respect the individual differences of others.

As expressed by the conference theme “A Revolution for A Revelation,” the summit will enlighten students of color and their allies so they can be an asset to a global society, inter- and intraculturally. Fleming notes it is essential for students of color and their allies to participate in the summit considering the current state of the world and higher education as it pertains to students of color, their families and communities. “Our hope is for students of color at surrounding institutions in rural western Pennsylvania will develop a sense of community and know that they are not alone.”

The summitis a collaborative effort of the Western Pennsylvania Diversity Consortium, a network established amongst student affairs professionals of color at institutions of higher education in western Pennsylvania. The WPDC serves as a tool to diminish the psychosocial, educational and cultural isolation of student affairs professionals of color and students of color in western Pennsylvania. 

           Keynote speakers include the following: Dr. W. Terrell Jones, vice provost for educational equity at Penn State University; Dr. Deborale Richardson-Bouie, director of multicultural affairs, Case Western Reserve University; Kevin Powell, author/lecturer, hip hop activist; Diane Jefferson, director of multicultural student affairs, Shippensburg University; and Dorian Cast, inspirational speaker/minister from Detroit, Mich.

           Workshop topics will include: Self Empowerment, Spirituality, Inter/Intracultural Relationships, Economics,
Leadership Development, Career Development, Academic Enhancement, Political Awareness and Greek Life.

For more information visit www.sru.edu/pages/9301.asp or call 724-738-2700.

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