MURFREESBORO — A
leader in developing partnerships between major corporations and minority
business enterprises in three Southern states will deliver the awards dinner
keynote address at MTSU’s annual LGBT+ College Conference, which is set for
April 6-8 at various campus locations.
Eric Watson, president and chief executive officer of the
Carolinas-Virginia Minority Development Council, will speak at the conference
awards dinner slated for 7 p.m. Saturday, April 8, in the James Union
Building’s Tennessee Room.
Watson’s nonprofit organization has more than 175
corporations and 430 certified minority business enterprises in North Carolina,
South Carolina and central Virginia as members.
The theme of this year’s conference is “All
Identities—Removing Obstacles to Inclusion.” Research presentations, workshops,
and discussions will focus on how gender, race, culture, ethnicity, age, social
class, religious beliefs, sexual orientation and gender identity or expression
play a significant role in how people experience the world.
Tara Prairie, an MTSU doctoral candidate, will present her
research into stigmas faced by the sexual and gender minority community in
health care in a 12:15 p.m. address Thursday, April 6, in the Tennessee Room.
The conference film festival will begin at 6:30 p.m.
Thursday in the Keathley University Center Theater. Original short films
pertaining to the conference theme will be screened and judged.
“It’s listed on a national film festival website, and it’s
gotten submissions from across the globe,” said William Langston, conference
organizer and psychology professor.
“LGBT Life in Middle Tennessee Before Stonewall,” a
documentary featuring interviews with 28 subjects ranging in age from 63 to 85,
will be screened during an 11 a.m. luncheon Friday, April 7, in Ballrooms A and
B of the Student Union. A panel discussion and question-and-answer session will
follow the screening.
David Jay, founder of www.asexuality.org,
will talk about the history and politics of the asexual, grey-a, and demisexual
communities at 10:45 a.m. Saturday in Room 160 in the College of Education
building. The emphasis will be on challenging a view of emotional intimacy that
is centered on sex.
“What we’re trying to do is to get campuses to be aware, get
student organizations to be aware that these are students who are covered under
LGBT+ and should be included in their groups,” said Langston.
Other conference events will focus on how employers address
diversity issues, the LGBT+ community and people of color, personal reflections
on obstacles to inclusion, how to bring an LGBT+ event to campus and helping
student organizations preserve their history.
Sponsors of the LGBT+ College Conference include Nissan,
First Tennessee Bank, the MTSU Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance and
the law firm of Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis LLP.
Additional supporters include Dell, Hilton Garden Inn, the
United States Secret Service, the MTSU Distinguished Lecture Fund, and the College
of Behavioral and Health Science departments of psychology, social work and
health and human performance.
The conference is free and open to the public with the
exception of the awards dinner, which is free to students. The fee for the
public is $50. Registration, which is free, is required.
For a complete conference schedule and registration
information, go to http://www.mtsu.edu/mtlambda/LGBTplusCC.php.
For more information, contact Langston at 615-898-5489 or william.langston@mtsu.edu.
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