The OU Board of Regents will consider increasing residential housing prices, formalizing changes in general education requirements to include a First-Year Experience diversity class and appointing new university leadership during
OU professor Meta Carstarphen spoke about her vision for the new Gateway to Belonging course during a Thursday forum hosted as part of the search for director of the program.
Joshua Nelson, chair of the search committee for the director, introduced  Carstarphen as the second candidate in the webinarâs series. Adrienne Carter-Sowell, who has served associate head of diversity, equity and inclusion in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Texas A&M University, spoke during the first webinar on April 13.Â
According to an email sent by Nelson on Thursday, Adrienne Dixon â one of the candidates for director of the program â has withdrawn from the search. Her webinar on April 23 has been canceled while all the other webinars will proceed as scheduled.Â
Adrienne Dixson, one of the candidates for director of OUâs new Gateway to Belonging course, has withdrawn from the search.Â
According to a Thursday email from Joshua Nelson, chair of the director search committee, Dixsonâs webinar on April 23 has been canceled, and all other webinars will proceed as scheduled.Â
Dixson, a professor of critical race theory and education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was scheduled to appear in the final webinar as one of four candidates for the position.Â
In an April 5 email, Nelson wrote the course is intended to help students build an âintercultural awarenessâ that will help them understand different perspectives. The future director will receive a faculty position, supervise the curriculum and lead the instructional faculty team, Nelson wrote.Â
OU hosted the first in a series of forums featuring finalists to become director of the new Gateway to Belonging curriculum Tuesday.
The Gateway to Belonging course was made a part of the universityâs strategic plan unveiled in July 2020. The future director will receive a faculty position, supervise the curriculum and choose the instructional team according to an email to The Daily by Joshua Nelson, the chair of the search committee. The course will be required for all students as part of the universityâs shift to prioritize diversity and inclusion on campus. Â
On Tuesday, Nelson hosted an hour-long town hall introducing Adrienne Carter-Sowell. Since 2020, Carter-Sowell has served as the associate head of diversity, equity and inclusion in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Texas A&M University. Â
Candidates for director of the Gateway to Belonging at OU program, a mandatory diversity, equity and inclusion course for students, will visit campus virtually from April 13 to April 23.
A mandatory semester-long course for students on diversity was one of the demands made by the Black Emergency Response Team in February 2020, protesting the university administrationâs response to two acts of racism on campus that month. The course became a formal part of the universityâs strategic plan when it was unveiled in July 2020.
The Gateway to Belonging at OU general education course is hosted at the university for new OU students to âbuild an intercultural awareness,â according to an email sent on behalf of Joshua Nelson, the chair of the Search Committee for the director. By understanding different perspectives â such as abilities, cultures and social backgrounds â students will build an âintercultural awarenessâ that will help them interact more e