Dr. Dawn Offutt, executive director of initiatives for diversity, equity and inclusion at the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, joins Rick and Haley to talk about cultural competency in colleges and the outsized impact of higher education on addressing inequities in society as a whole.

Our second guest is Dr. Martha Sales, dean of students, assistant vice president of student life and executive director of TRIO Programs and the Intercultural Student Engagement Center at Western Kentucky University. Dr. Sales discusses how COVID-19 exposed inequities within the higher education system, the resiliency of underrepresented minority students and the importance of meeting students’ unique needs. She also discusses WKU’s Inclusive Teaching Academy, the first program to be awarded CPE’s cultural competency credential certification.

Resources:

CPE’s Cultural Competency Credential Certification: https://cpe.ky.gov/ourwork/competency.html

CPE’s DEI work: https://cpe.ky.gov/ourwork/diversity.html

Higher EDquity webinars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2mF9z0m5TE&list=PLfgcpialnbkFs7dn7u2hbbDBda0KKkkj9