Abstract: AI has become almost ubiquitous in our lives, in the background and shaping many of our everyday practices and decisions. This has especially been the case for educators across the country. Yet, educators receive little to no training on how to be critical and ethical users of these technologies, how to know what are the pedagogical assumptions of the technology and how might one use the technology to be congruent with one's own pedagogical philosophy, if possible. This talk will draw from two example technologies to critically analyze the ways in which logics of raciality are formed into each form of machine intelligence and how they become racializing forces. The talk will finally speak to what's needed in teacher education and professional learning opportunities to cultivate educators to become critically and ethically informed actors in an educational ecology that is becoming increasingly threaded with AI.
Abstract: In this panel, Dr. Ming Fang He (Georgia Southern University), Dr. Shawn Savage (University of North Carolina, Wilmington), Dr. Raúl Alberto Mora (Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana), and Ms. Beza Wossene (Penn State University, Abington College) thought with participants about how to engender and maintain a campus community that foregrounds the experiences of international students, staff, and faculty in ways that build campus capacities for equity, inclusion, and belonging.
Abstract: In this hybrid presentation we were joined by presenters Danielle M. Conway (Dean and Donald J. Farage professor of law at Penn State Dickinson Law), Mele Tupou Vaitohi (Senior Lecture at Victoria University at Wellington, New Zealand and Visiting Faculty at Penn State Dickinson Law), TaWanda Hunter Stallworth ( The Antiracist Development Institute at Penn State Dickinson Law), and Serena Hermitt (The Antiracist Development Institute at Penn State Dickinson Law). The broader series offered by the Office of Inclusive Excellence--Civic Rights, Responsibilities, and Campus Life--focuses on questions of civic engagement broadly. This session focused specifically on how leadership definitions often present challenges to community organizing by thinking about what this might mean for community involvement that stems from antiracist practices and policies.
Abstract: What does it mean to be an ally or an accomplice? Dr. Gershon will guide participants through an interactive presentation that considers the challenges and possibilities that are central in critical solidarities work in academic spaces and places.
Abstract: Dr. Robin Roscingo earned her Ph.D. in Education Theory, Organization and Policy at the Rutgers Graduate School of Education in 2023. Robin’s work focuses on the history of autism treatment. She utilizes a critical disability study lens to raise questions about ableist logics that often permeate autism intervention. As a seasoned special educator and parent advocate, she brings a nuanced, practice-driven approach to her scholarship.
In this session, Dr. Roscigno shares her expertise on how to write syllabi that foreground equity and access for neurodiverse students. Participants were asked to consider bringing syllabi in progress and other materials to be better prepared for their upcoming classes to work together to build and maintain inclusive classroom communities with neurodiverse student needs in mind.
Abstract: The purpose of this session is to think critically about questions of teaching and learning within what Dr. Brockenbrough calls the “Pedagogy of the Closet.” This event is open to faculty, staff, and broader community members who wish to think about equitable and inclusive teaching practices that foreground LGBTQIA2S+ students and families.
Abstract: Arts funder and music critic Don Palmer will lead a conversation at Penn State Abington exploring the complex relationship between art, culture and commerce and how to chart a future in which creativity can thrive in communities of care.
Abstract: The purpose of this panel is to explore the intersections of antiracism, Black histories, and institutional spaces. Panelists will address questions like: What are the histories of both racism and antiracist movements in the United States and at universities? What inroads to antiracism are central to your scholarship and/or work as a community activist? How can faculty and staff be antiracist in their practices and policies?
Abstract: The purpose of this dinner is to consider how we might build and maintain communities of care at Penn State Abington and across broader communities that are touched by and who touch the culture of our campus. After dinner, participants will engage in an arts therapy session facilitated by Mirya that will focus on building communities of peace. At a time when the world continues to experience unprecedented levels of turmoil, building communities through peace, respect, and love is of utmost importance to the Penn State Abington community of care.
Abstract: The purpose of this panel is to discuss the past, present, and future impacts of colonization on the Penn State University system in general and, specifically, Penn State Abington. Joined by a leader from the Lenape tribe (Dapice) and a member of the Sault Ste. Marie tribe of Chippewa Indians who is an expert on Indigenous literatures and education (Masta), panelists will consider how the Penn State community might use their practices and policies to interrupt oppression that stems from settler colonial norms and values.
Abstract: This optional professional development session will critically consider how racial discourse is significant across disciplines. The purpose is to reflect on the many ingresses to antiracist scholarship and practices, both within and across academic communities.
Abstract: If we support John Dewey’s notion of experience as both knowledge and education, knowledge connected to what we teach is insufficient. This lecture will focus on how teaching and learning should be inclusive of the place and space, languages, and identities of students.