The Office of Diversity and Inclusion launches a new program initiative for 2019-2020  

As Wofford continues to steadily grow each year, more opportunities arise for students to find and embrace their identities and connect with other students who share them.  

Likewise, there is always the opportunity for students to learn about the backgrounds of their peers through educational programming and social events—such is the mission of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. This year, the Office strives to celebrate the diversity of Wofford students by its new program series, Discover U.  

Coordinator of Inclusive Engagement, Nadia Glover, says that Discover U is in place to help students “cultivate relationships across cultures and develop personal identity.” This will be done, she explained, by creating a mixture of social and educational events to bring the Wofford community together and help Wofford students to understand one another better.  

Glover: “It’s an opportunity for all students to feel that they’re part of ‘mainstream Wofford,’ and when I say ‘mainstream Wofford,’ I mean that students don’t feel that they are ‘other’ because of their identity but that the diversity that they hold within their lives is just as important as someone else’s.”  

While there is no curriculum for Discover U as of now, students who attend events put on by Glover and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion—also known as ODI—will have the opportunity to be entered into the program’s end-of-the-year giveaway. 

Another new program that is a part of ODI’s agenda is the Real Talk Tuesday series, which is “essentially open conversations…[that] came from conversations that the office had with students last year suggesting different topics to talk about.” 

 Topics like microaggressions and privilege are among the issues discussed, but subjects like breaking barriers and handling one’s status as a first-generation student will also be tackled as the year rolls on. There are four more scheduled Real Talk Tuesday events—Oct. 22, Oct. 29, Nov. 5, and Nov. 12—but Glover says that ODI is willing to have additional sessions if any students are interested in partnering with ODI for other discussions. Showing interest, Glover explained, is “as simple as just shooting [Glover] an email.”  

Besides all the new programs in store for the year, there will continue to be ally trainings and unconscious bias trainings, as well as another Golden Affair—an inclusive, formal event dedicated to the work of multicultural students and organizations on campus.  

Wofford is also reportedly working to increase the presence of National Panhellenic Council (NPHC) fraternities and sororities on campus.  

ODI has always had five main focal points, even before Glover’s tenure on campus began. These five points—inclusive excellence, diversity education, multicultural programming, supportive resources and cultivating student success—have been the building blocks of ODI since 2000; of all five, Glover cites “inclusive excellence” as the point of emphasis that comes up the most.  

With a variety of events on the horizon for this school year, Glover assures the campus that ODI will be hard at work in an effort to be as effective and impactful as it can be; all students are encouraged to continue to learn about one another, to embrace diversity, and to Discover U.  

Read “Wofford Presents: ‘Real Talk Tuesday’” for a recap of one of ODI’s first events of the school year.