Wofford ODI welcomes Taifha Alexander to the team
As Black History Month progresses and the spring semester nears March, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion continues to host several programming events to encourage students and faculty alike to engage in activities that break down barriers that may exist on Wofford’s campus.
A new addition to ODI’s programming team is Taifha Alexander. Alexander was hired in January as the new Assistant Dean of Diversity and Leadership Development. A Jamaican-American originally from New York who is a graduate of St. John’s University, she has had experience in other collegiate settings, such as the University of South Carolina-Aiken and the University of California, Los Angeles before making her way to Wofford earlier this year.
“With any new job,” Alexander said, “there’s a lot of learning that goes on—learning the people that you’re working with, learning the things that have been done before—and so I’ve been taking this time to figure out what’s been done in the past and try to better tailor my programmings and initiatives to ensure that it serves a need at Wofford.”
In Alexander’s first year at Wofford, she hopes to “have some robust programming that breaks down silos and barriers that may exist at Wofford to ensure that students are able to engage in discussion and dialogue across differences.”
Throughout February, events tied to Black History Month have ranged from a Diversity Meet and Greet at the beginning of the month to a diversity dating game that took place on Feb. 13. For the rest of the month, more events, such as a Lizzo listening session on Feb. 24, a Trap and Paint on the 26th and Egedege and Sweat hosted by Nneka Mogbo, ’20, are on the horizon.
One thing that has remained constant throughout the month is the book drive that has been put together for the purpose of showing representation of people of color in children’s books and giving those books to local children in the community.
Alexander: “We’re asking members of the Wofford community—students, staff, faculty, alums, community leaders—to donate books that highlight a black protagonist or [were] written or illustrated by a black author or illustrator and that’s suitable for children from the age of kindergarten to 6 grade. … we’re gonna donate those books to schools in need, and most likely [to] a predominantly African-American school because it’s very important to children at that age to see themselves represented in books in a positive light. We’re trying to reach a goal of 100 books to donate. That’s going on from now until [Feb.] 26.”
At any Black History Month event this month, attendees will have the chance to enter their name into a raffle drawing for a prize made by Philadelphia Printworks. In order to be eligible, attendees must follow Wofford Diversity and Inclusion on social media, @wocodiversity, attend at least one Black History Month event, sign in at that event and also tag two friends in a post. The next event is tonight; Nneka Mogbo will host Egedege and Sweat in the Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts beginning at 4:30. ODI encourages all willing participants to attend.