Belonging Together at Shenandoah Conservatory
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging in Shenandoah Conservatory
The Belonging Together Committee strives to identify, create and evaluate learning opportunities that support students, faculty and staff to develop and sustain a welcoming, caring and equitable community where community members with different backgrounds, abilities and experiences can be, learn and work together.
Diverse Stories
Dance Students Work with Rising Stars
Several of the nation’s most exciting choreographers came to Shenandoah’s main campus to work directly with Shenandoah Conservatory’s Dance Ensemble to craft the performances in the Jan. 31-Feb. 2 concert, “Reflections: Invited Choreographers Showcase.” This year’s guest artists included Ashanté Greene ’14 (Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance), Stephen Shynes and Eric Parra.
Dance Project Awarded NPN Grant
A new dance project co-commissioned by Shenandoah Conservatory was awarded a grant by the National Performance Network (NPN). NPN’s 2024 Creation Fund will support the development of “Roots of Loving Us,” a collaborative, evening-length choreographic work by CONTRA-TIEMPO Activist Dance Theater, cultivated by Ana María Álvarez and holly johnston.
Singing A Song of Unity and Healing
Shana Oshiro ’13 MT-BC, (graduate certificate in music therapy), and her quartet, HALO (short for Harmony’s African-American Legacy Organization) are using barbershop music to bring people together through not only performance, but also a new program they’ve established, called Race and #Real Talk.
Recommended Resources
I’m a “Spoonie.” Here’s What I Wish More People Knew About Chronic Illness
by Kirsten Schultz
The Healthline article “What is Spoon Theory?” delves into a metaphor created by Christine Miserandino to articulate the daily challenges faced by individuals living with chronic illnesses. In a conversation with a friend, Miserandino used spoons to represent finite units of energy, illustrating how each activity throughout the day depletes these limited resources.
Why “Assume Good Intent” Is Not Always Good Advice
by Ken Kao
Ken Kao’s article, “Why ‘Assume Good Intent’ Is Not Always Good Advice,” critiques the common workplace mantra of presuming positive intentions in others. Drawing from a personal experience with a colleague whose repeated failures were initially overlooked under this assumption, Kao illustrates how such an approach can enable harmful behavior and suppress valid concerns.
The Danger of a Single Story | TED Talk
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice — and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.
Campus Partners
Mosaic Center for Diversity
In order to respect diverse cultures, experiences, and perspectives, we must provide an inclusive space for all cultures and people. In the Mosaic Center for Diversity, we embrace all races, sexes, gender identities, gender expressions, religions, ethnic backgrounds, socio-economic classes, sexual orientations, abilities, ages, personal appearances, political affiliations, military affiliations and immigration statuses. We focus on valuing and fostering the diversity reflected in our lives at Shenandoah and in the world beyond our campus.
Center for Transformative Teaching & Learning
The mission of the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning (TTL) is to inspire the Shenandoah University community in its pursuit of excellence and innovation and to support student learning and success by fostering pedagogical best practices, encouraging effective use of instructional technologies, promoting professional development and facilitating scholarship. We are guided in our work by members of the TTL Advisory Board, which represents faculty across all schools and colleges of the university.
[Not Just] Women’s Center
The mission of the [Not Just] Women’s Center (NJWC) is to provide an overall safe, inviting and inclusive environment for all students. Any person, no matter their sex, gender, orientation, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, immigration status, or religious beliefs can be a victim of sexual assault. We are committed to a campus free of sexual violence and from the fear of violence, as well as spreading awareness, speaking out against injustice, educating on prevention, and offering tools for intervention.
Student Organizations
Student organizations are an integral part of the Shenandoah University community. Undergraduate and graduate students participate in more than 70 student organizations, including the Black Student Union (BSU), Disability Advocacy Committee (DAC), Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA), Estudiantes Unidos (EU), Harambee Gospel Choir, Coalition of Occupational Therapy Advocates for Diversity (COTAD) and more.
Celebrating Heritage Months
Shenandoah University (SU) is committed to living our values of diversity, inclusion and belonging. Our community and institutional success is dependent on how well we engage and embrace the rich diversity of our faculty, staff, administrators, students and alumni. With that shared value in mind and in partnership with the Mosaic Center for Diversity, the [Not Just] Women’s Center, and the student organizations, we celebrate the identities and histories of members of the SU and world communities. Each month we will feature events and stories to honor one another and learn about our unique differences. The Heritage Months Initiative (including Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month and Women’s History Month) contributes to the creation of a campus climate and culture that strives for excellence in inclusion in all aspects of SU’s operations.
Get Involved
Propose a Program or Highlight an SU Community Member
We welcome your program and event ideas in support of the mission of Shenandoah University to support diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.
About Belonging Together
The Belonging Together committee was established in 2021 as part of Shenandoah Conservatory’s strategic efforts to support an inclusive campus community. The committee comprises students, faculty and staff from throughout the conservatory who work together to identify, create and evaluate learning opportunities that develop and sustain a welcoming, caring and equitable community. Shenandoah Conservatory’s Belonging Together initiative supports Shenandoah University’s ongoing commitment to fostering a diverse community supported by an equitable, inclusive campus climate. Visit www.su.edu/diversity to learn more.