Our guest speaker is Dr. Janice Collins, a Kopenhaver Fellow and an Associate Professor at the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University.  She earned a Ph.D. in Communications from the Scripps College of Communications at Ohio University, specializing in Media Management and Critical Cultural Theory with an Associate Certification in Women’s Studies.

250 Years and Still a Slave : From Hip Hop and the Trayvon Martin case to everyday life situations, Dr. Collins illustrates, brilliantly and with depth, how messages are constructed to keep African Americans marginalized and oppressed and European Americans judged unfairly. It takes a rainbow of individuals to make the world a better place…but your healing must begin with you. Through the prism of A.C.E., we can all move toward creating an ideal world of mutual respect and love, of compassion and empathy, for one another.  A place of peace and self-empowerment brings us all closer to each other–developing our true, authentic, positive self.

Teaching Without Borders : There is no better time than the present to develop learning environments where everyone is treated equally and fairly. Teaching without Borders: Creating Equity and Inclusion through Active Centralized Empowerment is an exemplary resource for programs in education. Dr. Collins explains how her national award-winning pedagogy for full inclusion allows educators to create a classroom environment where all voices can be included and valued and each student has an equal opportunity to excel. It is teaching the human being who happens to be a student–a way Dr. Collins says, “quiets down the arguments of anyone who feels an injustice in education.”  After eighteen years of development, students feel empowered and valued without being villainized.