Note: This segment appeared on Fox14 news on Jan. 28, 2021. 

A virtual Diversity and Inclusion forum will be held next Tuesday, Feb. 2, for local college students and the community.

“I think that this year has been a difficult year with the pandemic and with Black Lives Matter,” Christopher Martin, LA Tech Dean of the College of Business, said.

Although the pandemic has canceled many events, Louisiana Tech University leaders felt this year was especially important to have these open discussions. That’s why the College of Business has decided to host the forum virtually.

“We have the Diversity and Inclusion workshops in conjunction with the Grambling State University to bring our students together to really understand managing diversity in the workplace and benefiting from inclusion in the workplace,” Martin said.

Tyler Ross is the President of the National Association of Black Accountants at Louisiana Tech.
She said she has already signed up to join a few of the discussions, including the “Unconscious Bias in the workplace”.

“I’m super excited about that because it’s something I kind of experienced before in interviews, internships and stuff like that,” Ross said.

She said because she is a leader of an organization on campus, she has also registered for the “Inclusive Leadership” discussion.

“Because sometimes we get caught up in like ‘oh I want somebody that looks like me or thinks like me,’ and it’s like, ‘no, we need other people. We need diversity, not just within color, but within mindset and likes and dislikes and stuff’,” Ross said.

Ross said she is proud to be a part of a university that takes diversity and inclusiveness seriously.

“I’m really excited. It’s really great to see effort being placed within action and not just within your words,” Ross said. “It shows that our student body is very inclusive and very interested in learning more. Especially in the heightened climate of our country, elections, and politics, and all these types of things that are going on. It shows a lot of connection and a lot of unity within not just students, but professors and businesses, and things of that nature.”

The discussions will be held from 8:30 am to 4 pm. The university invites the public to join in on the discussions. To register visit here.