In the sixth installment of the Friday Forums, we closed out the academic year with tangible and strategic next steps on how we ground anti-racism work across our institution and higher education systems across the country. In “The Long Game: Deepening the Work,” attendees were invited to reflect on what they had learned, how they have changed their practices, and to interrogate our own relationship and approach to anti-racism work. Panelists shared how they have disrupted racism and systemic inequity, what they have built in its place, and what we must do together to inspire and sustain the necessary and lasting changes in higher education.
-
Dr. Leroy M. Morishita, Ed.D., M.S., A.B.
President Emeritus
California State University, East BayPanelist
Leroy M. Morishita was president of California State University, East Bay from 2011 to 2020. Prior to this, he served as executive vice president for Administration and Finance and chief financial officer of San Francisco State University after holding positions of successive responsibility during 30 years at the institution.
Dr. Morishita served on numerous committees for the California State University including lead president for the President’s Commission for the CSU STEM-NET affinity group, lead president for the CSU Asian American Pacific Islander Initiative, co-chair of the Taskforce for a Sustainable Financial Model for the CSU and chair of the Board of the California Collegiate Athletic Association.
Dr. Morishita worked with many organizations including the WASC Senior College and University Commission, California Campus Compact, National Campus Compact, Bay Area Council, East Bay Leadership Council, East Bay Economic Development Alliance and founding member of the Oakland Promise Governing Board.
Dr. Morishita has received an Ed.D., Administration, Planning & Social Policy, Harvard Graduate School of Education; M.S., Counseling, San Francisco State University; A.B., Psychology, University of California, Berkeley.
Dr. Mildred García, Ed.D.
President
American Association of State Colleges and UniversitiesPanelist
Dr. Mildred García serves as the president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU). As AASCU’s president, Dr. García is an advocate for public higher education at the national level, working to influence federal policy on behalf of nearly 400 member colleges, universities, and systems. She is the first Latina to lead one of the six presidentially based higher education associations in Washington, D.C.
Prior to joining AASCU, Dr. García served as the president of California State University (CSU), Fullerton and CSU Dominguez Hills. Prior to her CSU presidencies, Dr. García served as the CEO of Berkeley College.
A first-generation college student, Dr. García earned an Ed.D. and a M.A. in Higher Education Administration from Columbia University, Teachers College; a M.A. in Business Education/Higher Education from New York University; a B.S. in Business Education from Baruch College, CUNY; and an A.A.S. from New York City Community College.
Andy Rathmann-Noonan
Executive Director
National Science and Technology Medals FoundationPanelist
Andy Rathmann-Noonan has been the Executive Director of the National Science and Technology Medals Foundation for six years and has been with the NSTMF for over eight years. He is responsible for oversight of the organization, management of staff, and ensuring that the Foundation’s mission is evident in all of its work. He has a deep personal connection to the Foundation and its broader direction. Andy is committed to building a truly diverse, equitable, and inclusive future for STEM. He recognizes his own privilege and his responsibility as an ally to empower, enable, and serve his team, its mission, and the communities that can be positively affected by the Foundation’s efforts.
Andy is also a husband to his wonderful wife Julia, a dad to his child Nolan and dog-baby Lulu.
Daniel A. Reed
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
The University of UtahModerator
Daniel A. Reed is the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs (Provost) at the University of Utah. Previously, he was Vice President for Research and Economic Development, University Chair in Computational Science and Bioinformatics, and Professor of Computer Science at the University of Iowa. He also served as Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President for Technology Policy and Extreme Computing, where he helped shape Microsoft’s long-term vision for technology innovations in cloud computing and the company’s associated policy engagement with governments and institutions worldwide.
Before joining Microsoft, he was the founding director of the Renaissance Computing Institute at the UNC-Chapel Hill, where he also served as Chancellor’s Eminent Professor and Vice Chancellor for Information Technology. Prior to that, he was Gutgsell Professor and Head of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Director of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. He was also one of the principal investigators and chief architect for the NSF TeraGrid.
He has served as a member of the U.S. President’s Council of Advisors on Science & Technology and the President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee. He is the past chair of the Board of Directors of the Computing Research Association. He currently chairs the Department of Energy’s Advanced Scientific Computing Advisory Committee and serves as a member of the NSF National Center for Optical-Infrared Astronomy Management Oversight Council.
Dr. Reed received his B.S. from the University of Missouri-Rolla and his M.S. and Ph.D. from Purdue University, all in computer science.
-
Candace Bear
Chairperson
Skull Valley Band of Goshute Executive CommitteeCandace Bear was born in Salt Lake City, raised on the Skull Valley Goshute Reservation, and has lived there for over 30 years. Her father, Leon Bear, was Goshute from Skull Valley and her mother, Tomi Krueger, is Paiute-Shoshone from Reno and the rest of her family is scattered throughout the Great Basin. She majored in political science with a minor in ethnic studies at the University of Utah. She graduated with a BA in 2014 and went directly into the workforce. There is a military base that is located south of her reservation in Skull Valley, UT. She was offered a teaching position at the high school on the base after she graduated. She coordinated with the school district’s Title VII program for American Indian students for her county. In 2015, she was elected to the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Executive Committee. By 2018, she began working for the US Census Bureau as the tribal partnership specialist for Utah state and served all tribes located within the state boundaries before transferring to another job opportunity with the Department of Defense for security administration in 2019. She has served on the tribal council through those times and was reelected to the Band’s Executive Committee in 2019.
Victoria Cabal, Ed.D., M.Ed.
Director of the Office for Student Inclusion
David Eccles School of BusinessVictoria Cabal serves as Director of the Office for Student Inclusion and First Ascent Scholars program at the David Eccles School of Business. She focuses on community building over competition and challenges framing diversity as market value and instead emphasizes the cultural value of diversity. She balances outcomes-driven expectations with community engagement to validate individuals’ cultural strength. Through her balanced approach, Victoria manages collaborative relationships across the Eccles School to develop strategic initiatives aligned with the Eccles School mission. Outside of the University of Utah, Victoria serves as Vice President for Learner-Centered Education, focused on cultivating partnerships with organizations committed to ensuring access to learning opportunities for low-income students. Victoria holds an Ed.D. from the University of Utah, as well as B.A. in Communication, and M.Ed. in School Counseling from Loyola University Chicago. Prior to moving to the Eccles School, Victoria worked as a school counselor across Salt Lake City.
Emilio Manuel Camu, M.Ed.
Advisor
First-Gen ScholarsEmilio Manuel Camu is a queer Tagalog-Bikolnon Filipino immigrant and first-gen graduate. An alumnus of the U, he holds an MEd in Educational Leadership & Policy and a BA in Communications & Asian Pacific Islander Studies. For the past ten years, he has served on the boards of numerous Asian Pacific Islander organizations both locally and nationally. He’s currently the National Vice President of Education & Culture for OCA National, Director and current President of OCA Asian Pacific Islander American Advocates Utah, Founder and Director of the Filipino American National Historical Society Utah, and Treasurer for Mana Academy Charter School.
Uma Parameswaran Dorn
Assistant Director of Psychology and Wellness
Utah AthleticsDr. Uma Parameswaran Dorn joined Utah Athletics in January 2019 as the Assistant Director/Training Director of Psychology and Wellness. Uma completed her PhD in Counseling Psychology at the University of Georgia (2011) and her Masters (2006) and Specialist (2007) degrees in Professional Counseling from Georgia State University. She has worked in multiple outpatient and inpatient clinical settings prior to coming to the University of Utah. Her areas of expertise are in the areas of trauma, psychological assessments, and identity issues. Uma enjoys being outdoors — running, hiking, and camping. She also enjoys cooking (which she finds therapeutic) and listening to young adult dystopian audiobooks.
Annie Isabel Fukushima
Assistant Professor
Division of Ethnic StudiesDr. Annie Isabel Fukushima is an Assistant Professor in the Ethnic Studies Division with the School for Cultural & Social Transformation and a Presidential Fellow at the University of Utah. She is the author of the award-winning book, Migrant Crossings: Witnessing Human Trafficking in the US (Stanford University Press, 2019). She is the founder of the Women of Color Academic Collective and the project lead and co-principal investigator for the Gender-Based Violence Consortium.
Bryan Hubain
Associate Vice President for Student Development & Inclusion
The University of UtahDr. Hubain is a member of the Student Affairs Leadership Team and provides supervisory oversight to the departments of Basic Needs Center, Career & Professional Development Center, Financial Wellness Center, LGBT Resource Center, TRIO, Veterans Support Center, and Women’s Resource Center. Dr. Hubain also serves on various University committees.
Tasha Seneca Keyes
Assistant Professor, College of Social Work
The University of UtahTasha Seneca Keyes is an Assistant Professor at University of Utah in the College of Social Work. She graduated with a PhD from the University of Chicago, School of Social Service Administration and a MSW from the University of Utah, College of Social Work. She identifies as biracial. Her mother is of English and Irish descent and her father is an enrolled member of the Seneca Nation of Indians on the Cattaraugus Reservation in western New York. Her research focuses on improving educational outcomes for underrepresented students, with a particular focus on Native students. She is a former school social worker and is interested in the role of school social workers in implementing school-wide restorative justice practices. After receiving a University of Utah Faculty grant, she is engaged in research to understand how restorative justice philosophies and practices may help to develop student sense of belonging in school and address trauma. To conduct this research, Tasha is collaborating with schools and trauma-informed initiatives on the Navajo Nation.
Dr. Teshia Koffi
Manager of Organization Development & Change
Office for Inclusive ExcellenceDr. Koffi is a scholar-practitioner whose research focuses on the ways in which deleterious social and political ideologies influence the decision-making process at the executive level. Her research addresses why certain adverse ideologies are perceived to be essential for organizational function, primarily because they lead to the ongoing support, success, and longevity of higher education institutions.
Brione Lockett
Coordinator for African American / Black Student Programs
Dixie State UniversityThe Illinois native hold four degrees from Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) in History and Africana Studies, a Master’s in Public Health, and Doctorate in Health Education.
Dr. Lockett serves as the Coordinator for African American/ Black Student Programs at Dixie State University in St. George, Utah. Over the last few years he served as an instructor in the Africana Studies and the Education department as well as an Administrative assistant within the College of Liberal Arts at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. He has also served as a two term member of the SIU Board of Trustees.
He has worked for the Illinois House of Representatives. He also coordinated a statewide public health career fair, interned with the Great Plains Tribal Chairman’s Health board working with Native Americans, and has served as a member of a Student Outbreak Response Team (SORT) that conducted wellness checks for elderly persons living in an assisted living facility during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his current role, Dr. Lockett, trains and mentor’s students, leads the planning, coordination, implementation, and assessment of retention programs and workshops that serve underrepresented students, and is the advisor for the Black Student Union.
Kate Mattingly, MFA, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, School of Dance
The University of UtahKate Mattingly teaches courses in dance histories, dance studies, and dance criticism. She received her undergraduate degree in Architecture: History and Theory from Princeton University, her MFA in Dance from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and her doctoral degree in Performance Studies with a Designated Emphasis in New Media from the University of California, Berkeley. Her writing has been published in the New York Times, Convergence, Performance Research, Mapping Meaning, Dance Chronicle, International Journal of Screendance, and Dance Research Journal. In 2019, Dr. Mattingly organized and was awarded funding to host “Dancing Around Race: Whiteness in Higher Education” with colleagues Gerald Casel (UCSC), Rebecca Chaleff (UCSD), Kimani Fowlin (Drew University), and Tria Blu Wakpa (UCLA). Her teaching and research are invested in dismantling barriers to access in dance education and professional settings.
Keith L. McDonald
Online Plus Writing Fellows Lab Coordinator
Salt Lake Community CollegeKeith McDonald was born in a small suburb south of Chicago, Illinois, called Blue Island. McDonald arrived in Utah after being stationed at Hill Air Force Base. Working with kids, whether it be mentoring, coaching, or teaching, is McDonald’s passion. McDonald’s dream is to enact change in the urban areas of America by developing social and athletic programs, promoting education and creating community solidarity activities to counteract the influence of gangs, drugs and sedentary lifestyles.
Dena Ned, Ph.D., MSW
Associate Professor/Lecturer, College of Social Work
The University of UtahJ. Dena Ned, PhD, MSW, is an Associate Professor/Lecturer at the University of Utah, College of Social Work. After earning her Master of Social Welfare from the University of California, Berkeley, she worked with California’s Division of Children and Family Services, and the California State University system, before going on to direct a 501(c)(3) urban Indian health organization in Salt Lake City. She is an advocate for the interests of American Indian/Alaska Native children and families served by state and tribal agencies, protected by the Indian Child Welfare Act (P.L. 95-608), or the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (P.L. 94-437). Her direct practice experience motivated her to explore issues of social justice and policy, and to promote comprehensive and holistic change from and by the perspective of Indigenous Peoples. [As a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma,] her research has focused on the intergenerational impact of colonization and structural racism found in federal American Indian policies, access to healthcare, and in systems or institutions (e.g. higher ed).
Kyndal Pond
Assistant Director of Personal Development
Utah AthleticsKyndal Pond started with Utah Athletics in 2015 as an academic services intern. She began working as a learning specialist for Men’s & Women’s Basketball in the fall of 2016. She graduated with both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Utah. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Health Promotion & Education. During her undergraduate career she was part of the Utah Gymnastics team, and still enjoys attending Red Rock competitions. She earned her master’s degree in Education, Leadership & Policy from the Urban Institute for Teacher Education here at the University of Utah in 2015.
Nona Richardson
Senior Associate Athletics Director
Utah Athletics
Nona Richardson, a veteran of more than three decades in athletics administration, was named Utah’s senior associate athletics director and senior woman administrator (SWA) on Nov. 13, 2014 and officially began her duties on Jan. 5, 2015. Richardson oversees all student-athlete support services at Utah, including academics, sports medicine, nutrition, the psychology and wellness team and the personal development program, where she plays a key role in the Ute Academy and with the student-athlete U.T.A.H. Group (United Together Against Hate), formed in 2019. She also supervises several sports and serves as Utah’s Deputy Title IX Coordinator and a representative on Pac-12 Conference Counsel. The Albany, N.Y., native received a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Michigan State in 1983 and a master’s degree in human behavior and society from Valparaiso in 1999.
Alonso Reyna Rivarola
Assistant Director of the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs
Salt Lake Community CollegeOriginally from Lima, Peru, Alonso Reyna Rivarola migrated to Utah when he was 11 years of age. His experiences growing up undocuqueer in Utah have shaped his perspectives and inform his passion for supporting and serving historically marginalized communities while holding social institutions accountable. Alonso graduated from the University of Utah with an Honors B.S. in Sociology and an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership & Policy with an emphasis in higher education administration.
Tricia Sugiyama
Director, Center for Ethnic Student Affairs
The University of UtahTricia Sugiyama (she/her) serves as the director for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion’s Center for Ethnic Student Affairs at the University of Utah. She joined CESA in 2006 and she spent eight years working as the First-Year Experience Program Director, Academic Advisor, and Asian American Programs Coordinator. Prior to working at the University of Utah she spent five years at the State Office of Asian Affairs and started her own business. Tricia is a fourth-generation Utahn, a proud fur-baby mother of two and is passionate about working with students.
Franci Taylor
Director, American Indian Resource Center
The University of UtahFranci Taylor (Choctaw, she/her) is the director of the University of Utah’s American Indian Resource Center (AIRC) where she leads the Center’s mission to advocate for American Indian and Alaskan Native (AI/AN) students and serve as a vital link between them, the U and the larger community. As a mother of two, grandmother of five, and auntie to many, Franci has always wanted the best for others. She has dedicated the last 25 years towards increasing access for all under-represented students and American Indian education.
Peter E. Trapa, Ph.D.
Dean, College of Science
Professor, Department of MathematicsPeter Trapa has been at the University of Utah since 2001, where he is now Dean of the College of Science. He previously chaired both the Department of Mathematics and the Department of Physics & Astronomy. Trapa did his graduate work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and held postdoctoral positions at Harvard University and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ.
Jasmine Walton
Community Engagement Coordinator
NeighborWorks Salt LakeJasmine Walton currently serves as NeighborWorks Salt Lake’s Community Engagement Coordinator. Jasmine has served on numerous community boards and committees such as the Utah Black Chamber of commerce as their secretary and has helped to bring many diverse events to Utah such as the Expect the Great Conference, University of Utah Black Student Union High School Conference, and the Utah Black Chamber of Commerce Evening in Harlem. As a graduate of the University of Utah with a Bachelor’s in communications and Political Science, Jasmine has always been an advocate for change and having diverse voices at the table. During her time at the University of Utah, Jasmine, along with other diverse student leaders, advocated for the administration to further value diverse students and staff. Some of Jasmine’s passions are sports, reading, and spending time with her family and friends.