A Cultivating Community dialogue held in the MacVittie Ballroom.
SUNY Geneseo’s Cultivating Community series returns this fall under the guidance of professor of communication Meredith Harrigan and Interim Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) Clifton Harcum.
Initiated by President Denise Battles in 2017, the series was created to expand and strengthen the college community. Cultivating Community strives to create a collaborative, engaging, and generative space for campus community members to explore the role that diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility play in belonging.
"What I think is particularly valuable about the Cultivating Community series is that it creates a space for members of the campus community, who differ in role or position, to sit together at the same table and engage in dialogic conversation, which is a type of interaction that honors multivocality, prioritizes listening and understanding, and strives for connection and expansion,” says Harrigan.
The Fall 2024 series will lean into using creativity as a tool for community building. The first Cultivating Community will take place on Wednesday, September 11, from 2:30–3:45 p.m. in the College Union Ballroom. The dialogue “Working Together to Honor Uniqueness and Create Connection,” will include a hands-on visual arts project with guest artist Stephanie Kelly. Kelly is a multimedia artist and instructor from Rochester, NY, who specializes in intuitive painting.
If you are interested in participating, please register.
The second dialogue in the series will be on Wednesday, December 4. Check the Cultivating Community site for more information. Cultivating Community is an initiative supported by the President's Commission for Diversity and Community.