Carolina Hosts Symposium on Bias and Ethics, February 24, 2004

The Office for Minority Affairs, the Dean of Student’s Office and the James M. Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence, in collaboration with the Carolina Women’s Center, and the LGBTQ Office, will sponsor a half-day symposium on “Bias and Ethics on February 24, 2004. The symposium will take place from 12 noon until 5:00 pm in the Kresge Foundation Commons Room (039) at the James M. Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence in Graham Memorial. The symposium is free and open to the public.

Pre-registration is required for lunch; interested students, faculty, and staff are invited to pre-register by e-mail by contacting Dr. M. Cookie Newsom at newsom@email.unc.edu, or in person at the Office of Diversity Education and Research, 08A South Building. Pre-registration closes on February 20th, 2004.

The symposium will address the questions of ethics and honor as they relate to bias. There will be three sessions on the following topics: Racism, Homophobia and Sexism. Panelists will include students, faculty and staff members and the majority of time in each session will be devoted to a dialogue between audience members and the panel. A free lunch will be provided prior to the symposium.

"It seems to me that there is no more important topic in a community of learners than how we treat each other and how we learn from each other, drawing on each other's strengths and supporting each other in instances where it is needed,” said Dr. M. Cookie Newsom, Director of Diversity Education and Research and a symposium organizer. “Bias and intolerance are the enemies of both community building and the acquisition of knowledge. My committee and I hope this symposium will provide an opportunity to break down some barriers and initiate some dialogues on the ethical implications of being intolerant."

Additional scheduled participants include: Stephanie Chang, Chimi Boyd, Terri Houston , Derek Oxendine , Danny Bell, Mark McCurry, Doug Dukeman, Dean Blackburn, Dr. Michele Berger, Dr. Bernadette Gray-Little, Charlene Wong, and Dr. Diane Kjervick.

Complete program information can be found on the Johnston Center web site, the
Honor Carolina web site, the Office of Minority Affairs, and the Writing Program web site.

"HonorCarolina" is a yearlong university-wide conversation focusing on issues of honor, ethics, and integrity. The aim is to include all members of the Carolina community, from first year students to teaching fellows, from staff to full professors, from senior administrators to friends of the University. "HonorCarolina" will ground all of its discussions in the ideals of Frank Porter Graham: a universal concern for others, an unflinching commitment to freedom of speech, and an abiding trust and confidence in the ability of students to play a responsible role in the affairs of the university.