April 5, 2021
Diversity Programs Office celebrates Diversity Month and Arab American Heritage Month
Happy spring.
Thanks to all who supported our National Women’s History Month recognitions during March. From March 22-26, the College of Agriculture/KSRE Diversity Programs Office celebrated the Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences, or MANRRS, Week. The week involved MANRRS Awareness Day on March 22; the spring 2021 "Growing Our Mindset" Diversity Forum on March 23; a corporate job talk by Catherine M. Cosby, business unit QMP operations manager for Mars Petcare and former University of Tennessee MANRRS chapter president on March 24; and the lunch and learn — job talk by Anthony Harris, Merck associate director-human resources, on March 25.
The week ended with the MANRRS Chapter and volunteers doing clean-up work on Manhattan Hill as part of a collaboration with K-State Proud members and for a MANRRS IHOP fundraiser. Please continue to join our social media platforms to enjoy recognition of our cultural month’s celebrations.
On March 23 of MANRRS Week, the Diversity Programs Office hosted the eighth "Growing Our Mindset" Diversity Forum. The event featured J.J. Jones, co-founder of Roots and Legacies Consulting Inc. Jones led an engaging discussion and presentation over the importance of having a diverse team in the workplace. More than 35 people were in attendance. The speaker is a College of Agriculture alumnus and former Kansas State FFA officer.
Thank you to all who helped make the event a success with your participation and attendance. The student groups that helped to lead the event included the College of Agriculture Ambassadors, Ag Student Council, and the K-State Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences, or MANRRS, Chapter. We thank the College of Agriculture and KSRE for their continued support as well. Special thanks to Jones for sharing his time and talents with us.
In celebration of Diversity Month and Arab American Heritage Month this month, April, upcoming events include the MANRRS 2021 National Conference this week, April 6-9. This year’s conference is the first completely virtual National MANRRS Conference. The K-State MANRRS Chapter is looking forward to the events that will include student competitions and three Diversity Summits on Tuesday, breakout rooms and keynote speaker Janie Hipp on Wednesday, a Career Fair on Thursday, Junior MANRRS events on Friday, and final symposiums on Saturday to close out the week. If you would like to know more details about the conference, visit manrrs.org/nationalconference.
Congratulations to our Farm Credit Scholars who will attend the conference: McKenzie Stevens, animal sciences and industry; Jenika Hazelbaker, agronomy; and Shymel Townes, agricultural economics, who will participate in a leadership session before the 2021 National MANRRS Conference and received a $1,000 scholarship. We wish our K-State MANRRS Chapter members well as they participate in the week’s events and competitions.
Also, during the month of April, the Diversity Programs Office, in partnership with the College of Agriculture and KSRE, K-State MANRRS and the College of Agriculture Ambassadors, will host two schools in College for a Day events. On April 7, the office and partners will host 25 students from Dodge City High School for an in-person College for a Day event. During the week of April 12, the office and partners will also be hosting four virtual sessions with Junction City Middle School science classes, consisting of more than 300 students total. Thank you to all those attending, participating, and partnering to make these events a success and helping to share excitement about Kansas State University and the College of Agriculture.
Be on the lookout for our social media acknowledgements of Diversity Month and Arab American Heritage Month. Please continue to watch for more diversity news and events as we carry on with the 2021 spring semester. We appreciate all your support. For more information about upcoming events please contact Zelia Wiley, assistant dean and director of diversity programs, at 785-532-5793 or zwiley@k-state.edu.