OIED People

Melissa Simpson

Melissa Simpson is a native of Lancaster, Pennsylvania but has been a resident of North Carolina since 1987. She
completed her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education at North Carolina Central University. She taught fourth grade for five years in the Wake County Public School System. In 1997, she returned to her alma mater to complete a Master of Science Degree in Family and Consumer Science.

Melissa worked at Wilson Technical Community College with the Upward Bound as Program Coordinator assisting high school students in preparing for higher education. She has also worked as an Academic Advisor at Saint Augustine's College, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and with the First Year College at NC State. She especially enjoyed advising and helping students move successfully through the transition process and reaching a comfortable level of decidedness about their futures. She states, "I have always been gratified by the opportunity to help students accomplish their goals and discover their own capabilities."

Currently, Melissa serves as Assistant Director of African American Student Affairs in Multicultural Student Affairs. In this role, she assists with developing, integrating, and promoting academic and cultural experiences designed to support the development and success of students. "Much of my work includes cultural programming, teaching the peer mentor and student development course, working collaboratively with colleges and university departments, and serving as a resource to all students for academic, personal, professional, and cultural development. I am very excited about the opportunities this role affords me," she adds.

Outside work, Melissa enjoys spending time with family, journal writing, collecting memorabilia, and traveling.

Diversity Education Week

Diversity Education Week will take place October 15-19, 2012 this year. Many exciting events are being planned, including:

Fall Diversity Dialogue Featuring America Ferrera: Valuing Diversity: Lessons from Ugly Betty

Wed, Oct 17, 2012
5:00PM - 6:30PM
Talley Student Center, Ballroom

America Ferrera will speak at NC State on October 17, 2012.

Around Campus

Voting Rights and Wrongs: The History of the Franchise from the NC State History Department

Tue, Sep 25, 2012
7:00PM - 8:30PM
Withers Hall 232A

NC State SACNAS Chapter Wins Award in its First Year

NC State's SACNAS (Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans) Chapter has been awarded the SACNAS 2012 Most Outstanding Recruitment Effort Role Model Award. As stated in the award notification letter, "Your efforts for the 2011/2012 academic year are exemplary of the type of accomplishments and activities that are in line with the SACNAS mission, vision, goals and values.

Congratulations, SACNAS-NCSU!

Happenings

WOW: Women of Welch

The women of Welch Village recently met with Dr. Melissa Harris-Perry, professor at Tulane University and host of "Melissa Harris-Perry" on MSNBC.

The WOW (Women of Welch) is a living and learning community that is focused on empowering women, gaining leadership skills, advocating for social justice and building self-awareness.

Women of Welch with Dr. Melissa Harris-Perry

On September 10, 2012, WOW had the opportunity to travel to Wake Forest University to sit down with Dr. Melissa Harris-Perry. Dr. Harris-Perry is professor of Political Science at Tulane University and also hosts her own weekend morning show on MSNBC. The women had an hour before her scheduled lecture to pick her brain and ask questions about her work. Dr. Harris-Perry was very personable and candid with the women and offered advice on a number of topics. The time with her was eye-opening and inspiring. All who attended were empowered and are bringing that fire back to the NC State community.

The WOW Factor: Transforming Sisterhood into Social Justice. The Women of Welch (WOW) Village was created to enhance women's experience outside the classroom through a focus on empowerment, leadership development, self-awareness, and diversity/social justice. The WOW Village strives to create a holistic community that fosters individual women's growth and development while challenging residents to act as citizens of a global community.

The WOW Village brings together women, primarily those in their first year, but also women from all class years and academic majors in Welch Hall. This residential program aims to support, empower, connect and develop female leaders at NC State. The Women of Welch are continually engaged in their residential setting through specialized in hall programming as well as campus and community involvement and mentoring.

If you are interested in learning more about WOW, please feel free to visit our page on the University Housing website or follow us on Twitter: @NCSUWOW.

Opening: Men and Masculinity Coordinator at the Women's Center

The NC State Women's Center is pleased to announce a new position for a Men and Masculinity Coordinator. This position is a one-year grant-funded position renewable for up to three years based on continued funding of the federal Violence Against Women Act. Please see the job posting to apply.

Diversity Mini-Grant Program

The Office of the Provost, through the Vice Provost for Institutional Equity and Diversity, is soliciting proposals for the implementation of diversity and inclusion initiatives and research projects that further the academic mission of the university. Proposals are due by 5:00 pm on October 5, 2012. Please see the program guidelines for more information.

Diversity Announcements

For diversity-related announcements, events, opportunities, and articles from NC State and beyond, please see the new OIED Announcements website. Also included are OIED links and resources.

We hope you enjoy this resource! Please bookmark it in your browser.

OIED Events

Upcoming OIED Events

Social Justice Book Club

Tue, Sep 18, 2012
3:00PM - 4:00PM
Harrelson Hall, Room 324

ADVANCE D3 Conference on Career Development for Faculty

Fri, Sep 28, 2012
3:00PM - 4:00PM
Harrelson Hall, Room 324
(more information below)

Infiltrating Hollywood: The Rise and Fall of The Spook Who Sat By the Door

Sat, Sep 29, 2012
5:00PM
Hayti Heritage Center
(more information below)

African Diaspora Film Festival

Mon, Oct 1, 2012
7:00PM - 9:30 PM
Witherspoon Student Center,
Campus Cinema

EOI Orientation

Wed, Oct 3, 2012
3:00PM - 5:00PM
Winslow Hall, Room 100

Hispanic/Latino UNC System Faculty Forum

Sat, Oct 6, 2012
8:00AM - 4:30PM
Friday Institute,
Centennial Campus
(more information below)

Full OIED Event Calendar

For the full calendar of OIED events, including more information about the above, please see the OIED website.

ADVANCE D3 Conference on Career Development for Faculty

The NC State ADVANCE Developing Diverse Departments project will be holding a one-day conference on Friday, September 28, 2012. The focus will be on developing strategic partnerships and relationships and career development for tenured and tenure-track women faculty and faculty of color at North Carolina colleges and niversities. Attendance will be limited to the first 100 who register. See the event flyer for more information.

Infiltrating Hollywood: The Rise and Fall of The Spook Who Sat By the Door

The African American Cultural Center and Africana Studies Program at NC State have received support from the North Carolina Humanities Council for a screening of the documentary film Infiltrating Hollywood: The Rise and Fall of the Spook Who Sat by the Door (2011) and a panel discussion after the showing on Saturday, September 29, 2012 at 5:00PM at the Hayti Heritage Center. The grant is a part of a unique Triangle and Triad consortium – the Southern Black Film and Media Consortium. See the event flyer for more information.

First Hispanic/Latino Faculty Forum

As part of Hispanic Heritage Month, NC State invites tenured and tenure-track faculty and administrators in the UNC System to save the date for the first Hispanic/Latino UNC System Faculty Forum on Saturday, October 6, 2012 at the Friday Institute on NC State's Centennial Campus. We are reserving 150 places for faculty and 50 for administrators. Travel awards are available (on a limited basis) to help faculty whose institutions are more than 4 hours away. Visit the NC State Multicultural Faculty, Hispanic/Latino Special Interest Group website for more information.

Chocolate Festival & Team Chocoholics

The annual NC State Women's Center's Chocolate Festival will be held on Friday, November 9, 2012.

To help get us in the spirit, team "Chocoholics" will participate in the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk on Saturday, October 6, 2012 at North Hills Mall in Raleigh. Wendy Perry, a new member of the Women's Center team, will be serving as team captain. If you are interested in being part of this fun, inspirational, and very worthwhile event, please contact Wendy Perry by email or 919-880-2065.

Uganda: The Pearl of Africa

The NC State African American Cultural Center invites you to participate in our inaugural AACC Tour, UGANDA: THE PEARL OF AFRICA. The tour is open to students, faculty, staff, and members of the community who are interested in gaining insight into African and African descent cultures. One of the hallmarks of our excursion is the fact that each will be led by a faculty expert drawn from a cadre of top researchers and professors at NC State University. Dr. James Kiwanuka-Tondo, Associate Professor of Communications, will lead our inaugural tour to Uganda.

The tour will take place from December 27 - January 7, 2012. For additional information and to register for the tour, please visit the AACC UGANDA: THE PEARL OF AFRICA website.