Faculty Identities Matter

Being Your Authentic Self in the Classroom

Session Description

Educators often help their students negotiate their identities in the classroom and work hard to create safe classroom norms where all students are respected.

But what about us?

Faculty too must navigate their way through the sometimes tricky maze of disclosing their own identity and deciding how much to share about themselves. In this interactive session, we will consider how identity works in the classroom. By "identity" we mean the many ways that we both identify ourselves (e.g., teacher, parent, student, etc.) and the ways we are identified (e.g., black, lesbian, nerd, etc.). Questions of identity affect all that we do in the university such as teachers, learners, and scholars. Through discussion and analysis of critical case studies, we will examine our own identities, discuss skills and supports regarding "coming out" in relation to both LGBT identities and other identities. By modeling critical thinking standards and elements, participants will have the opportunity to practice reflective critical thinking, which informs practices that support their students' critical thinking practices.

Learning Objectives

In this workshop, you will experience opportunities to:

• Examine the salient dimensions of your own multifaceted social identity
• Discuss skills and supports regarding "coming out" in relation to both LGBT and other identities
• Practice reflective critical thinking, a practice that will allow you to support and foster your students' critical thinking practices with respect to social identity

Session Date

• 04/03/2013

  Thursday, 12:00—2:00 p.m.
  Delphi Center Lab
  This session has been cancelled

Presenter Bios

Brian Buford is the director of the Office for LGBT Services at the University of Louisville, the first office of its kind in Kentucky. In that position, he helped implement health insurance and other benefits for domestic partners, added gender identity to the university's nondiscrimination policy, and initiated new LGBT organizations and programs to enhance campus life. Prior to that, he worked as a director of organizational effectiveness for UofL's human resources department, where he facilitated supervisory training and employee recognition. In 2010, Buford was selected as one of Louisville's "connectors," people who achieve remarkable results through their unique style of trusted leadership. He counts among his most treasured accomplishments a thru-hike of the 2,175 mile Appalachian Trail in 2007 and Spain's 500-mile Camino de Santiago in 2012.

Nisha Gupta, Ph.D., is the Ideas to Action (i2a) specialist for culminating experiences. Prior to this position, she was the associate director for professional development programs of the Graduate School at Syracuse University. She comes to i2a with a background in curricular design, teaching and learning, and Women and Gender studies.