Hi everyone,
I would like to share a video with you that serves as an example of how I have tried to integrate my teaching and my activism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FpNjDF-pcs&t=950s
One of the things that I have struggled with as a DEI scholar is how do I use my platform (beyond publishing research) to make a meaningful impact on DEI in my community. For years, I have been challenging my administration regarding our partnership with an organization that has a poor track record regarding DEI. I have finally made some progress in dealing with this, but I have realized that more meaningful progress would likely require some new strategies.
This semester, I decided to use the organization that I was concerned about our partnership with as an example of "why HR matters" in my first day of class. It's not a "typical" example of my teaching, but it created some strong engagement on Day 1 and helped to bring some attention to an important problem in our community. I also posted a recording of the lesson. I wanted to share it with this group as an example of integrating teaching and activism. I hope that it helps spur ideas for others in terms of how we can use our platforms in the future.
Billy Obenauer
Associate Professor of Management
Maine Business School
University of Maine
william.obenauer@maine.edu
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William Obenauer
University of Maine
Orono ME
(802) 379-9222
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