The second annual conference will address issues of gender equity and the university.

The Office of the President will host more than 125 professionals at the Texas Women in Higher Education regional conference at 9 a.m. Friday (Feb. 3). The conference will be held in the McKenzie-Merket Alumni Center and consist of a keynote session and two breakout sessions with four panels.
“Last year, we held the conference with panels of more traditional academic presentations,” said Aliza Wong, associate dean of the Texas Tech Honors College and associate professor of history. “This year, we decided to offer a workshop format that will allow participants to more fully engage, network and problem-solve with one another.”

Keynote speakers include Genevieve Durham-DeCesaro and Elizabeth Sharp. The keynote, “Moving Targets: The EXTRA|ORDINARY Landscape of Women in the Academy,” will be a unique presentation featuring a dance performance in conjunction with the talk.
Breakout sessions will be at 9:30 and 11:15 a.m. Panel topics will include “Livin' the Dream (and making the future happen)”; “Techniques for Navigating Academia and the Workplace”; “Up, Up & Away: How Far We Can Go When We Fly Together”; and “Waiting for the Punchline: Sexist Jokes, Dirty Ditties, and Managing the Work Environment.”
Other presenters include:
- Juan Muñoz, vice president, Division of Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Community Engagement and vice provost for Undergraduate Education and Student Affairs at Texas Tech
- Emily Klement, associate vice president, Academic and External Partnership at North Central Texas College, and board member of Texas Women in Higher Education, a non-profit corporation dedicated to developing, advancing and supporting women employed at colleges and universities across the state of Texas
About the Speakers
Durham-DeCesaro is vice provost for Academic Affairs and an associate professor of
Dance at Texas Tech. She holds an elected directorship of the South-Central Region
of the National Board of the American College Dance Association.
Sharp serves as the chair of the President's Gender and Equity Council. She is an associate professor and associate chair of Human Development and Family Studies and an affiliate faculty member of Women's Studies at Texas Tech.
Find Texas Tech news, experts and story ideas at Texas Tech Today Media Resources or follow us on Twitter.