http://blog.richmond.edu/commonground diversity • inclusion • community • justice Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:25:14 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en John L. Jackson Jr. raises some provocative questions in a recent contribution to the Chronicle of Higher Education: What's wrong with diversity? Are academics still fighting for a version of diversity with real institutional teeth? Has that battle already been lost? What do you think? http://blog.richmond.edu/commonground/2009/11/20/diversity-a-dirty-word/ Last month Pres. Obama signed the Matthew Shepard - James Byrd jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act which extended the definition of federal hate crimes to include sexual orientation and gender identity. Matthew Shepard died as a result of a brutal homophobic attack in Laramie Wyoming in 1992. James Byrd Jr., ... http://blog.richmond.edu/commonground/2009/11/01/obama-signs-bill-that-broadens-the-definition-of-hate-crimes-to-include-sexual-orientation-and-gender-identity/ Formerly known as the Common Ground Small Grants program, the Inclusive Community Fund provides funding for campus projects designed to promote an inclusive community on campus and create learning opportunities across differences. Students or employees may apply for funding for projects that enhance classroom learning, explore different cultures,  or investigate issues of ... http://blog.richmond.edu/commonground/2009/09/27/inclusive-community-fund-supports-campus-projects/ South African runner, Caster Semenya, who recently won a gold medal at the World Track and Field Championships, has had her gender tested on order of the International Association of Athletics Federation, and reports are leaking out of Australia that she may be intersex, exhibiting both male and female physical ... http://blog.richmond.edu/commonground/2009/09/15/the-meaning-of-gender-and-the-story-of-caster-semenya/ Common Ground student employee Mario Villalba, along with the help of a few friends, made this great video of the events associated with the University's commemoration of Martin Luther King day, 2009. Note the presence of Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Rogery L. Gregory as the main speaker, and performances ... http://blog.richmond.edu/commonground/2009/08/27/cool-video-of-mlk-day-2009/