Diversity Summit 2026
Please bring your College ID to scan your attendance at sessions.
The 8th Annual Diversity Summit will take place on February 24, 2026. This full-day event will feature a series of diversity-focused sessions hosted by members of the Geneseo community and invited guests, all dedicated to fostering engagement, perspective sharing, and meaningful dialogue. The Summit will culminate in a keynote address designed to inspire continued reflection and action.
Classes will not be in session. The Diversity Summit is free and open to all attendees.
The theme of this year’s Diversity Summit is centered in Courage – the courage to be vulnerable, to be authentic, to show up, to make movement, to change, to persist, and to grow. The organizers encourage the community to consider how courage guides our varied life experiences, whether at work, while learning, or in interactions with others.
Be Part of the Diversity Summit!
Behind the scenes, there are plenty of opportunities to help the day run smoothly. From serving as a session room host to greeting attendees at the information table, our volunteers are integral in making the Diversity Summit a success. Opportunities are scheduled based on your availability. Please consider becoming a volunteer!
Keynote Address & Featured Events
Program proposals look fantastic and the schedule will be available soon for you to begin planning your day. There will be more than 20 sessions to attend!
The day will begin again this year with Summit Sunrise Yoga led by Dr. Lee Pierce in the Multicultural Center at 8:00 a.m.
Doggy Therapy! Come get some love and snuggles from a few furry friends between 8:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. in the Bailey Hall Atrium. Myko and friends will available for anyone who would like to take a short break and relieve some stress.
This year’s featured session is The Hair Monologues offered by Sonya Bilocerkowycz, Faeeza Masood, Archer Maduro, and other members of the Geneseo community. Hair is personal, political, and particularly salient to people of various marginalized identities. Whether you cut it, grow it, pick it, braid it, dye it, shave it, or lost it, we want to hear how your hair has influenced your identity, and how your identity has influenced your hair. This session will feature monologue performances from select speakers, as well as space for the audience to share their own hair stories. The Hair Monologues will be performed on stage in the MCU Ballroom at 1:20 p.m. just before our keynote address.
The annual Community Art Project will encourage Diversity Summit attendees to reflect on what Courage means to them. How does courage show up in your life? More to come at the Summit from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Keynote Speaker
Don McPherson
2:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
College Union Ballroom
Finding Courage through Aspirational Masculinity
In his keynote address, Finding Courage through Aspirational Masculinity, our keynote speaker, Don McPherson, will prompt us to explore how we can intentionally and thoughtfully shape the identities, relationships, and behaviors of boys and men. The framework promotes excellence, empathy, and growth within the broader social ecosystem. His work challenges the framing of gender-based violence as solely a “women’s issue,” emphasizing the critical role men must play in addressing and dismantling harmful behaviors and cultural norms. McPherson argues that conflating male identity with the toxicity of violence not only obscures accountability, but also limits the potential for positive change.
Our phenomenal keynote speaker, Don McPherson, will prompt us to consider the concept of “Aspirational Masculinity” in his address.
Don McPherson Snapshot
Our keynote speaker, Donald McPherson, is a College Football Hall of Famer, author, educator, and nationally recognized advocate for gender equity and violence prevention. His full bio is available here: Don McPherson’s Bio.
As an All-American quarterback at Syracuse University, he led the nation in passing, finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting, and later had his number retired before being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
But it is his work off the field that truly reflects the theme of this year’s Diversity Summit: Courage.
For more than three decades, Don has demonstrated the courage to challenge harmful norms, to confront issues of gender-based violence, and to engage communities in difficult but necessary conversations about masculinity, leadership, and accountability. He is the author of You Throw Like a Girl: The Blind Spot of Masculinity and a pioneer in the Mentors in Violence Prevention program, which helped introduce the concept of bystander intervention and empowered individuals to act with courage in moments that matter.
Through his work on hundreds of college campuses and with national organizations, Don invites us to practice aspirational masculinity, embrace inclusive leadership, and step forward — even when it is uncomfortable — in service of a more just and equitable community.
Diversity Summit Schedule & Program 2026
PDF Downloadable version: Coming Soon
PDF Downloadable version: Coming Soon
Diversity Summit Schedule 2025
The first activity of the Diversity Summit is Summit Sunrise Yoga at 8:00 a.m. in the Multicultural Center. Sessions officially begin at 9:00 a.m. All sessions between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. take place on the first and second levels of Bailey Hall. There is an intentional 10 minute break between each session block. Most sessions are 60 minutes in length. There is a 30 minute series of six sessions for those looking for meaningful content in a shorter timeframe. There is a 40 minute break in sessions beginning at 12:20 p.m. Sessions resume at 1:00 p.m. The keynote address begins at 2:30 p.m. in the College Union Ballroom. The final session of the day will be hosted in the MacVittie College Union Hunt Room at 4:00 p.m.
8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.
30 minutes
Multicultural Center (MCC)
Join fan favorite, Dr. Lee Pierce, for an invigorating start to the Diversity Summit. Summit Sunrise Yoga is hosted in the Multicultural Center. Come as you are and bring your yoga mat, towel, or blanket.
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Diversity Summit Information Table open. Stop by to learn more about the summit schedule, grab a sticker and cup of coffee, and just say, “Hey!” Welcome to the seventh annual Diversity Summit!
Session I: 9:00 a.m. (60 minutes)
Bailey 103 – Reimagining a STEM Culture in which Belonging is Fundamental
Bailey 104 – Promoting the Respectful Workplace
Bailey 202 – Building a Beloved Community: Get to Know the CDO – What is the Work?
Bailey 203 – Part I: Speaking Truth to Identity: Using Spoken Word Literature to Honor Intersectionality (30 min)
Session II: 10:10 a.m. (60 minutes)
Bailey 101 – Building a Beloved Community: Advancing Equity Centered Missionin Challenging Times – Advancing the Work
Bailey 103 – Identity At Home and Abroad Student Panel
Bailey 104 – Stigma Free Baking Therapy
Bailey 203 – Understanding Identities & Creating Community with Athletics DEI Committee
Bailey 246 – Equity in Action: Crafting DEIB Together
Session III: 11:20 a.m. (60 minutes)
Bailey 101 – The Hair Monologues
Bailey 103 – How Policies, Practices, and Places Impact Collective Campus Wellbeing
Bailey 104 – The First Generation Experience
Bailey 202 – Banning Children’s Books: Resisting Attacks on Diversity and Community
Bailey 203 – Confronting Islamophobia: A Training for SUNY Geneseo
Summit Break: 12:20 p.m.
Bailey 101 – No Race, Only Human (39 min) A student-led interactive session on race and humanity.
Session IV: 1:00 p.m. (60 minutes)
Bailey 101 – Building a Beloved Community: Where Do We Go from Here? – Relationships at Work
Bailey 103 – Fostering LGBTQ+ Community and Solidarity in Divisive Times
Bailey 104 – How Do Requests for Reasonable Accommodations Work?
Bailey 203 – Part II: Speaking Truth to Identity: Using Spoken Word Literature to Honor Intersectionality
Bailey 246 – Power of the People: How Unions Build Power Through Community
Keynote Address: 2:30 p.m. (60 minutes)
College Union Ballroom – Our phenomenal keynote speaker, Danielle Ponder, will prompt us to consider, “What Do We Do Now?” in her address and performance.
Session V: 4:00 p.m. (150 minutes)
College Union Hunt Room – Film Screening: “Invisible Warriors: African American Women in World War II”
30 Minute Series
Most sessions are 60 minutes in length. There is a 30 minute series of six sessions for those looking for meaningful content in a shorter timeframe. All sessions will be held in Bailey 201.
9:00 a.m.
Broadening the Geneseo Experience
9:40 a.m.
Disability Inclusivity
10:20 a.m.
Navigating Identity Formation: Multicultural Students in a Dual-Cultural World
11:00 a.m.
Navigating the Waters of Chaos: A Fishbowl Dialogue on Building Community
11:40 a.m.
Feedback to Results: Buildings and Menus that Reflect Community
1:00 p.m.
Lo que paso en Hawaii(A Deep Dive)
Be Part of the Diversity Summit!
Behind the scenes, there are plenty of opportunities to help the day run smoothly. From serving as a session room host to greeting attendees at the information table, our volunteers are integral in making the Diversity Summit a success. Opportunities are scheduled based on your availability. Please consider becoming a volunteer!
Accessibility Statement
If you require accommodations for equal access to this event, please contact the Office of Accessibility Services via email at access@geneseo.edu, or call 585-245-5112 at least one week prior to this event.
Event Parking
We are grateful to the University Police Department for providing on campus parking for Diversity Summit attendants. There will be no ticketing in campus parking lots with the exception of handicapped parking spaces, load zones, and reserved lots O, LL, W, and G on February 24, 2026 for the duration of Summit events.
What happens after the Diversity Summit?
We will be sharing a google form that gathers feedback on this year’s summit. This allows us to hear ideas related to the focus of next year’s Diversity Summit. If you’re interested in browsing the content of past Diversity Summits, visit the Summit archive. Any questions can be directed to the Diversity Summit Committee (diversitysummit@geneseo.edu).
The Diversity Summit Planning Committee includes representatives from the Office of Diversity & Equity, the President’s Commission on Diversity and Community, Division of Student & Campus Life, and members of our campus community.