Library Expert to Give Keynote Address at UA Diversity Symposium

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama’s School of Library and Information Studies and University Libraries will present Dr. Clara Chu as the keynote speaker for the eighth-annual Discerning Diverse Voices: Symposium on Diversity on Monday, March 27.

Chu, one of the nation’s top experts in international libraries, serves as director and Mortenson Distinguished Professor of the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs at the University of Illinois. She will give the keynote address at 4 p.m. in Gorgas Library Room 205.

Chu’s address, “Un/conscious Diversity: Point of Departure and Paradigm Shifts in Research,” will cap a day of diversity-related poster presentations, panels and oral presentations that begin at 8:30 a.m. in Gorgas Library Room 205.

“It’s amazing how much this event has grown over the years,” said Dr. George Daniels, assistant dean and diversity officer for The College of Communication and Information Sciences. “We’re so excited to have our keynote speaker from the library and information sciences profession.”

Two dozen students, faculty and staff will be presenting at this year’s symposium, which includes sessions on diversity in sports communication, education and history and dialogue.

The Discerning Diverse Voices Symposium is organized each spring by the members of the College of Communication and Information Sciences’ Diversity Forum, which is made up of faculty members who have a research or teaching interest in diversity.