On Thursday, January 19, NIRSA President Mila Padgett, Director of Campus Recreation and Wellness at the University of South Carolina Aiken will be speaking with co-chairs of NIRSA’s JDEI Climate Study Implementation Team: Cara Lucia, Chair of the Sport Management Department and Associate Professor at Elon University and NIRSA Past President and Victoria Lopez-Herrera, Senior Associate Director at The University of Texas at San Antonio and NIRSA At-Large Director on the NIRSA Board will join Mila live on the @NIRSAPresident Instagram profile.
Next week, join NIRSA President Mila Padgett and her “nine minutes with NIRSA” guests Cara Lucia and to be inspired, spur innovation on your campus, and ignite your passion for the profession.
In 2021, NIRSA partnered with 122 Consulting to embark on a climate assessment initiative with the aim of gathering data about the ways members were experiencing the Association through a lens of justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion (JDEI). Findings from those efforts were presented and discussed in a report and executive summary that were shared with NIRSA members in May 2022; NIRSA’s JDEI Climate Study Implementation Team was appointed in October of 2022.
Heading into 2023, the JDEI Climate Study Implementation Team is looking at putting the Climate Study recommendations into action. “Doing this work collaboratively is a gift we embrace; we’re excited to engage the NIRSA membership in critical work to foster a culture where all members feel valued and a sense of belonging,” says Cara.“I love learning from peers,” adds Cara. “The great work of colleagues inspires me to be better and do better,” she says. Victoria echoes her sentiments, saying, “Our student staff inspire me to be innovative! I enjoy watching them grow and learn.”
In addition to their work on NIRSA’s JDEI Climate Study Implementation Team, Cara and Victoria may also share with Mila some of the innovations on their campuses that ignites their passion for recreation and wellbeing on campus, like virtual training at The University of Texas at San Antonio and trauma informed pedagogy at Elon University.
Carve out some time on Thursday, January 19 to join Mila, Cara, and Victoria for their Instagram Live conversation. Join them at 1:30pm Eastern/10:30am Pacific on the @NIRSAPresident Instagram channel and plan to be inspired, ignite your passion, and learn how to innovate on your campus and in your community!
