Alumni of Color

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Diversity and inclusive excellence at Wheaton College is a work in progress; that is, a process that requires constant monitoring, honing, and refining. We must always be asking the questions: What should diversity look like and what does inclusive excellence mean for our type of small liberal arts institution? How can we achieve equity in today’s world and for the future?

Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan

Alumni of Color Conference 2021

This spring, we will be kicking off our second Alumni of Color Conference. The conference is a partnership between the Office of the President, the Alumni Relations Office and an alumni lead Steering Committee. The goal of the virtual conference series is to connect alumni, current students, staff and faculty; to share varied and unique experiences; and to build a stronger, diverse and inclusive Wheaton community.

We are looking for alumni to volunteer their time and talent to help develop and plan this event. We have listed the current committees we are looking to fill. If you are interested, please sign up through the link below.

Artifact Committee

Work with the Steering committee to find creative ways to showcase donated artifacts during the weekend. Work with the College’s Historian and Special Collections Curator, Director of Archives & Digital initiatives, and a current student to identify gaps in the College’s historical collection. Offer creative ways to showcase artifacts on the website after the Celebration.

Attendance/Marketing Committee

This committee is responsible for inspiring their network of alumni to join the event as well as creating marketing content to drive programming and attendance.

Symposium Committee

This committee is responsible for developing panels and interactive sessions as well as recommending speakers and panelists to the Steering Committee. The sessions should represent a range of topics and interests. Please be mindful that we will have multiple generations at the conference.

Sign up to volunteer

Wheaton Stories

The college takes a bold step towards justice

Dean Shaya Gregory Poku moves into Wheaton’s inaugural position of Associate Vice President for Institutional Equity and Belonging

As Associate Vice President, Shaya will report directly to the president and be a member of the President’s Council. She will oversee Wheaton’s new Office for Institutional Equity and Belonging that will be a linchpin for increasing accountability, transparency, and partnerships. Read more from President Hanno’s message on March 15, 2021.

Fostering a culture of inclusion

Wheaton alumni Diana Noriega ’04, Caitlin Hawkins ’14 and Braden Marstaller ’18

Wheaton alumni Diana Noriega ’04, Caitlin Hawkins ’14 and Braden Marstaller ’18 are all part of a growing effort to cultivate change in organizations, companies and communities. The work is not easy, but their determination is steadfast. They are three examples of alumni leading the charge to implement practices that promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), with the ultimate goal of creating spaces where all individuals can thrive. Read more…

Indira M. Henard '03

Meet 21 Washingtonians who give D.C. its distinct character

Indira Henard is the executive director of the DC Rape Crisis Center. As an advocate for survivors of sexual violence for more than 20 years, the #MeToo movement has thrust her agency and her life’s mission into the national conversation this year. Read more…

Mirko Chardin '02

Educator

Stories make us human. For Mirko Chardin ’02, his story is of a young man, expelled three times from different schools, who emerged decades later as a middle school principal. Back then, Chardin hated school, and often got in trouble. Read more…

Cliften Bonner-Desravines '13

New Artist of the Year Nominee

Cliff Notez (the hip-hop artist also known as Cliften Bonner-Desravines) has been nominated for a New Artist of the Year 2018 Boston Music Award, which annually recognizes outstanding musical talent in the Massachusetts area and aims to predict the future direction of music in Boston. Read more…

Derron Wallace '07

Recognized for Research and Scholarship

Derron Wallace ’07 is an Assistant Professor of Education and Sociology at Brandeis University. He recently received an award for the Best Paper in International Studiesfrom the American Educational Research Association (AERA) for his article on “Negotiating Girls’ Empowerment: Models of Assertive and Subversive Resistance in Rwanda’s Only Inclusive School.” His paper describes how poor girls with disabilities in Rwanda strategize against prejudice in Rwanda’s largest inclusive school. It importantly highlights how men are still dominant in the group of young people with disabilities. read more…

Rudy Blanco '06

Activating a digital revolution

When Rudy Blanco ’06 saw that students at Bronx, N.Y.-based DreamYard Preparatory High School lacked basic access to technology—as well as rudimentary computer and internet skills—he decided to take action. “We were running old computers in poor working condition,” recalled Blanco, who at the time was teaching special education at DreamYard Prep. “If the Department of Education required standardized tests on the computer, our kids wouldn’t know how to log into their accounts.” read more…

Upcoming Events

Schooling for Critical Consciousness: Engaging Black and Latinx Youth in Analyzing, Navigating, and Challenging Racial Injustice

Schooling for Critical Consciousness addresses how schools can help Black and Latinx youth resist the negative effects of racial injustice and challenge its root causes. A lecture by Scott Seider and Daren Graves. 10/28/21.

Past Events

Pass the Mic! Create. Curate. Care. (10/22-10/23, 2021)

Artists, curators, scholars, and art facilitators recognize that cultural initiatives must respond with more agility and alacrity to the realities of inequity, in all of its forms.

Understanding Race, Racialization, and Systemic Oppression in Higher Education (10/14/21)

A panel discussion exploring the ways that racism manifests itself in college campuses and what members of the Wheaton community can do to help Wheaton be an anti-racist institution.

Brick by Brick: Building Anti-Racist Arts Organizations

An open discussion. How do we create more just and equitable arts organizations? Can we use the past to build a new architecture of ideas?

Relentless Activism: Creativity and the Many Voices of American Democracy featuring 2021 Otis Social Justice Award Honoree Stacey Abrams

Whea Are Wheaton: A Black History Month Alumni Panel (2/24/21)

The Marshall Center for Intercultural Learning and Alumni Relations joined together for a virtual Black History Month Alumni Panel. Hear from Nana Asare ’15, Kenya Bryant ’12 and Maya Ennis ’14 as they discuss their Wheaton experience and e

Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Celebration (2/18/21)

The annual event featured the presentation of the MLK Legacy Award to Angel Bird ’21 and Wheaton staff member Donnie Taveras; the honoring of winners of the Creativity Showcase.

A Conversation with Black Mixture’s Nathan Dwarika (10/20/20)

Dwarika is a designer, motion graphics artist, and managing director of Black Mixture, a brand strategy design company. He will discuss his creative work, his career, and his growing Black Mixture YouTube Channel.

Stress-Management Panel from Professionals of Color (10/16/20)

A panel with four Wheaton Alumni discuss their time at Wheaton, tools and strategies, for managing stress as leaders and intra/entrepreneurs, and also how they are able to stay committed to social justice.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy Celebration (2/18/20)

Our annual award ceremony will occur on the evening of Tuesday, February 18, at 7 PM in Weber Theatre. Our keynote speaker this year will be scholar, author, and civic influencer Dr. Khalilah L. Brown-Dean.

Students invited to share creative work in MLK Legacy showcase (2/18/20)

As part of the annual campus-wide Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Celebration in February, students are invited to submit creative work that offers tangible reflection on King’s philosophies and principles of equity, justice and/or peace.

Wheaton in Puerto Rico Showcase (9/20/19)

Come to see and hear about the work of students in the course Disaster and Reconstruction led by Professor M. Gabriela Torres and Dean Raquel Ramos on the two year anniversary of Hurricane Maria's landfall in Puerto Rico.

Wheaton Hosts Faculty of Color Symposium (5/22/19)

On May 10, 2019, Wheaton hosted the inaugural Faculty of Color Working Group Symposium, which brought together professionals from 20 colleges and universities for all-day symposium.

Ways to Stay Connected

Campus Events Current Alumni Events Wheaton Connect DEAL (Diversity, Equity & Access Leadership) Marshall Center for Intercultural Learning Center for Social Justice and Community Impact

Photos of the Alumni of Color Conference

April 6-7, 2018

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