WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – The Eastern Connecticut State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics in conjunction with the Division of Student Affairs will host a virtual panel on the WebEx platform entitled A Conversation on Race and its Impact on College Athletics on Saturday, Jan. 23 from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
 
The panel discussion is free and open to the public and will feature several prominent members of the higher education and professional sports communities who will discuss the current racial landscape in America and its influence on college campuses.
 
Advance registration is required. For more information and to register, go to: https://www.easternct.edu/conversation/

The panel discussion will serve to kick off the spring semester as part of ongoing programming sponsored by the Eastern Department of Intercollegiate Athletics in order to promote cultural empathy within athletics.
This panel discussion will focus upon:

• How the current racial landscape in American society and sports impacts college athletes
• Why activism and conversations promoting cultural awareness are important
• How to initiate conversations about race and create a "call-in" culture for productive conversations
• How do we move forward to impact change on our teams and communities?

Following their presentation, the panelists will welcome questions from the audience.
"We are proud of our diversity and understand that racially diverse sports teams are only one part of fostering a culture of awareness, acceptance, empathy," says Director of Athletics Lori Runksmeier. "The purpose of the panel is to engage in ongoing conversation to positively influence the culture on our teams and at Eastern."
 
The panel is the launch of programming that will include a day of dialogue when athletics pauses all activity for a day to celebrate diversity and engage in meaningful dialogue about race.
 
"Our athletes come to Eastern for more than the academic and athletic experience; they want to engage in the world around them and it is our responsibility [as coaches] to provide them with opportunities to learn from great minds and thinkers, this what the panel helps us to do," commented head baseball coach Brian Hamm.
 
Panelists include Vicky Chun, Director of Athletics at Yale University, Grammy Award-winning artist Francois Clemmons; Gil Kim, Toronto Blue Jays Director of Player Development and Major League Baseball coach; and professor and long-time activist Loretta Ross.
 
"We are fortunate that we have an athletics department that celebrates diversity and inclusion. The panelists want to contribute to our efforts to educate athletes to be informed and courageous when it comes to dealing with race," Hamm said.
 
The panel discussion is the first function of a new curriculum by the Eastern Athletic Department to promote dialogue and action around matters of race. Future events include a day of facilitator-led dialogue, student educator training, and the continued support for workshops in allyship and inclusion.  

Vicky Chun, Thomas A. Beckett Director of Athletics, Yale University
Vicky Chun is the first woman and first Asian American to serve as director of athletic at Yale University. In her previous job as vice president and director of athletics at Colgate University she was the first Asian American woman athletic director in NCAA Division I athletics. Chun is a member of the NCAA Division I Council where she serves as vice-chair of the NCAA Division I Football Oversight Committee. Chun was recognized as the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Under Armour Athletics Director of the Year in 2018.
 



 

Francois Clemmons, Grammy Award-winning artist
Most well-known for his role as Officer Clemmons in Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, Clemmons worked alongside Fred Rogers for 25 years, helping to do ground-breaking work on race relations beginning in 1968. Clemmons has performed with the New York City Opera, Los Angeles Civic Light Opera, Washington Civic Opera, Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Clemmons worked closely with college students, athletes and coaches during his 16 years as the Alexander Twilight Artist-in-Residence and director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Spiritual Choir at Middlebury College.
 

 

Gil Kim, Director of Player Development and MLB Coach, Toronto Blue Jays
Gil Kim is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where he was a part of building the foundation for Vanderbilt's two national baseball championships. After a professional baseball career, Kim became an international scout in Mexico, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. He then moved to the Toronto Blue Jays' front office as director of player development. He has worked closely with young players — mostly international — who are confronted with language barriers and cultural differences in transitioning to professional baseball life in America.
 
 

Loretta Ross, Visiting Associate Professor at Smith College
Loretta Ross started her career in the women's movement in the 1970s, working at the National Football League Players Association, the D.C. Rape Crisis Center, the National Organization for Women, the National Black Women's Health Project, the Center for Democratic Renewal (National Anti-Klan Network), the National Center for Human Rights Education and SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective.