Area colleges to present discussion of Discovery Center’s RACE exhibit

On Tuesday, September 25, the MODES Diversity Committee will conduct a town-hall meeting to discuss the recent “RACE: Are We So Different?” exhibit at the Discovery Center in Springfield. The discussion will be held at 6 p.m. at the Springfield campus of Ozarks Technical Community College, in Lincoln Hall Room 211, and will be moderated by Diversity Consultant Trainer Michelle T. Johnson. The event is free and open to the public.

The MODES Diversity Committee is composed of representatives from Missouri State University, Ozarks Technical Community College, Drury University, Evangel University, and Southwest Baptist University. The five institutions recognize both the opportunity and the responsibility to take a leadership role with regard to diversity concerns in the larger community, and formed the MODES Diversity Committee in 2010 to coordinate their efforts.

Moderator Michelle T. Johnson is a former journalist and employment attorney, a certified mediator and an author of three books addressing workplace diversity. Additionally, her freelance column, “Diversity Diva,” has run in the Kansas City Star daily newspaper since January 2008. She is a national speaker on workplace diversity and inclusion issues, and has spoken at a variety of businesses, universities, municipalities and organizations.