On-Demand Webinar presented by the CSC Inclusion Committee & BCSIDA: Navigating DEI in Today’s Lands

October 23, 2024

in Education,

College Sports Information Directors of America

FREE On-Demand Webinar

Navigating DEI in Today’s Landscape

(presented by the CSC Inclusion Committee and BCSIDA)

During Global Diversity Awareness Month, the three panelists and moderator, all leaders in the DEI space, offered their thoughts and answered numerous questions from webinar attendees on today's environment for diversity, equity and inclusion in the ever-changing and somewhat volatile politically charged landscape that administrators, coaches and student-athletes are currently navigating in.

They spoke on the shift towards a more nuanced approach to DEI - moving away from only offering programming initiatives and training, to policy writing and carving out space for people to bring their authentic selves to work and to the competition fields and arenas. They discussed various ways to build an inclusive workplace when laws and policies are changing all around us.

Additionally, they addressed the following in DEI work, with recommendations for CSC members:

Storytelling: How communicators can best show employee and student-athlete impact and how CSC members can help tell these stories and humanize and personalize student-athletes, coaches and staff members in this inclusion space
Read and get educated on legislation and what DEIB (belonging) policies are in your community
Noting the danger of placing DEI work in a silo, as it needs to be woven into the fabric of your department and leadership team
Managing DEI work when serving on a committee/in a department where everyone is not on the same page with the importance of this work - and how to approach people to bring them together
What are the "blind spots" right now when it comes to inclusion work in athletic departments, and strategies and ideas in managing them
Best methods to ask DEI questions to lead to healthy conversations when those conversations have not typically taken place in your workspace

Please note: Emails for each of the presenters are offered below. If you have any questions about DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) and wish to follow up with them, they welcome corresponding with you and would like to connect with you.

Panelists

Derek Cowherd, University of Louisville Associate Athletics Director for Community and Culture derek.cowherd@louisville.edu
DeeDee Merritt, NCAA Managing Director, Leadership Development dmerritt@ncaa.org
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney Thigpen, LSU Associate Athletics Director for Strategic Advancement ackthigpen@lsu.edu

Moderator

Kendrell Watkins, Long Island University Senior Associate Athletics Director for Revenue Generation kendrell.watkins@liu.edu

Note: Every CSC webinar will be available on-demand the following the live event, in on-demand video on the CSC website and the CSC YouTube channel. Some may also be offered as a podcast.

College Sports Communicators · Webinar: Navigating DEI in Today’s Landscape

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Calendar

Important Dates

All Events +

06/23/26 / 11:59 P.M. M/W At-Large Academic All-America National Ballot Voting Deadline (NCAA, NAIA, College Division)
06/30/26 / 11:59 P.M. M/W Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-America National Ballot Voting Deadline (NCAA, NAIA)
07/07/26 / 12:00 P.M. W At-Large Academic All-America Announced (NCAA, NAIA, College Division)
07/08/26 / 12:00 P.M. M At-Large Academic All-America Announced (NCAA, NAIA, College Division)
07/14/26 / 12:00 P.M. M Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-America Announced (NCAA, NAIA)
06/07/26 / All Day 2026 CSC Unite Convention in Las Vegas
06/08/26 / All Day 2026 CSC Unite Convention in Las Vegas
06/09/26 / All Day 2026 CSC Unite Convention in Las Vegas
06/09/26 / 11:59 P.M. Baseball Academic All-America National Ballot Voting Deadline (NCAA, NAIA)
06/10/26 / All Day 2026 CSC Unite Convention in Las Vegas
06/16/26 / 12:00 P.M. Softball Academic All-America Announced (NCAA, NAIA)
06/16/26 / 12:00 P.M. M/W At-Large Academic All-District Released; National Voting Begins (NCAA, NAIA, College Division)
06/16/26 / 11:59 P.M. M/W Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-America Nomination Deadline (NCAA, NAIA)
06/23/26 / 12:00 P.M. M/W Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-District Released; National Voting Begins (NCAA, NAIA)
06/23/26 / 12:00 P.M. Baseball Academic All-America Announced (NCAA, NAIA)
06/23/26 / 11:59 P.M. M/W At-Large Academic All-America National Ballot Voting Deadline (NCAA, NAIA, College Division)
06/30/26 / 11:59 P.M. M/W Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-America National Ballot Voting Deadline (NCAA, NAIA)
07/07/26 / 12:00 P.M. W At-Large Academic All-America Announced (NCAA, NAIA, College Division)
07/08/26 / 12:00 P.M. M At-Large Academic All-America Announced (NCAA, NAIA, College Division)
07/14/26 / 12:00 P.M. M Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-America Announced (NCAA, NAIA)
06/07/26 / All Day 2026 CSC Unite Convention in Las Vegas
06/08/26 / All Day 2026 CSC Unite Convention in Las Vegas
06/09/26 / All Day 2026 CSC Unite Convention in Las Vegas
06/09/26 / 11:59 P.M. Baseball Academic All-America National Ballot Voting Deadline (NCAA, NAIA)
06/10/26 / All Day 2026 CSC Unite Convention in Las Vegas

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On-Demand Webinar presented by the CSC Inclusion Committee & BCSIDA: Navigating DEI in Today’s Lands

College Sports Information Directors of America

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