‘Diversity University’ Featured as Topic of UA Lecture

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama Capstone International Center, Crossroads Community Center and Fulbright Program are hosting a public lecture commemorating the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Friday, Jan. 20, at 1 p.m. in 109 B.B. Comer Hall.

For the event, Bettina Byrd-Giles, director of the UA Crossroads Community Center, will give a lecture she delivered while on a 2004 Fulbright Exchange to Malawi in southern Africa. Her lecture, “Living the Dream through Diversity University: A Symbol of a New Birmingham,” will focus on the role of intercultural education in the post-Civil Rights era. The speech was initially designed to begin a series of lectures and workshops to develop a training module for intercultural programming in Malawi.

Diversity University was founded in Birmingham in 1996 to expand conversations beyond race among students from six local colleges and universities in the Birmingham area. It initiates dialogue, discussion and programs to develop socially aware and responsible global citizens.

Byrd-Giles joined the UA staff in November as director of the Crossroads Community Center, established in the fall to assist student organizations with multicultural issues and facilitate coordination of multicultural programs on campus.

In celebration of the United Nations International Year for the Culture of Peace, the Greater Birmingham Chapter of the United Nations Association-USA recognized Byrd-Giles for the creation of Diversity University and her contribution to peace, justice and community in Birmingham in 2000.

This event is open to the public free of charge.