Spotlight on Inclusive Excellence event embraces hard conversations

The School of Communications remains steadfast in its desire to maintain a culture where all individuals feel welcomed, supported and heard. At the heart of this commitment is a willingness to engage in challenging but necessary conversations – ones that address difference, social justice and shared values.

Kenn Gaither, dean of the School of Communications, emphasized this objective during his welcome address at the school’s Spotlight on Inclusive Excellence event on Feb. 25 in Snow Family Grand Atrium. The 75-minute program featured a dynamic speed-rotation format, allowing the nearly 100 students, faculty, staff and alumni in attendance to engage in meaningful discussions at various table topics every 15 minutes.

For photos of the event, visit the school’s Flickr album.

“We need to have the hard conversations,” Gaither said. “We need to discuss our differences, whether political, ideological, racial or otherwise. And we need to strive to be a school where all feel welcomed and supported. A place where all have a sense of belonging. A place where difference is embraced and those who are ‘othered’ find solace in civility.”

The roundtable conversations covered a broad range of issues related to inclusivity in communications, journalism, and the media. Subjects included the role of student media in promoting campus diversity, investigative journalism as a tool for equity, and the importance of understanding cultural narratives beyond surface-level storytelling.

Other topics explored strategic communications for DEI initiatives, community organizing for change, and the unique experiences of international students navigating cultural differences. Additionally, the students and faculty discussed the underrepresentation of women in sports and influencer marketing, newsroom challenges faced by neurodiverse journalists, and the power of film in broadening cultural perspectives.

Gaither underscored the importance of dialogue as a means of advancing social justice beyond the academy.

“When those conversations occur here, they can take flight and extend well beyond the school,” he said. “And that’s where all of us can become advocates who can see viewpoints different from our own to elevate all members of our society.”

The annual Spotlight on Inclusive Excellence event, hosted by the school’s Inclusive Excellence Committee, serves as a vital step toward those larger conversations. It is what the committee envisioned when it brainstormed the program, explained Lorraine Ahearn, assistant professor of journalism and chair of the committee.

“Students are energized by this event because it opens their eyes to the concrete ways that communication fields build a more just society,” Ahearn said. “The presenters, whether from journalism, sports, film or strategic communications, engage students in the ‘why’ of what we do.”

As the school continues to implement its five-year diversity, equity, and inclusion plan, events like the Spotlight on Inclusive Excellence reinforce the school’s commitment to advocating for truth and compassion – even in the face of ideological divides.

In addition to Ahearn, this year’s Inclusive Excellence Committee includes Professor Lee Bush, Associate Professor Young Do Kim, and Assistant Professors Mark Cryan, Karen Lindsey and Sydney Nicolla.

Table Topic Discussions

• Student Media Leadership: Using Communications to Promote Campus Diversity – Lilliana Molina ’27, Sarah Moore ’26 & Madison McRainey ’26
• The Conscience Beat: Investigative Reporting to Advance Equity – Lorraine Ahearn, Assistant Professor of Journalism 
• Beyond Parachute Storytelling: Understanding Cultures and Mitigating Risks – Alex Luchsinger, Associate Professor of Journalism
• Alumni Spotlight: Community Organizing Across Difference – Ben Nguyen O’Connor ’22, Carolina Federation
• Live Oak’s DEI in Action: Strategic Communications in Our Community – Hal Vincent, Senior Lecturer in Strategic Communications and Faculty Director, Live Oak Communications
• International Student Spotlight: Navigating Across Cultures – Cristy Marine ’25 and Julia Chan ‘28
• Unity in Communications by and for Students – Taylor Scott ’25 and Karla Estrada Perez
• WINS: Women Influencers in Sport – Shaina Dabbs, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Sport Management
• NIL: Underrepresentation of Women Athletes – Mark Cryan, Assistant Professor of Sport Management
• Widening the Lens: Experiencing Diverse Culture Through Film – Kai Swanson, Assistant Professor of Cinema and Television Arts
• Student Research Spotlight:  Newsroom Experiences of Journalists with Autism Spectrum Disorder – Betsy Schlehuber ’25
• Student Research Spotlight: Lack of Representation in Influencer Marketing – Donelle Leak ’25