Snow may cover the Flame from time to time, but the cold will never extinguish the brightness of our students. Keep your fire burning as we head into the final week of classes, finals, and winter break.
Updates
Some exciting news is coming from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion shortly after our 2nd Annual Building Bridges and Community Day.
While our campus has made important strides in the areas of diversity and inclusion, work remains to be done. To signal our community’s ongoing work efforts, the Work Plan is now the Working Plan. To that end, all members of the Centre community are encouraged to submit recommendations, questions, and concerns using the Diversity and Inclusion Feedback Form. The submissions will be used to develop the Working Plan.
You can now find the results of the 2018 Diversity and Inclusion Climate Surveys on our CentreNet site!
Both our Centre.edu and CentreNet sites are being updated with the latest news and work from us. Check them both our with the links above.
Interested in being more involved with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion? Consider attending one of our regular programs: Turn up @ the Suite and Centre-ing Art & Culture. Check our Diversity Updates page for an events calendar, information about programming, and the ODI Matters archives.
Recap
Quick Takes
In a colossal cross-campus collaboration, we've complied student resources in one, easy-to-find location on Centre's website! From academic advising to the Writing Center, and everything in between, you can find information, resources, and contacts to help you be successful at Centre.
Title IX Corner
- Anyone interested in joining SPEAC can apply on a rolling basis via our interest form.
- To request a workshop, check out Centrenet and keep your eyes peeled for updated materials around campus
HERConnect
Register for the HERC member community portal, HERConnect, where Centre employees can access all the HERC tools and resources and also engage in community conversation, ask questions, get ideas, etc. from other HERC member institutions.
Planning a Diversity Training Program, December 5, 2019 from 1:00P-2:00P
Associated with Global HERC Community. This joint webinar of the Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC) and the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE) explores how to successfully plan a diversity training program. Speakers Jewell Winn, Ed.D., and Crystal Roberts, J.D., will discuss all stages of the planning process, including research, stakeholder engagement, delivery, and sustainability. This session is geared toward campuses who are building a new diversity training program or re-vamping an existing program, and participants will come away with a clear path toward an effective diversity training program.
Using Networking to Enhance Diversity and Recruitment Efforts, December 10, 2019 from 1:00P-2:00P
Associated with Global HERC Community. The best recruiting methods use a multi-pronged approach to finding candidates. This is doubly true for identifying minority candidates and other talented professionals for hard-to-fill professions. In this session, Dr. Christopher Lee will present a model for identifying, cultivating, and selecting the most diverse and capable professionals possible using networking techniques. It will also offer techniques for getting the support and assistance of the right stakeholders to ensure recruitment efforts are timely, pervasive, and effective.
Many international students will remain on campus for part or all of the Winter break. International Student Services (ISS) hopes those students may partake in the following opportunities:
- Movie Mondays (12/16, 12/23, 12/30): Students may come by the CGC office in Old Carnegie to pick up vouchers and arrange transportation to see a movie at Danville Cinemas 8 on each Monday morning/afternoon during Winter Break.
- Day Trips to Lexington (12/18, 12/19, 1/2, 1/3) and Louisville (12/27): If you are interested in going on any or all of the aforementioned day trips, please contact jessica.leonard@centre.edu. Seats will be limited! Note that the CentreTran bus that runs on Saturdays to Walmart and Kroger will continue during the Winter Break.
Stay tuned for more information on possible hotpots, karaoke nights, and more!
Religious Life
Centre’s celebration of Advent is a Festival of Lessons and Carols. The service of readings and songs will be held Saturday, December 7 from 7:00 – 8:15 p.m. in the sanctuary of the Presbyterian Church adjacent to campus. Music will be provided by Alpha Delta Pi, Beta Theta Pi, Centre Singers, The Centre Horn Quartet, Common Time, the French Program, the Spanish Program, String Duet, Treble Choir, and Tenor-Bass Choir.
Hanukkah, or the Festival of Lights, is an eight day festival in Judaism commemorating the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem in 164 BCE. This year, Hanukkah begins at sundown on Sunday night, December 22 (the 25th day of the month of Kislev), and continues through December 30. Hanukkah celebrates religious freedom and deliverance from oppression.
The story of Hanukkah comes from the books of First and Second Maccabees, which were non-canonical additions to the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible. According to tradition, the Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV attacked Jerusalem, slaughtered innocent Jews, and desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem by converting it to pagan worship. The "desolating sacrilege" included an altar to Zeus within the Temple upon which swine were sacrificed. The Seleucid abuses prompted the Maccabean revolt, which culminated in the liberation of the Temple by a Jewish guerrilla fighter named Judas, the Maccabee (“hammerer”).
According to Talmudic legend, when the Maccabees re-entered the Temple, they found only enough purified oil to light the Temple’s menorah for one day. Judas cleansed and rededicated the Temple, and the oil miraculously burned for eight days—the exact time needed to prepare a fresh supply.
The Festival of Lights celebrates the triumph of freedom with imagery of light overcoming darkness. In modern Judaism, the festival is observed by the lighting of candles on a nine-branched chanukkiah (a special menorah)—one additional light on each night for eight consecutive nights. The elevated central candle, or shamash, is used to light the others. In addition, Hanukkah customs include eating latkes (potato pancakes), sufganiyot (donuts), or other foods baked in oil; playing games of chance with a spinning top called a dreidel; and giving gelt (monetary or chocolate coins) and other gifts.
This minor Jewish holiday has grown in significance for Jews living in cultures dominated by pervasive Christmas celebrations. The heightened visibility reinforces the message of freedom, also emphasized at Passover, that can still inspire wherever human aspirations are suppressed.
Other News
You can view the Religious Life Office's web page from the link below to see more information about local congregations, religious fellowship on campus, and religious holidays & activities. For more information about Religious Life, please contact Dr. Rick Axtell at rick.axtell@centre.edu.
Calendar
Visit our ODI Calendar to see events, holidays, and important dates. You can view this calendar and our archives of ODI Matters at our Centrenet Site.
Study. Take Finals. Rest.
This calendar is meant to capture events on campus addressing issues of diversity, inclusion, and equity. It is not an exhaustive list. If you have events in upcoming months that you would like to see featured, please email them to Jo Teut at jo.teut@centre.edu prior to the 25th of each month.