UW Diversity Forum

media release: Registration is now open to attend the 2024 UW–Madison Diversity Forum — “Threads of Belonging: Navigating Differences and Building Community”— which will be held November 13 & 14 at Union South with options to participate in-person and online. As always, the Diversity Forum, hosted by the Division of Diversity, Equity & Educational Achievement (DDEEA), is free and open to the public. 

The 2024 conference will focus on underscoring the importance of bringing our full selves to the collective while engaging with diversity and difference to gain new perspectives and facilitate growth. 

This year’s forum also celebrates the 15^th anniversary of UW–Madison's DDEEA. With events like Diversity Forum, the DDEEA empowers the UW community by providing transformative, data-informed programs and services that promote equitable access and success for all students, faculty, and staff. The 15^th Anniversary Reception will be held at the conclusion of Day One of Diversity Forum on Tuesday, November 13, from 4-6 p.m. at Union South. The public is welcome to help celebrate the university’s enduring commitment to educational and inclusive excellence.

Day One of the 2024 Diversity Forum will feature the keynote address, "Your Brain is Good at Inclusion...Except When It's Not" by author and entrepreneur Steve L. Robbins. Dr. Robbins, who uses neuroscience to encourage open-minded approaches to inclusion, will show how the human brain responds to inclusion and exclusion.  

The first 100 in-person attendees to check in will receive copies of Steve’s book, What If? Short Stories to Spark Diversity Dialogues, and have the opportunity to get it signed after his keynote address.

Playwright, performer, educator, and producer Fanshen Cox, known for her award-winning work in impactful storytelling, will deliver the keynote on Day Two. She will guide participants through a process of self-reflection based on the story of our names in her keynote, "Tell Your Story, Change the World." The keynote will explore how a commitment to truth, justice, and love can help guide us all to a more liberated future.

“I am really excited for this year’s Diversity Forum, which provides a great opportunity for attendees to lean into pluralism, gaining new perspectives through engagement in diversity and difference,” said LaVar J. Charleston, Vice Chancellor for Inclusive Excellence, whose division organizes the Diversity Forum each year. “When we embrace a plurality of data-informed ideas and innovations, we uncover solutions to the world's most challenging problems. I hope to see you there!”

This year’s forum also celebrates the 15th anniversary of UW–Madison's DDEEA. With events like Diversity Forum, the DDEEA empowers the UW community by providing transformative, data-informed programs and services that promote equitable access and success for all students, faculty, and staff. The 15th Anniversary Reception will be held at the conclusion of Day One of Diversity Forum on Wednesday, November 13, from 4-6 p.m. at Union South. The public is welcome to help celebrate the university’s enduring commitment to educational and inclusive excellence

Conference Details 

• Dates: November 13 & 14, 2024 
• Times: 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Central Time 
• In-Person Location: Union South, Varsity Hall (2nd floor), 1308 W. Dayton St., Madison, WI 
• Online: Virtual attendees will receive emailed instructions before the conference begins 
• Cost: Free 
• Contact: events@cdo.wisc.edu