2026 Diversity Equity & Inclusion Program

SCHEDULE

Campus Equity in the Crosshairs: Strategies for Resilience and Safeguarding Equity in Higher Education 2–3 p.m. This session will explore the experiences and impact of recent anti-DEI legislation and actions on the services, opportunities and support for diverse students, staff and faculty across higher education. The panelists represent all sectors of higher education and bring lived experience, education and expertise from the feld, as well as nonproft and community-based organization work. During the session, the panel will share the legal and legislative timeline of anti-DEI acts, address high-impact strategies and real-time responses in the current climate and focus on what institutions can do to preserve core values while remaining compliant and mission-driven. This session will explore: preserving DEI values on campus amid pushback; legal insight on federal and state legislation; defensive positioning and academic freedom; the impact on admissions and hiring; international student recruitment and retention; and the impact on student, faculty and staff wellbeing and sense of belonging.

PANEL:

Trent Ball (he/him) Moderator Senior Strategy Director for

D’Andre Braddix, EdD (he/him)

Ombudsman

Completion

St. Louis Community College

MOCAN

Vincent C. Flewellen, MSW (he/him) Associate Vice President, Offce of

Mary E. Clark, PhD (she/her) Vice President for Impact and Opportunity Metropolitan

Mission Integration Chief Diversity Offcer Webster University

Community College

Wendell Stapleton (he/him) Program Manager for Completion

Algerian Hart, PhD (he/him)

Professor

MOCAN

McQueary College of Health and

Human Services Missouri State University

Reclaiming Sacred Space: Faith, Voice and the Moral Imperative for Justice 3:30–4:30 p.m.

In a moment when exclusionary theologies and Christian nationalism threaten to shrink the moral imagination of our faith communities, this panel gathers courageous spiritual leaders who embody the audacity to persist in justice, truth and beloved community. This panel discussion will explore how our sacred traditions call us to reclaim the public voice of our congregations as a force for diversity, equity and inclusion. Together, they will examine the spiritual and historical roots of exclusion, the harm caused when faith is

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