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Howdy! Welcome to the June edition of the Office for Diversity (OFD) newsletter. This month, we feature Ms. Ann Boney’s work with the NAACP. We are also very proud to announce that Mrs. Deyanira Ely, Executive Assistant in the Office for Diversity, has been honored with the prestigious 2021 Academic Affairs Tradition of Excellence Award in Advancing Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award from the Division of Academic Affairs.
The Office for Diversity is excited to welcome Dr. Lizette Ojeda, Associate Professor in Educational Psychology, to the OFD, where she will serve as an Administrative Fellow overseeing the Accountability, Climate, Equity, and Scholarship Fellows and ADVANCE Scholars programs. As always, please explore the calendar events and news sections of the newsletter to connect with our Texas A&M and Bryan-College Station community.
As we begin the summer semester, please allow yourself time for rest. Self-care is not selfish, but essential to elevating the social justice work in our community and critical to sustaining the most vital resource of engagement… you!
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ADVANCING ACCOUNTABILITY, CLIMATE, AND EQUITYCommunity Activist Shares Impact of Lifetime Work
Family values and service guide long-time work with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Through her work as a civil rights activist and community leader, Ms. Ann Boney has been able to impact lives across the...
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ADVANCING EXCELLENCEMrs. Deyanira Ely, Executive Assistant to the Vice President and Associate Provost for Diversity was honored with the 2021 Academic Affairs Tradition of Excellence Award in Advancing Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion. Awardees were recognized at the 2021 Academic Affairs Division Social and Awards “Lone Star Picnic” Friday, June 11, 2021.
The awards are presented by the Division of Academic Affairs and made possible with support from The Association of Former Students. Awardees are lauded for their distinguished contributions to Texas A&M through their dedication, initiative, outstanding achievements, enthusiasm, and positive approach to service.
Tradition of Excellence Award recipients are selected from four award categories: Staff, Team, Advancing Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion, and Leadership Excellence. For more information about the complete list of award winners click here.
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ADVANCING FACULTY DIVERSITY, INCLUSION, AND SUCCESSDr. Lizette Ojeda was selected as a 2021-2022 ADVANCE Administrative Fellow with the Office for Diversity. Dr. Ojeda is an Associate Professor in the department of Educational Psychology at Texas A&M University. She joined Texas A&M University as faculty in 2009 upon graduating with a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Missouri. She is nationally recognized as a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and as a Ford Foundation Fellow for her intersectional work on Latino career development and mental health. She has been recognized as a top contributing author in the Journal of Latinx Psychology, where she also serves on the editorial board. She assumed the duties of this position on June 1.
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Recognize and celebrate the collective accomplishments, stories, and experiences of Caribbean Americans. Learn more
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ADVANCING CLIMATE, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND EQUITY
The award was established by former trustee Melbern Glasscock '59 and his wife, Susanne.
By Bec Morris ’23, Texas A&M Foundation (Reprint with permission.)
The Texas A&M Foundation Board of Trustees has chosen Jabreon Jackson ’21, as one of three recipients of its Trustees’ Outstanding Student Award (TOSA) for 2021. In recognition of their achievements, these seniors will receive $2,500. Jabreon Jackson served on the President’s Council for Climate & Diversity from 2019-2021 and represented the Division of Student Affairs.
Jackson currently runs her own photography business and student teaches at Riverbend Elementary School. She longs to make a difference through art and education and will put her award money toward a master’s degree in higher education-student affairs at Florida State University.
“I’m extremely grateful to be honored with this award and associated with all of the prior recipients. I hope to live up to their names and expectations,” Jackson said. “Hopefully, one day I can come back to Aggieland and give back to other people. I’m excited to see what’s next for me.”
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USE JUNETEENTH AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS RACIAL JUSTICE
Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.
The Emancipation Proclamation, issued on January 1, 1863, declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." But as the Civil War continued, some slaveowners did not comply with the proclamation, instead moving more enslaved people into Texas from other parts of the South. On June 19, 1865, Union Major-General Gordon Granger supported by 2,000 troops, read General Order No. 3 to the people of Galveston.
The observance of June 19th as the Black Freedom Day has spread from its Galveston, Texas origins in 1865 across the United States. Juneteenth is an opportunity for all people to celebrate and continue the necessary dialogue of racial justice and the path to transformation.
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| Summer Calendar of Events
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Send September and October events to Crystal Carter at c.carter@tamu.edu by August 27 for consideration in the September newsletter.
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Texas A&M has issued COVID-19 guidance to enhance the safety of those returning to campus. Free testing is available for all students, faculty, and staff who have symptoms or have been in close contact with known or suspected cases. The tests provided through this program are mouth swab tests that do not require assistance. More information can be found at the Student Health Services website.
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Texas A&M University
Office for Diversity
Jack K. Williams Administration Building
1360 TAMU
College Station, Texas 77843-1360
Phone: (979) 458-2905
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