Call for Presentation Abstracts

The University of Minnesota is pleased to announce that it is now accepting proposals for presentation abstracts for the 8th Keeping Our Faculty of Color and Indigenous Faculty Symposium (March 3-4, 2022)

This virtual meeting will address one of the most critical challenges facing higher education – the recruitment, development, and retention of faculty of color and Indigenous faculty. Keeping Our Faculty (KOF) is one of the first national meetings focused on advancing faculty diversity in higher education.

The Symposium will feature a keynote presentation and conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winner Isabel Wilkerson author of The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration and Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. It will also feature a Presidents’ Panel, networking events, and additional acclaimed keynote speakers. Confirmed panelists and speakers include Joan T.A. Gabel (President, University of Minnesota), David Wilson (President, Morgan State University), Lori Patton Davis (Professor, The Ohio State University), Karen Diver (Senior Advisor to the President for Native American Affairs, University of Minnesota), Michael Goh (Vice President for Equity and Diversity, University of Minnesota), Sam Museus (Professor, University of California San Diego), and Cristobal Salinas Jr. (Associate Professor, Florida Atlantic University).

The symposium is seeking presentations related to developing, recruiting, retaining, and/or advancing faculty of color and Indigenous faculty in higher education. We encourage new voices and perspectives to join the conversation about progress and continuing needs for institutional transformation that leads to equity. In addition to topics associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased awareness of racial disparities and biases, we are interested in receiving proposals that address one or more of the following questions:

  • What are the most important lessons we’ve learned about diversifying faculty over the past few years? How do we apply those lessons in a changing political, economic, and legal environment? How do we communicate the importance and urgency of increasing faculty diversity in the current political climate? Do we need to re-think the current frameworks we use to discuss and advocate for faculty diversity? If so, from which discourses should we draw inspiration?
  • How can we better leverage theoretical paradigms such as queer theory, critical race theory, and social identity theory to craft innovative approaches to strengthening the pipelines, recruitment, and retention of faculty of color and Indigenous faculty? How has the existing scholarship on faculty diversity advanced equity in the academy?
  • What are the roles of white faculty and administrators in promoting and sustaining diversity and equity among faculty? What are the roles of mentors and role models in building a pipeline? How does the lack of diversity among senior faculty and administrators create challenges for building pipelines and/or improving retention efforts?
  • What inter- and intra-institutional partnerships could creatively and effectively advance faculty diversity? How might colleges and universities collaborate/ build coalitions to improve diversity amongst the faculty of a range of institutions rather than compete for diverse faculty?
  • What community resources and partnerships might be useful for increasing the number of potential faculty of color in the pipeline? What new opportunities are there to increase the number of faculty emerging from marginalized communities?
  • What strategies have worked and what barriers persist in diversifying faculty in STEM fields?
  • What do current models of assessment tell us about measurable success and challenges in diversifying faculty? How might assessment strategies advance the work to diversify faculty?
  • How is discrimination against faculty being acknowledged and addressed? What are the legal, political, policy, and discursive barriers to and facilitators of advancing equity?


Abstracts for the following types of Symposium presentations are submitted for review: 

Paper Presentations (Individual)
These are individual paper presentations on topics, including research and program development, related to the Symposium theme of “Navigating Two Pandemics.” Each presentation will run from 15-20 minutes. It is possible that upon review, individual submissions may be grouped together by Symposium organizers to form panels consisting of 3-4 individual papers that address common themes whose organization can benefit Symposium participants. Abstracts of up to 1000 words should include the presentation title and how the presentation relates to the Symposium theme and to the issues outlined--recruitment, advancement, and retention of Indigenous faculty and faculty of color. Additionally, questions, findings, and strategies based on research and/or program development should be briefly discussed.

Panel Presentations (Group)
Panels provide a space for sharing and exchange between presenters who coordinate their submission and who are working on a common or complementary set of problems through research and/or programming. These are 75-minute sessions that will include a group of 3 or more presenters. We encourage panel submissions representing multiple institutions and/or disciplines. The number of panel presentation sessions is limited. Abstracts of up to 1000 words describing the group concept will include the panel title and how the panel relates to the Symposium theme and to the issues outlined--recruitment, advancement, and retention of Indigenous faculty and faculty of color. Brief descriptions (150-200 words) of the individual presentations included must also be provided.

Poster Presentations (Individual)
Posters feature visual representations of presenter work and provide opportunities for Symposium participants to engage informally with the work. Posters will be featured on the virtual platform for participants to access throughout the Symposium. Abstracts of up to 500 words describing the poster and its goals will be reviewed.


Submission Instructions

Authors are asked to include the requests for information outlined in the presentation descriptions (paper, panel, or poster). Symposium submissions can be made electronically via this website.

In preparation for submission and as you prepare your presentation abstracts, consider the following:

  • The overall focus of your presentation and fit with Symposium theme 
  • The major issues to be addressed
  • Significance of the contributions you wish to make
  • For Panels — How the collective presentations/voices make space for dialogue and exchange
  • For posters — How your visual representations of research or programming work offer new insights and propose ideas you wish to engage with Symposium participants


Presentation Abstract Submission Deadline: January 24, 2021
Notification of Acceptance: February 7, 2022 

Accepted abstracts will be made available on the event website and in the KOF Symposium Program. Please email [email protected] with any questions.