'Global Voices' theme of 2016 Abriendo Puertas forum
Kim Chaudoin | 615.966.6494 |
Community leaders will gather at Lipscomb University’s annual Abriendo Puertas (Opening Doors) forum Wednesday, Feb. 10, to engage in deliberate dialogue about Nashville’s future as a multicultural city and how to empower those diverse voices in the community.
This year’s forum, “Global Voices Today: An Initiative of Abriendo Puertas,” is presented by Lipscomb’s College of Education and Office of Intercultural Development.
The forum will feature the stories and experiences of several diverse voices in the community including Renata Soto, co-founder and executive director of Conexion Américas representing community voices; Leslie Deakins, ESL teachers at Metro’s Haywood Elementary School, representing teacher and refugee voices; and a panel comprised of local Latino student scholars representing student voices.
Lipscomb University’s L. Randolph Lowry, president; Deborah Boyd, interim dean, College of Education; Laura Delgado, program director, Pionero Scholars Program; Jeanne G. Fain, associate professor and lead faculty for English Language Learners program; and Lisa Steele, assistant dean of intercultural affairs, will also be featured at the forum.
Community leaders and educators in attendance will also have a time of facilitated table group discussion about the issues facing Nashville and how collaboration can help provide solutions.
Lipscomb University’s student body is rapidly reflecting the cross-cultural community around it like never before in the institution’s history. Since 2005, Lipscomb’s minority enrollment has increased 314 percent. This year, 20 percent of the student body is non-Caucasian, which makes Lipscomb one of the most ethnically diverse campuses in Tennessee. Forty-five nations and 43 states (including the District of Columbia) are represented. Lipscomb students also belong to 32 religions.
The Abriendo Puertas initiative, founded by Lipscomb University’s College of Education, is focused on ensuring every child is prepared for and has access to education beyond high school. The Lipscomb University College of Education’s secondary teacher preparation program shares the No. 1 ranking in the nation by the National Council on Teacher Quality in its 2014 Teacher Prep Review. The college’s graduate program in the elementary grades was named No. 14 in the nation. It has also been ranked 15th in the nation on the NCTQ’s Top 25 Best Value rating of colleges of education across the United States released in October.
In 2015, for the fifth year in a row, the College of Education was recognized by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission as one of the most effective teacher preparation programs in the state, listed among only five programs in the state. Lipscomb was also recognized as one of the two largest teacher preparation programs among all private universities in the state.
The forum is free, but registration is required. Click here to register.