Session Description:
DEI efforts can be transformative, but only when co-created by students. DEI initiatives must disrupt
dominant power within us, our work process systems, and our campus cultures. In this session, we
will explore strategies for disruption through co-creation and investigate discomfort in sharing power.
When DEI is rooted in co-creation and a commitment to engage our discomfort, we can foster growth
and address systemic gaps that perpetuate harm to students. Co-creation challenges us to nurture
a culture of belonging and accountability while inspiring leadership within us, and our students, that
embodies equity both within and beyond an academic space.
Session Objectives: - Identify strategies for sharing power with students and co-creating the student experience at
your institution.
- Demonstrate how to intentionally and continuously reflect and engage our discomfort regarding
sharing power.
- Establish the effectiveness of co-creation and reflection regarding discomfort.
Themes:
Institutional, instructional, and co-curricular strategies for advancing DEI and strategies for addressing
challenges to advance DEI
Audience:
Higher Education faculty, staff and administrators; those supporting secondary students may benefit as
well
Presenters:
Meaghan Davis, EdD (she/they), Farmingdale State College
Kiara Moran (she/her), Pace University
Presenter Biographies:
Meaghan Davis (she/they) is a passionate cocreator of liberatory spaces, committed to reimagining
higher education by pushing the boundaries of what is possible. Currently, she is working at SUNY
Farmingdale to cobuild a transformative first-year experience that centers students as they navigate
the awesome, critical, and formidable transition to college. In 2024, meaghan completed their doctoral
dissertation, Cocreating Liberatory Spaces in Higher Education, positing the Model for Liberatory
Spaces in Higher Education. meaghan is also a proud UCONN husky, and a dedicated basketball fan.
Kiara Moran (she/her) is a first year PsyD student in the School-Clinical Psychology Program at Pace
University. She is passionate about understanding and addressing generational trauma in children and
adolescents, particularly within underserved communities. Outside of her academic work, Kiara enjoys
reading, with The Empyrean series currently at the top of the list of her favorite books.