The conference targets individuals interested in theoretical perspectives, policy, planning, program and training ideas designed to assist higher education institutions in the creation of more inclusive higher education environments, improved interracial relations and expanded opportunities for educational access and success in culturally diverse atmospheres. The conference highlights exemplary approaches and working models that are adaptable to institutions searching for ways to increase the diversity and the communication between ethnicities of their communities.

  Keynote speakers for the event and their topics include:

   *  Clarence Page, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and member of the
      Chicago Tribune editorial board, "Getting the Diversity Story Right"
   *  Charlotte A. Black Elk, political and environmental activist, "Katela:
      Teaching Stories of Forty-One Generations of Lakota Women"
   *  Carlos A. Munoz Jr., professor emeritus at University of California at
      Berkeley and syndicated columnist with the Progressive Media Project,
      "The Struggle for Multi-racial Democracy in the 21st Century"
   *  Bob H. Suzuki, president, California State Polytechnic University,
      "Embracing Diversity: An Imperative for Progress in a Democratic
      Society"

  Conference headquarters will be the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers.

The event is the leading and most comprehensive national forum on issues of race and ethnicity in higher education. It is sponsored by the Southwest Center for Human Relations Studies, Public and Community Services Division of University of Oklahoma Outreach.

For more information on the conference, visit www.ncore.ou.edu .

Source: The University of Oklahoma

CONTACT: Pari Navabi of The University of Oklahoma, +1-405-292-4172

Web site: http://www.ncore.ou.edu/