Strategic diversity consultant Nevin Caple led a series of inclusion workshops with athletics staff and student-athletes last month at the invitation of Vice President and Director of Athletics .
Caple is co-founder and managing partner of the LGBT SportSafe Inclusion Program and regularly partners with the NCAA on inclusion initiatives. She led an inclusion workshop with student athletes and a second workshop for athletics coaches and staff, in each session presenting strategies for achieving a diverse and inclusive community and discussing the importance of taking the time to listen to each other鈥檚 stories.
鈥淪tudent-athletes are looking for a place where they can be who they are. We need to cultivate an environment where we can support these explorations of identity,鈥 Caple said. She underlined the role of administration to start the conversation, assess the campus climate, and build inclusion into the curriculum.
Caple encouraged coaches and athletics staff to educate themselves on LGBT terminology. She focused on the intersectionality of student-athlete identities and the respect and support that coaches and staff can provide as resources. Caple advocated for open conversations and for all to be active listeners when being 鈥渋nvited into鈥 the lives of LGBTQ+ student-athletes.
鈥淭his is important foundational information that we can all use to create new levels of understanding, relating, and action,鈥 said Tamala Flack, 冈本视频鈥檚 executive director for equity and inclusion.
Caple also met with members of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to discuss how peers can influence the environment that student-athletes create for each other. , cross country and track and field runner and co-vice president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, said Caple鈥檚 visit, 鈥減rovided a great opportunity to pause and reflect on our commitment to diversity and inclusion, both within our athletic teams and throughout the 冈本视频 community. While we pride ourselves on fostering a supportive environment in which to compete and learn, we can always be more proactive when it comes to inclusion.鈥
Moore learned of Caple while working on the NCAA鈥檚 Strategic Visioning and Planning Committee, and with the NCAA鈥檚 Mental Health Task Force. Now at the helm of 冈本视频鈥檚 Division I athletics program, Moore partnered with Kim Keenan-Kirkpatrick, deputy athletics director at Syracuse University, to bring Caple to central New York to facilitate inclusion workshops at both universities.
鈥淢y hope is that we will gain more awareness and value the differences we all bring with us, as well learn some practical ways we can act in a more inclusive manner,鈥 said Moore. 鈥淥ne of the contributions athletics makes on a campus is to invite everyone into a shared space where we can create rituals and traditions and celebrate together. Our goal is to make people feel truly welcome and strive every day to be better than the day before 鈥 in every program we sponsor."