Norma Holland kicks off diversity speaker series

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A. Sue Weisler

Norma Holland emceed the 2016 Expressions of King’s Legacy event at RIT and this year kicks off the Division of Diversity and Inclusion Speaker Series Sept. 18.

Local news anchor Norma Holland will be the first of three notable figures to address the Rochester Institute of Technology community as part of RIT’s 2017 Division of Diversity and Inclusion Speaker Series. The speaker series brings diverse scholars, cultural critics and community members to discuss campus climate, institutional infrastructure, the relationship between access and success, and intercultural relations.

Holland has anchored 13WHAM News This Morning and Good Day Rochester since 2002 and has worked at WHAM-TV since 1996. She is also host of the public affairs show, Many Voices, Many Visions, which airs on Sunday mornings. Holland will speak from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 18, in the MOSAIC Center on the second floor of the Student Alumni Union, room 2510. The focus of her talk will be on staying motivated.

“We are excited to present such a wonderful lineup of guest speakers this fall,” said Stephanie Paredes, RIT’s multicultural program manager. “Holland will be the perfect person to kick off the series this fall because she has such an exciting personal story to tell and her talk will be an excellent way to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month.”

Julio Saenz will talk about the impact of community service during the second installment of the series on Tuesday, Oct. 24. Saenz is the general manager of Cox Media Group’s Mundo Hispánico portfolio of media products, including Mundo Hispánico, Georgia’s oldest and largest Hispanic newspaper. He is also the general manager of Poder 97.1 WEPL Radio, the first 24 hour Spanish radio station in Rochester, which offers music and educational programming designed to empower the Latino community.

Closing out the fall series with a talk titled “We are First: Celebrating First-Generation College Students” is Joe Williams, a lecturer in RIT’s Department of Criminal Justice who serves as the field experience coordinator. The event will happen Wednesday, Nov. 8. Williams is a former New York state policy analyst with the New York State Assembly. During his 10 years on staff, his focus included budgetary and legislative analysis of all criminal justice programs including the judiciary, law enforcement, corrections and juvenile justice services.

All events are free and open to the public. For more information about the Division of Diversity and Inclusion Speaker Series and other upcoming events, go to the RIT Diversity and Inclusion Webpage.