Diversity and Inclusion Science Initiative

Dr. Maxwell previously served as co-chair of the University of Michigan's Understanding Race Project and chair of the university's Diversity Council. She teaches courses on intergroup issues including social identity, privilege, oppression and power. Additionally, she trains students to facilitate intergroup dialogues. Her recent co-edited book,Facilitating Intergroup Dialogues: Bridging Differences, Catalyzing Change (2011, Stylus) highlights her interest in dialogic pedagogy and practice. More recently, she has been working with faculty on developing inclusive and dialogic classrooms. Her research includes dialogue and intergroup relations issues in education, particularly related to the critical examination of white privilege and its role in maintaining systems of inequity in education. Dr. Maxwell received her PhD in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Arizona State University.

Dr. Kathleen Wong (Lau) is San Jose State's chief diversity officer. Wong (Lau) leads the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, providing vision and direction for university-wide efforts to ensure a welcoming, safe climate for every member of their community and serving as a liaison to community partners and constituents on a wide array of diversity initiatives. Wong (Lau) joins San Jose State from the University of Oklahoma where she served since 2014 as director of the Southwest Center for Human Relations Studies and the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education (NCORE). Her noteworthy accomplishments at Oklahoma included launching faculty training institutes on inclusive teaching, and administrator training on management and leadership for diversity and innovation. In addition, she designed and led an inaugural, mandatory, five-hour Freshmen Diversity Experience training for more than 5,000 students. She also consulted with other academic institutions, with an emphasis on helping faculty and staff support underrepresented and first generation students. Wong (Lau) received a bachelor's degree in speech communication from CSU Hayward (now CSU East Bay) before completing a dual master's/doctorate program in communication with an intercultural concentration at Arizona State University. She was named in 2015 by Diverse Issues in Higher Education as one of Women's History Month's "Top 25 Women in Higher Education," contributing to transformation and change in the United States.