Stetson University’s Values Day will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 26, according to the Values Day Committee.

The University will celebrate its annual Values Day tradition of taking a day from classes to explore the core values of personal growth, intellectual development and global citizenship. The schedule includes workshops, a Global Citizenship Fair, a community lunch for students, faculty and staff, and a service project to build a Community Garden in Spring Hill.

The 2017 Values Day speaker is Irshad Manji. She is the Founder and Director of the Moral Courage Project, which equips students to make values-based decisions. She has turned her journey as a Muslim feminist reformer and lesbian activist into teachings about professional leadership, informed by cutting-edge research that connects across the disciplines. Her keynote address will be “The Diversity Dilemma,” exploring ways to engage in honest and constructive conversations in an era of deep polarization.

The New York Society for Ethical Culture has given Manji the Ethical Humanist Award. And Oprah Winfrey awarded Manji the first annual Chutzpah Award for “audacity, nerve, boldness and conviction.” Manji has also produced a PBS documentary in the America at a Crossroads series titled “Faith Without Fear” and the documentary was nominated for a 2008 Emmy Award.

To learn more about Manji and her work, please visit her personal website and her NYU project.

This year’s R.E.A.D. (Reflect Engage & Affirm Diversity) book, “Allah, Liberty and Love” (2011), is written by Manji. Manji describes the book as an effort to “reconcile faith and freedom in a world seething with repressive dogmas.” One of the key teachings of Manji’s work and a universal theme in her book is “moral courage” or the willingness to question, speak up, and be a courageous global citizen in a world filled with inequities. To check out a description of her book, visit the following site or Amazon.

For faculty, staff and students eager to read the book prior to Values Day and for faculty/staff members interested in integrating the book in 2017-2018 courses, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion has generously ordered books. Additionally, copies will be made available during the R.E.A.D. session at Values Day.

For any inquiries or questions regarding Values Day, please contact Dr. Chris Bell ([email protected]), Savannah-Jane Griffin ([email protected]), or me ([email protected]).

In community,
Rajni Shankar-Brown, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Jessie Ball duPont Chair of Social Justice Education
Director of Education Graduate Programs
Stetson University

 

2017 Values Day Schedule

The schedule for the day includes:

• The Past is Present: Race, History, and Community in DeLand Bus Tour (RSVP Required)
• Spring Hill Community Garden Build (RSVP Required)
• Opening Remarks, Peace Corps Prep Program Launch Announcement and Keynote Address Dr. Irshad Manji
• Global Citizenship Fair
• Stetson R.E.A.D. – Exploring Faith and Freedom (RSVP Required)
• Hand Art Center Exhibits
• Workshop Block 1 (Scan Cultural Credit in front of CUB from 3:15 p.m.-5 p.m.)
• Workshop Block 2 (Scan Cultural Credit in front of CUB from 4:30 p.m.-5 p.m.)
• Acirema Simulation (RSVP Required)

There are nine cultural credit opportunities throughout the day from which students can choose. Students will be able to receive cultural credit after most events in the location that the event happens, though cultural credit for workshops will be given by the Honors Council table in front of the Carlton Union Building from 3:15 p.m. to 5 p.m.