Men of Color Summit wins “outstanding program” award

In fall 2019, a committee assembled to create a conference to “educate, empower and motivate students to strive for excellence in education.” The idea was to gather students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members for a day of discussion primarily centered around issues impacting men of color. The inaugural conference, or summit, was scheduled for spring 2020. And then, COVID-19 arrived.

Richie Sebuharara, assistant director at the Multicultural Resource Center and one of the conference committee chairpersons, explained how the pandemic changed the course of the spring summit.

“The developing situation around the pandemic posed a big challenge during the planning,” Sebuharara said. “We were less than a month out from the intended conference day when everything shut down. We considered postponing until fall (2020), but we were firm in our decision that this should be a face-to-face experience. We didn’t want to go virtual in our first year, so we decided to wait.”

The following year, the committee reconvened to plan the inaugural Men of Color Summit for spring 2022. Along with Sebuharara, planning members included Jennifer Keegin, associate director for campus activities; Derek Jorden, resident director, Residential Life; Quanison Wright, deputy chief, New York State University Police at Binghamton; Tanyah Barnes, associate director of operations, Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; JR Beckford, project assistant, CSTEP; Kalis Nunes, community director, Broome Community College; Andrew Morrison, Iota Theta Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.; and student members from the Men of Color Scholastic Society and the Student Association.

“We wanted to create an experience that we knew would be impactful for attendees,” Keegin said. “It was also an opportunity to create deeper connections for students that they would not necessarily get at other events. We considered the data on men of color and their needs for success as well as the stages of student development while in college. We looked at what would create a stronger community for young men at Binghamton and worked from there.”

On April 22, 2022, the first Men of Color Summit took place in the Innovative Technologies Complex at Binghamton University. The event featured workshops, a professional panel of alumni and a keynote address from journalist and anchor for MSNBC and NBC News, Richard Lui. Over 100 students attended, representing regional colleges, universities and local high schools.

“We all felt it was a great success,” Jorden said. “By the end of the event, it was clear that connections had been made, and there was a lot of positive energy in the room as attendees were sharing contact information with one another. It made all of the meetings, the hurdles, the cancellations and the last-minute changes worth it.”

Conference recognized by ACUI

Binghamton has been a member of the Association of College Unions International (ACUI) for over 25 years. Founded in 1914, ACUI is a nonprofit educational organization that brings together college union and student activities professionals from hundreds of schools across multiple countries. Regional member associations serve as primary points of engagement, providing leadership training, networking and professional development opportunities.

In November, Binghamton was host (for the first time) to the ACUI Region VII Conference. The conference had over 100 attendees, including professional staff, students and sponsors from 29 institutions. At the conference awards ceremony, Binghamton’s 2022 Men of Color Summit planning committee accepted the Teresa D. Drummond Memorial Award for “executing an outstanding multicultural program, event or activity with an emphasis on cross-cultural communication and acceptance.”

Keegin, who submitted the ACUI award application, is thrilled to see the program recognized.

“Nothing like this previously existed at Binghamton,” she said. “We waited so long to ensure that the summit took place in person, but it was worth the wait. It was a passion project for us that went beyond our jobs and was an opportunity to give back. Seeing the responses from the attendees — the smiles, the hugs and the conversations — made it all worth it. To win an award was icing on the cake!”

MOC Summit returns in 2023

Plans are underway for the follow-up to last year’s summit. The Men of Color Summit 2023 will take place April 15 in the Innovation Technologies Complex. This year, the committee has added a networking mixer for Friday evening (April 14) in the TAU Bearcat Room in the University Events Center. And they hope to expand the conference’s reach.

“We are broadening our outreach to include more students, alumni and institutions,” Sebuharara said. “It’s part of our overall effort to include a wide variety of perspectives to create a rich and experiential program for all attendees.”

For more information about the 2023 Men of Color Summit, contact Richie Sebuharara at isebuhar@binghamton.edu or Jennifer Keegin at jkeegin@binghamton.edu.