The goal of fulfilling commitments to equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in higher education has come up against the harsh reality of entrenched systemic racism and the ongoing exclusion of Black, Indigenous and other racialized persons. In our contemporary moment, it is clear that our current approaches to EDI are broken and will not achieve our intended goal. In his keynote address, educator and writer Neil Price will outline how we arrived at this critical juncture, and discuss why EDI—as it is typically delivered—will not shift our institutions toward change. Neil’s presentation will provoke critical questions and dialogue related to ways in which educators, administrators, faculty and students can begin to collectively think our way toward new and urgently needed approaches.
Neil Price is an educator, writer and editor whose work focuses on community, higher education and culture. Neil is currently Dean at Fleming College’s School of Justice and Community Development, and is pursuing a PhD student in Adult Education and Community Development at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) – University of Toronto. Neil is the former Executive Director of LogicalOutcomes, a not-for-profit consulting firm that aims to improve the effectiveness of human services work and social policy. His writing has appeared in NOW Magazine, Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Hazlitt, Canadian Art and This Magazine. A CivicAction Fellow, Neil taught at George Brown College for over 10 years.
