Nebraska Athletics started the annual Diversity and Inclusion Summit in 2016, with the help of Diversity and Inclusion coordinator Dr. Lawrence Chatters and Senior Associate Director of Athletics for Life Skills and Enrichment Keith Zimmer. With the help of the Husker Athletics Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Life Skills developed the inaugural Diversity and Inclusion Summit for all staff, coaches and student-athletes to attend. Each year, student-athletes attend a session, while staff and coaches typically attend the session the next day.

Purpose:
The Husker Diversity and Inclusion Summit Nebraska Athletics Diversity and Inclusion Summit aims to educate all student-athletes and staff regarding the power and importance of diversity, equity, inclusion, acceptance and unity. Nebraska Athletics strives to be a national leader in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Each year, the summit aims to address a different aspect of diversity, equity, and inclusion, while expanding the definitions and understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion to all participants.

Previous summits have included local, national and international presenters that have spanned across a number of topics concerning diversity , equity and inclusion, including but not limited to:

• The international student experience
• LGBTQA+ Allyship
• Diversity and Mental Health
• Intersectionality
• Physical and Cognitive Disability Awareness
• Racial and Ethnic Diversity

 
2016 Inaugural Summit



The 2016 Summit featured Carlos Andres Gomez, Rohan Murphy and Coach Rhonda Revelle. Gomez, an esteemed speaker, poet and author, shared a message about intersectionality and how diversity is tied to identity.
Murphy spoke about his upbringing and his experience as a NCAA wrestler. Losing his legs at birth, Murphy wrestled in high school and went on to wrestle at Penn State University, eventually transitioning to a Paralympian following his collegiate career. Murphy’s message emphasized accepting differences and the experience of a student-athlete with a disability.
Husker Letterwinner Eric Lueschen returned to his alma mater to detail his experience as an openly gay player on the Nebraska football team. He encouraged the audience to accept LGBTQA+ individuals as they are, and that this acceptance is key to creating a more inclusive environment for everyone to thrive.
To close, Nebraska head softball Coach Rhonda Revelle shared stories of inclusion and her personal challenges she had in her family, and encouraged the audience to appreciate differences. “What makes a rainbow colorful? The colors… the different colors,” said Revelle.
 
2017 Summit Recap:
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The 2017 Summit program featured three keynote speakers – human rights activist Dr. Richard Lapchick, diversity consultant Nevin Caple and Hungary native Reka Czuth, a junior jumper on the Nebraska women’s track and field team.
 
Lapchick founded the Center for the Study of Sport in Society, which created the Institute for Sports and Social Justice. A pioneer for racial equality and regarded as the nation’s expert on sport and social issues, Lapchick helped design the Degree Completion Program and created National Student-Athlete Day. A prolific writer (16 books, 550 articles), Lapchick also launched the DeVos Sports Business Management Program at the University of Central Florida. Lapchick’s message referenced “The Huddle”, the idea that in sport, regardless of your type of difference, you need everyone in the huddle to play effectively and win.
 
Caple is a sports advocate who engages, educates and empowers LGBTQ. She is a NCAA presenter who also consults with college, professional and high school teams and coaches. A member of the Wade Trophy selection committee, Caple co-founded the SportsSafe Inclusion and Silence campaign. A collegiate basketball student-athlete, Caple was also among LGBT emerging leaders honored at the White House. Caple’s message encouraged the audience to understand that when LGBTQ individuals interact with you, it is because of their level of trust with you, and recognizing that is key to making them feel more included.
 
Czuth was a marketing major at UNL. The 2015 Big Ten Conference long jumper and NCAA qualifier in both the high jump and triple jump in 2016, Czuth earned 2016 first-team All-America honors in the NCAA Outdoors high jump. She was also an academic All-Big Ten honoree and a member of the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team. Czuth shared her journey and experience as an international student-athlete.
Following the speakers’ incisive remarks, all student-athletes and all staff members and coaches participated in interactive roundtable discussions regarding diversity, inclusion and action steps that will enable understanding and reinforce unity and teamwork.
 
2018 Summit Recap:
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The 2018 Summit focused on the topic of wellness, and allowed those in attendance to discover commonalities within their differences. Featured keynote speaker Dr. Derek Greenfield has spent over 20 years as a college professor and administrator. Prior to that Greenfield served as a youth worker in inner-city Chicago. Greenfield currently serves on the Board of Directors for three non-profit organizations and holds a prestigious position as a Kellogg Fellow.
After some ice-breaking activities to ease students in, the conversation took a more serious tone.
Students shared stories from their past and personal struggles. One girl told the group about her social anxiety that few people knew about. She was immediately surrounded by a mosh pit of friends and teammates. Another young man talked about how, at five-years-old, he watched his brother die from a drive-by shooting and how he honors his brother’s memory by playing his sport.
 
Another activity consisted of students standing up if a statement applied to them. One statement – “Stand if you have ever considered hurting yourself” – had a handful of students out of their seats and observers in tears.
 
After each statement, or after each student spoke about their experiences, the scene afterwards was special, as peers rushed to support their teammates and friends.
 
Greenfield explained to the students how impactful teams and sports can be, saying “the power of sports is you can literally save lives. Your teammates have your back. You can be a lifesaver.” And during the 2018 Summit, Greenfield showed Nebraska student-athletes exactly how it does.
 
2019 Summit Recap:
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With the Power of Sport and the Power of Music, the 2019 Summit theme used two everyday life experiences to show how diversity and inclusion can be used in our daily lives. Nebraska Athletics will hosts its 4th annual Diversity and Inclusion Summit, focusing on the Power of Sport and the Power of Music. The themes will reveal how two common constants in our everyday lives, drive the message of inclusion.
The 2019 Summit featured the Brazilian Twins, a musical group based in Iowa. Born and raised in Brazil, Walter and Wagner were exposed to detrimental living conditions as young boys growing up. Their father, a musical instrument maker, urged the twins to play and practice violin. As time passed, the Twins would go on to perform throughout Brazil, and eventually throughout the United States, showcasing their musical talent and promoting their message of positivity. Enrolling in the University of Northern Iowa, Walter and Wagner transitioned from international, previously unknown students to campus favorites, and eventually, full time performers, impacting thousands of music lovers with their energy, passion, and diverse upbringing.
 
Local Special Olympics staff and athletes attended the Summit, providing real life examples of their stories of inclusion, respect, acceptance and unity. Rachel Mulligan, a Papillion, Nebraska native, spoke about her personal journey with Special Olympics. Mulligan serves as an ambassador for the organization, often speaking to groups about her personal journey with Special Olympics and Inclusion.
 
Zemua Baptista (Wrestling), Mohamed Barry (Football), Emily Cheramie (Rifle), Angela Mercurio (Track & Field), and Zach Peters (Gymnastics) all took a brief moment to detail personal anecdotes surrounding diversity and inclusion. This final act brought the Summit’s message full circle, as student-athletes and staff were able relate the words of Mulligan and the Brazilian Twins to the world of college athletics.

2020 Summit Recap:
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Each year, Nebraska Athletics hosts a Diversity and Inclusion Summit for both student-athletes and staff to attend. The 2020 Summit impacted nearly 1000 people in 2 days and served as a timely reminder of what it takes to build and maintain an inclusive environment in Nebraska athletics and beyond. Nebraska Athletics welcomed nationally recognized speaker Justin Jones Fosu to campus to discuss his philosophy of "Embracing Everyday Diversity; Moving from Head to Heart." 
 
Men's Track and Field student-athlete, Sadio Fenner kicked off the student-athlete summit by sharing his story about being negatively stereotyped during a previous educational experience. He spoke about how he rose above the judgment and stereotypes placed upon him to complete the International Baccalaureate program, the only black male at his high school to do so. Director of Recruiting Operations for Women's Basketball, Katie Adams, shared her story as a member of the 2007 Rutgers women's basketball team to begin the staff summit programming. Adams and the Rutgers team reached the NCAA championship, but received harsh racial and derogatory comments following the game. Adams emphasized how this experience impacted her team and how it molded her view on inclusion and exclusion. 
 
Fosu followed the student-athlete and staff member testimonies by sharing his philosophy of embracing everyday difference. The focus on his presentation centered on that understanding that diversity is simply put: difference. Often, people view diversity only through the larger constructs of sexuality, race, or gender. Fosu encouraged attendees to recognize that until one can realize diversity is simply any type of differences that impacts every one of us, creating change at a larger level will be more challenging. 
 
Throughout the program, Fosu challenged staff members and athletes to get outside of their comfort zone and be vulnerable enough to show when they were excluded with a "Get up, Stand up" activity. Fosu continuously challenged the staff and students to be more "inviting" instead of "welcoming". He argued that this simple change of behavior, paired with seeking to be more interested in others than being interesting to others, can make a huge impact.
 
Another key example discussed by Fosu was the "right hand paradigm". Through this discussion, he explained how learning that he was right handed in a right handed world served as an analogy for not recognizing the privileges you have, when others might be facing difficulties with the same thing. He urged the audience to use their "right handedness" to benefit others who do not hold those same privileges. Wrapping up the Summit, both student-athletes and staff were encouraged to embrace everyday differences in an effort to create a more inclusive culture within their teams, the athletic department, and their personal lives.



2021 Summit Recap:


Husker student-athletes and staff completed the 6th annual diversity and inclusion summit by honoring the past, living the present and creating the future. A motto frequently used by athletic director Bill Moos; athletics utilized the theme #BuiltForThis to show Huskers how the past has made Nebraska built to maintain an inclusive environment. 
 
The 2021 Summit featured several current and former Huskers. Speakers included current Husker Bowling head coach Paul Klempa, bowling student-athlete Leah Glazer, former Husker Preston Love, current executive specialist Linsey Chamberlin, diversity and inclusion postgraduate intern Jeff DeVaughn, and community organizer Eric Reiter. The group of presenters all brought a unique perspective to our Summit this year and showed that they are #BuiltForThis. The annual Summit was held via Zoom, featuring an opening video narrated by Nebraska wrestling letter winner Jordan Burroughs. Burroughs is an Olympic gold medalist, and walked the participants through the history of Nebraska Athletics through an inclusive lens. 

The Summit was meant to inspire current student-athletes, staff, and coaches to build off the history and continue to fight for what is right and wrong. Wearing that "N" on means that you are #BuiltForThis will continue to create inclusive environments wherever you may be. For the athletes and staff alike, the historical perspective was inspiring and provided new perspectives. "I love the fact we had people from different sports and different parts of the world and that played in different eras to speak, it changed how I look at diversity as a whole" said football student-athlete Jamin Graham. #BuiltForThis is your own personal challenge on what you want to leave an impact on. It can be social justice, diversity and inclusion, or community service. From this summit, hopefully dialogue will spark an action of doing to help better create more inclusive spaces within our department, locker rooms, and community. 
 
With a diverse lineup and breakout sessions, the 2021 Diversity and Inclusion Summit allowed those in attendance to discover commonalities, differences, and allowed attendants to become more self-aware about Nebraska Athletics inclusive history. Participants had the opportunity to have a dialogue about all different aspects of diversity and inclusion, and challenge themselves on how they are #BuiltForThis. As we know, diversity and inclusion experiences are not just onetime events. From the survey that was presented, 82% of staff either agreed or strongly agreed that the Summit made them more likely to engage in additional diversity and inclusion related programs. Following the Summit, Nebraska Athletics provided staff members with monthly experiences, gathered from a number of campus resources to ensure the education and awareness continues to grow within our department. The Summit serves as a reminder of the commitment to inclusion, and Nebraska Athletics is rising to the next level as an inclusive Department of Athletics.