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Celebration of UCM Inclusivity Day Launches Beginning of Annual Observance
By Jeff Murphy, October 11, 2022
Sydney Alexander, a University of Central Missouri student who chairs the Student
Government Association's Inclusivity Committee, speaks during the first UCM Inclusivity
Day observance on Oct. 10, an event she championed in her role in student governance.
WARRENSBURG, MO – University of Central Missouri President Roger Best this week encouraged faculty, staff and students to appreciate the differences each individual brings to the campus community because it contributes to the institution’s strength. His remarks were made to a gathering at the quadrangle celebrating the first UCM Inclusivity Day, an event that coincided with a national observance.
“October 10, 2022 is being observed as World Inclusion Day,” Best told the gathering. “It is a day dedicated to being accepted, a day in which we strive to ensure that we all feel a sense of belonging in our place, and that acceptance exists regardless of background or abilities.”
Best thanked the Student Government Association for legislation it adopted recommending the celebration of UCM Inclusivity Day. After traveling through the student governance process, the SGA legislation was given final approval by Best, who publicly acknowledged the work of SGA member Sydney Alexander who championed this measure. The senior political science major from St. Louis, who also serves as SGA secretary and chair of the group’s Inclusivity Committee, was instrumental in helping to coordinate the day’s activities.
Praising the purpose of this special day, Best said the university will set aside one day annually for the “commemoration of our diversity and inclusivity efforts, a day on which we will not only acknowledge our commonalities but celebrate our differences, and as a day that we recognize that regardless of background, regardless of ability, we have much to contribute to each other and to the University of Central Missouri.”
He said members of the UCM community have much in common. Those commonalities create a bond with each other and the institution, but the president added, “our difference actually make us stronger.”
“Just as an investment manager will tell you that a key to preservation wealth is diversification, the key to our being an even better institution lies in our diversity. Really, can you imagine how boring it would be if we all were the same? It’s as a famous ad used to encourage us: ‘Be one, not the same,’” he said in concluding his remarks, while also encouraging those attending to celebrate inclusivity all year long.
Prior to the president’s remarks, Alexander expressed her appreciation for Best’s decision to approve UCM Inclusivity Day. She said the event was the result of a lot of outreach to students, particularly to help them understand that there are plenty of organizations in which they can get involved on campus.
“It means a lot,” she said in talking about the president’s support for this event. “It shows the dedication and hard work we have put in within the year we’ve been around in SGA has come to fruition and you can see it as it allows students who otherwise might not have been talking to each other to do that in this space. It means everything. That’s what we’re here for.”
In addition to dance performances by the Association of Black Collegians and Zeta Phi Beta, several student organizations and representatives were on hand to visit with students
and help them understand how they can get involved. They shared information about their upcoming events, and were part of a “Think Box” conversation to enable student organizations to brainstorm ideas for possible events together while also collectively considering ways to make the campus more inclusive.
Over the past several months, the university has actively been engaged in efforts dedicated toward diversity, equity and inclusion. President Best established a commission that is looking at different ways to build awareness of issues that can impact a strong community environment, and enhance opportunities for all members of the campus community to feel welcome and included.
