Michael Tilford Conference 2022 | October 6-7, 2022 | Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas

Theme: After Brown v. Board, No Turning Back: The Future of Diversity and Multiculturalism

The Kansas Board of Regents’ Michael Tilford Conference on Diversity and Multiculturalism Program Committee seeks submissions for the annual Tilford Conference to be held October 6th and 7th, 2022 at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas.

Proposals will be accepted until July 15, 2022 @ 5:00pm.

Notices of acceptance/decline will be sent in August 2022.


The Michael Tilford Conference on Diversity and Multiculturalism is a regional conference guided by the Kansas Board of Regents’ Council of Chief Diversity Officers established in 2018. The conference is an opportunity for critical work and discussion regarding educational equity, diversity and multiculturalism in Kansas.

The goal of the Tilford Conference this year is to assess our progress towards greater diversity, and multiculturalism since the landmark legal decision in Brown v. Board that ordered the desegregation of public schools in the United States while declaring segregated schools “inherently unequal” and unconstitutional.  It will also examine the many challenges and inequities that remain. The conference will feature research and professional development to provide participants with tools to continue to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in Kansas education and work environments so that the full promise of Brown v. Board may one day be realized.

Who Should Propose to Present at Tilford?

Everyone is welcome to propose a paper, poster, roundtable, or workshop at this year’s Tilford. This includes students, faculty, staff, and administrators at colleges and universities, as well as community members and business/industry partners. Submitting a proposal does not register you for conference attendance; that will occur at a later date.

Conference Format

In 2022, the Tilford conference will return to a two-day format. At this time, we anticipate that the conference will take place wholly in person. We invite proposals for five kinds of conference sessions:

  • Poster presentation (visual presentation of research or project)
  • Individual papers (one individually written paper, which conference organizers may group with other individual papers into a panel)
  • Paper panels (consisting of up to five individually written papers whose authors have organized in advance around a theme or topic)
  • Roundtables (a facilitated group conversation), and
  • Workshops (highly interactive sessions)
Panel sessions will last 80 minutes. Roundtables and workshops can be 35 minutes or 80 minutes. Poster sessions will take place on Thursday, October 6, 2022. All other sessions will take place on Friday, October 7, 2022. Unfortunately, we are not able to accept requests for specific session times.
Each conference room includes a screen and projector; additional audio-visual or technology needs are the responsibility of presenters. Finally, we ask session proposers to identify one or more of the following audiences for their session: students, faculty, staff, administrators, and local communities.
Submissions are evaluated by a team of conference organizers for topic, time, relevance to the conference theme and relevance to diversity, multiculturalism and belonging in higher education.

Submission Instructions

Proposers can submit their proposals through the proposal form

The deadline to apply is July 15, 2022 @5:00pm. We are unable to accept late submissions.

All proposals must include the following to receive full consideration:

For Posters

  1. Title of poster
  2. Name, title, institutional affiliation, email address, and 25-word biography for the poster author
  3. Poster abstract of up to 100 words
  4. Up to three keywords related to your poster
  5. Intended audience(s): faculty, staff, student, senior administrator, community member, business and industry)
  6. Accommodations

For Individual Papers

(an individual 15-minute paper which the conference organizers may group together with other individual papers into paper panels)

  1. Title of your paper
  2. Name, title, institutional affiliation, email address, and 25-word biography for the paper author
  3. Paper abstract of up to 100 words
  4. Up to three keywords related to your paper
  5. Intended audience(s): faculty, staff, student, senior administrator, community member, business and industry)
  6. Accommodations

For Paper Panels

(maximum of five, 15-minute papers per 80-minute panel)

  1. Title of panel
  2. Name, title, institutional affiliation, email address, and 25-word biography for the session organizer 
  3. Panel abstract of up to 100 words
  4. Up to three keywords related to your session 
  5. Intended audience(s): faculty, staff, student, senior administrator, community member, business and industry)
  6. Name, title, institutional affiliation, email address, 25-word biography, paper title, and paper abstract (of up to 100 words) for each session participant
  7. Up to three keywords related to each paper
  8. Accommodations

For Roundtables and Workshops (35 or 80 minutes) 

  1. Title of roundtable or workshop
  2. Time: will your session be 35 or 80 minutes?
  3. Name, title, institutional affiliation, email address, and 25-word biography for the session organizer
  4. Name, title, institutional affiliation, email address, and 25-word biography for each session participant
  5. Intended audience(s): faculty, staff, student, senior administrator, community member, business and industry)
  6. Session abstract of up to 100 words
  7. Up to three keywords related to your session
  8. Accommodations

If you have any questions about your submission, please contact: dds@washburn.edu.

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