![Strategic diversity leadership expert Damon A. Williams spoke about the courageous role that innovators can play in higher education diversity and inclusion work during his Thursday [Jan. 31] keynote address at Mississippi State’s Diversity Conference. The annual event was organized by the MSU President’s Commission on the Status of Minorities. (Photo by Logan Kirkland)](/sites/www.msstate.edu/files/inline-images/Our_Voices_2019_Diversity_Conference_01312019_4LK8589_half.jpg "Portrait of Damon A. Williams")
Contact: Sasha Steinberg
STARKVILLE, Miss.—During a Thursday [Jan. 31] keynote address at Mississippi State’s seventh Diversity Conference, strategic diversity leadership expert Damon A. Williams said the courageous pursuit of innovation is a key component for creating a diverse and inclusive learning environment in higher education.
Williams, who has worked with more than 700 colleges and universities, Fortune 100 companies, foundations and government agencies, said student leaders, teachers and administrators can make a difference by having a willingness to learn, building new relationships, and challenging privilege and bias.
![Damon A. Williams’ keynote address is among events taking place during Mississippi State’s annual Diversity Conference, running through Friday [Feb. 1] at The Mill at MSU in Starkville. (Photo by Logan Kirkland)](/sites/www.msstate.edu/files/inline-images/Our_Voices_2019_Diversity_Conference_01312019_4LK8769_half.jpg "Portrait of Damon A. Williams")
“Diversity and inclusion work is not static. It requires a deep commitment and courageous leadership over time,” Williams said. “We need more folks who are courageous in different ways to come together with a spirit of humility to get things done. It’s that everyday courage that drives a culture of inclusive excellence.”
Throughout his presentation, Williams highlighted specific characteristics of innovators across a variety of sectors, from higher education to corporate businesses to government.
“Some of the most powerful research happens through very simple questions,” he said. “Innovators are always questioning their work and looking for solutions wherever they can find them.”
Williams said innovators are open to experimenting with new ideas and participating in discussions with other scholars and leaders who are proactively searching for ways to improve diversity-related issues and matters.
“One of the things I like about conferences like this is that they offer an opportunity to bring together individuals who are in some ways like-minded and like-hearted in trying to find a pathway to innovation, and that pathway happens at the intersection of academic and student affairs,” he said. “It happens at the intersection of race, gender and ethnicity. It happens at the intersection of different types of conversation. Conversations that are happening together—that’s the place where innovation happens.”
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.