The next Conversations on Diversity presentation will feature Cal State San Bernardino alumnus Jonathan Higgins, who will discuss “Adding a Little Bit More Color to Your Rainbow,” on Thursday, Jan. 26.
The free event presented by the University Diversity Committee will take place 2-3:30 p.m. at the John M. Pfau Library room PL 5005.
Higgins has worked closely with multiple LGBTQ and multicultural organizations, including the Gender and Sexuality Alliance Networks of Los Angeles, Campus Pride and, most recently, the Young Black Gay Men’s Leadership Institute. He has been named to the National Black Justice Coalition‘s “100 Black Gay Emerging Leaders to Watch” and was just recently published in Mused Magazine.
Currently, he is working on publishing a chapter on the intersectional experiences of queer students of color in higher education and an article that examines the fit and professionalism of queer black student affairs professionals.
Higgins’s legacy is that of firsts. Not only was he the first born in his family, but he is also the first in his family to complete a terminal degree. Born in Los Angeles, Higgins spent most of his years in San Bernardino.
He received his bachelor of arts in communications studies from CSUSB, where he began his professional career working with the then-Office of Housing and Residential Life (now the Office of Housing and Residential Education). He received his master of arts in management in 2011 from the University of Redlands, where he graduated in the top three of his cohort and was voted by his peers to become part of the university’s Whitehead Leadership Society.
Higgins then completed his educational doctorate of justice from University of Redlands in 2015. At U of R, he researched the experiences that queer men of color have in their first year of higher education.
The CSUSB University Diversity Committee began presenting the Conversations on Diversity speaker series in spring 2005. Presented three times per year (fall, winter and spring quarters), the event sub-committee strives to bring three renowned speakers to campus on a specific topic of diversity, including but not limited to, race, ethnicity, religion, women's issues, gender and sexual orientation.
The lectures are free and are open to the public. Parking at the university is $6.
For more information about or accommodations at the Conversations on Diversity series, contact Twillea Evans-Carthen at (909) 537-5138, or Mary Texeira at (909) 537-5547. Also visit the Conversations on Diversity website, follow it on Facebook, or email organizers at diversity@csusb.edu.
For more information about Cal State San Bernardino, contact the university’s Office of Strategic Communication at (909) 537-5007 and visit news.csusb.edu.