This session is part of the special 2024 Crossover Day. Attendance is open to all SXSW EDU badgeholders as well as all SXSW badgeholders. As always, SXSW strongly believes in the power of mixing creative communities.

Given the recent challenges to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the United States, this talk doubles down on the value of DEI in higher education. Through a first-person account of a so-called “affirmative action baby” turned Ivy-educated arts professor, this talk will draw on more than 20 years of teaching experience in music and the arts–from public elementary school to elite universities–to provide concrete, actionable, steps we can take to help combat the misrepresentation of diversity in our education system.