By Rory Durock | Staff Writer
The Christ-Centered Diversity and Belonging Council held its monthly social hour in the FOS Atrium on Thursday from 2-3 p.m. The event was a drop-in gathering where faculty, staff, and students were invited to mingle and celebrate this month's faith theme.
Dr. Cindy Wu, professor of management and associate dean for diversity and belonging in the Hankamer School of Business, said monthly social hours are a way to bring the school together.
“The first event will be held in November 2023, then the second event will be held in January this year, and then [this is] This is our third event,” Wu said. “So we want to make it a regular, monthly recurring offering. This is aimed at everyone within the School of Business and is just a fun way for people to get together. .”
Wu said the idea to create Monthly Social Hour came from students' responses to a survey they administered when they first arrived at Baylor.
“Students want more in the atrium, more opportunities to get to know professors, other students and staff, and a deeper understanding of who they are in this larger community. ,” Wu said.
Wu said the Christ-Centered Diversity and Belonging Council holds regular meetings on the last Thursday of each month to point people to Christ and focus on the relevant virtues found in Colossians 3:12-14. He said that he had decided to establish it.
“[Colossians reads,] “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and beloved, close yourselves with compassion, gentleness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Be patient with one another, and do not have complaints against anyone. Forgive others, as the Lord has forgiven you. And above all these virtues, put on the love that unites them all perfectly,” Wu said. said. “So we thought this was a pretty good summary of the virtues that we need to uphold.”
Each month's social hour includes activities for students, faculty and staff to reflect on the month's virtues.
“In addition to each virtue, there are also three prompts,” Wu said. “So this is something that my council and I have talked about, first of all, thinking about the definition of virtue, how can we define virtue in a way that is true to its own meaning. But at the same time , it is understandable, approachable, and easily understood, while also being concise for the general public.”
Mr Wu said the council needed to come up with creative ideas to start the dialogue.
“We also informally hire faculty and staff or anyone who has a heart for bringing people into the conversation,” Wu said. “So we created a little button that people can wear, and it says, 'How can I pray for you?'” “How can I encourage you?” ” or “Jesus changed my life.” Hear how. ' So we have little things that people can wear as a way of reminding them that we're engaging. ”
Dr. Stephanie Kunst, assistant professor of business administration, said this month's faith-themed activities are intended to help members of the business school community bond with each other.
“No matter how different we are, no matter how different we look, no matter how different the roles we have within HSB, these are the ways in which we relate to each other and how we It should be an anchoring question to help you think about whether you belong to this community? Kunst said.
Kunst said the event is unstructured, allowing for more interaction between faculty, staff, and students.
“Sometimes I see people sharing what they want to pray for. Other times, people get in pairs and pray quickly for a particular student or a particular faculty member, and others just have a conversation. Some people start,” Kunst said. “Everyone at HSB can benefit from this event.”
Wu said the monthly social hours stand out from other events at the business school because of the fun environment in which everyone can gather.
“I think [Monthly Social Hour is] “It's unique and important in the sense that there aren't many casual events like this that are open to everyone and encourage everyone to participate,” Wu said. “Usually it's student activities, career events, company information sessions, or faculty development workshops. So it's not often that it's social but also meaningful and fun. So this is our It's one of the things that we're planning and we hope to do in the future.”
