Training & Education
We provide educational programs throughout the year including speakers, trainings, workshops, and leadership development activities. We provide professional development opportunities for faculty and staff and enhance co-curricular learning for our students through intercultural and social justice education.
Interested in completing a training or workshop? The best way to get involved is to either register for an open training today or request a training for your group or class.
Attend an Open Training
We host a number of "open trainings" throughout the year. These trainings are free and open to all members of the Suffolk community.
Request a Training
We offer a variety of workshops, from introductory to advanced, on multiple topics. We are also happy to tailor a workshop to the specific needs of your class, organization, or student employee team. Workshops include a lecture-style presentation, interactive activities, and question & answer opportunities.
When requesting a training please do so a minimum of 2 weeks prior to your requested presentation date.
Trainings We Offer
The Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion provides a range of trainings and workshops. Please feel free to contact us if you would like to host a specific training or collaborate on developing a new training. You can also complete our Training Request Form. We also host a number of "open trainings" throughout the year. These trainings are free and open to all members of the Suffolk community.
If there is a training that you would like the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion to provide that is not currently listed, please contact our office.
Check below for descriptions of all of the trainings CSDI currently offers.
Our Trainings
Bias Intervention and Standing Up for Social Justice
Training Length: 1–1.5 hours
This training is designed to inform participants about how to be an effectively disrupt and reduce prejudice and discrimination against historically marginalized communities on and off campus. Topics and activities include: review of terminology and safe space creation, social identity exploration, what it means to be an ally, how to identify oppressive behavior/discrimination, active listening, bystander intervention steps and safety.
Introduction to Diversity and Social Justice
Training Length: 1–1.5 hours
This training asks participants to expand their notions of the categories that we typically think of as "diverse" and to begin to examine their deeply held ideas and beliefs about people who may be different from themselves. We will provide an introduction to social justice, power, privilege, oppression, access, and intersectionality and discuss how these play out in current events.Participants will also learn about the intersections of race, class, ability, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, and many other social identities, as well as how to act in allyship around identities to which they do not belong.
Race, Racism, and Privilege
Training Length: 1–1.5 hours
In this training, participants will learn about the concepts of race, racism, and privilege. We will expand participants’ definitions of race and racism beyond Black vs. White by challenging the social construction of race and ethnicity and exploring how certain groups of immigrants “became white.” Participants will also discuss how racism and privilege manifest in society through concepts such as internalized racism, horizontal racism, white privilege, and white guilt.
Safe Zone
Training Length: 2–3 hours
Safe Zone focuses on increasing awareness and educating participants on key issues impacting the LGBTQ+ community, LGBTQ+ vocabulary, queerphobia, privilege, heterosexism, cissexism, and ally development and building the skills needed to be an active ally and advocate in your daily life. This includes interrupting queerphobia, recognizing power and privilege, and how to facilitate challenging conversations to create necessary change.
Self-Care and Social Justice
Training Length: 1–1.5 hours
Join us for a workshop dedicated to preventing burnout in this age of non-stop activity. Self-care is a radical, feminist act and is imperative to doing social justice work. This workshop will guide you through creating a personal self-care plan to best allocate your time and energy towards causes you care about and empower you to put yourself high up on your priority list so you can best serve others as well. Let's create a socially just world and take care of ourselves in the process!
Diversity Peer Educators
The DPE Role
Diversity Peer Educators lead programs and trainings around issues of diversity and inclusion, host special events, and promote social justice on campus. DPEs serve as student ambassadors for the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion.
Core DPE Responsibilities include:
- Gaining competency and proficiency with social justice content areas, including social identity groups, intersectionality, power and privilege, anti-oppression, and more
- Serve as a role model for students learning about and engaging with social justice
- Facilitate presentations and workshops to classes, student organizations, and the Suffolk community
- Develop and implement programs that educate Suffolk community members about social justice and strive to create an inclusive campus community
- Assessing all trainings to improve and strengthen our training program.
- Represent CSDI at programs and events
- Attend all required staff meetings, weekend retreats, and trainings
Qualifications
- Be currently enrolled as a full-time Suffolk University undergraduate student and not planning to graduate prior to December 2018.
- Have a cumulative Suffolk University grade point average of 2.75 or higher at the time of selection and throughout their tenure in the position. Circumstances which may have impacted your GPA will be considered on an individual basis.
- Be in good academic and judicial standing with Suffolk University at the time of selection and throughout tenure in the position.
- Understand, believe in, and remain committed to the mission and goals of the Center for Student Diversity & Inclusion at Suffolk University.
- Remain flexible and engaged in Diversity Peer Educator assignments and demonstrate open and ongoing communication with Suffolk University staff and co-workers.
- Relate to and interact well with current and new students, family members, faculty, and staff at Suffolk University.
- Adhere to all CSDI staff policies and training guidelines and positively support other Diversity Peer Educators in the performance of their job duties and development as leaders.
- Be available to participate in spring training sessions, CSDI team retreat, and summer training.
No formal training or experience is required. Students who are team oriented, highly collaborative, and passionate about social justice and fostering inclusion should apply.
Position Details
This is a Suffolk University Scholar position, 8-10 hours weekly. DPEs attend weekly staff meetings and one weekend training retreat a semester.
Ready to Apply?
The 2024-2025 applications have closed. Please check back in Spring 2025 to apply for the 2025-2026 cycle.