Creating Community
Promoting Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at UW–Madison
A speaks into a microphone while sitting at a table on a stage with four other people.

Diversity Forum

For the past 20 years, the UW–Madison Diversity Forum has been the university’s premier all-campus and community platform to discuss, share and learn about contemporary issues on diversity and inclusion.

Hosted by the Division of Diversity, Equity & Educational Achievement (DDEEA), the Diversity Forum is a two-day, conference-style event that is free and open to the public. Each fall the Forum attracts more than 1,000 participants from the campus and greater community.

The goal of the Diversity Forum is to

  • update attendees with the latest knowledge and research in the diversity and inclusion fields,
  • educate them about perspectives and best practices for equity and social justice, and
  • activate attendees so they go on to make positive changes in the world.

Attendees get the chance to hear from authors, community organizers, activists, researchers and others working in the areas of diversity, equity, social justice and inclusion, as well as participate in engaging workshops and small group discussions to further their personal and professional growth and development and find new ways to make a positive impact on the world around them.

Diversity Forum 2020

The 2020 Diversity Forum, “The Pandemic Effect: Exposing Racism & Inequities,” was held as a virtual conference on Oct. 27 & 28, 2020, and featured keynote addresses by Robin DiAngelo, Ph.D., author of “White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism,” and Austin Channing Brown, author of “I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness.”

Call for Proposals

In the spring of 2020, the DDEEA for the first time solicited proposals for breakout sessions at the fall Diversity Forum. The deadline to submit proposals has now passed. Those who submitted proposals will be notified of the selection committee’s decision in May. Learn more about the call for proposals

Poster for the 2020 Diversity Forum featuring illustrations of protest signs featuring the event title: "The Pandemic Effect: Exposing Racism & Inequities"

"Excellent presenters who were down to earth and knowledgeable. I learned a great deal from the session that were concrete things that I could in my position to be inclusive."

2019 Diversity Forum attendee

Past Diversity Forum Keynote Speakers

John Quiñones

Host of the hidden-camera television series “What Would You Do?” and veteran ABC News correspondent John Quiñones provided the keynote address at the 2019 Diversity Forum on Nov. 5 and 6 at Union South’s Varsity Hall.

Talithia Williams

A professor of Mathematics at Harvey Mudd College who came into national prominence with her TEDTalk “Own Your Body’s Data," Dr. Talithia Williams provided the 2018 Diversity Forum keynote address.

Walter Echo-Hawk

A Native American attorney, tribal judge, author, activist, and law professor, Walter Echo-Hawk provided the keynote address at the 2017 Diversity Forum.

20 years of history

A person gestures and speaks while standing in front of a large, seated audience.The Diversity Forum has been a campus tradition for more than two decades. The event builds upon more than 50 years of history of UW–Madison working to create and promote initiatives designed to make the university a more globally inclusive institution, prepare leaders for a changing world and conduct cutting edge research.

Learn more about the legacy of the Diversity Forum on our History page, or jump to a particular year at the links below.