The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications will host a forum this month to discuss diversity and inclusion at the school. 

The schoolwide forum will be held Jan. 30 at 4 p.m. in the Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium, Interim Dean Amy Falkner said in a Friday email to Newhouse students. The announcement comes after at least 20 hate crimes and bias-related incidents were reported at or near Syracuse University since early November.

Hub Brown, associate dean for research, creativity, international initiatives and diversity, will moderate the discussion, with the theme “Where do we go from here?” Smaller forums will also be held later in the semester, and additional activities are being planned, Falkner said. 

“The more we communicate about our needs and concerns, the better and stronger we will become as individuals and as a school,” Falkner said. 

All Newhouse faculty and staff will attend diversity and inclusion training and workshops later in the semester, Falkner said. Individuals from the University of Wisconsin will conduct an “intervention” on prejudice during the sessions, she said. 

The school held an open forum Nov. 15 in response to the series of hate crimes and bias-related incidents. Newhouse faculty members acknowledged at the forum that SU needs to devote more resources to faculty diversity training.

“It is important that we continue working on understanding what our students need to feel safe and welcomed here,” Falkner said.