The Men and Women of Color Summit at Mississippi State University began Thursday and continued this morning at 8 a.m. at the new Mill.

The event was organized by MSU’s Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion (OIDI). Alicia Hu, OIDI office associate, said MSU recognized alumni and faculty, Linda Cornelious, Marilyn Crouther, Sebetha Jenkins, Albert J. Williams, Wanda Williams and Camille Scales Young.

 Hu said Albert J. Williams, an MSU alumni and president of the Chevron Pipe Line CO., and La Doris Harris, director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Economic Impact and Diversity, will speak during today’s events. 

MSU President Mark E. Keenum and Provost and Executive Vice President Jerry Gilbert participated in the greetings this morning. 

Hu said this event began in 2012. However, it was specifically for men. The event was successful, so they created the Women of Color Summit in 2013. Both events were created to recognize the needs of minority students.

“Research has shown that minority students, particularly African Americans, are neither being retained nor completing their studies at a rate comparable to their non-minority counterparts,” Hu said.

The Summit was created to address such issues. 

Hu said the Men and Women’s Summits are being combined this year because the Women’s was postponed due to weather in the spring.

“We are excited for the opportunity to combine this year’s Men and Women of Color Summits to hear prospectives from multiple view points,” Hu said.

 Hu said they chose speakers who have overcome such struggles to become successful. 

“We have several educational stakeholders from the university attending this event which we hope will increase awareness of challenges faced by our young men and women of color in academic settings,” Hu said.