AE Spread Respect Forum On Tap
BOSTON - Strengthening its position as a leader in college athletics in prioritizing diversity and inclusion for all, America East will host its first-ever Spread Respect Forum later this month. The forum, which will take place on Oct. 20-21 at the University of Vermont, will bring together over 70 student-athletes, administrators, coaches and university personnel from all nine America East institutions to engage in dialogue about diversity and inclusion.
America East’s Spread Respect initiative raises awareness to ensure equality and safety for all student-athletes, coaches and fans without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity.
“Diversity and inclusion are issues that are of paramount importance on our campuses and to our student-athletes and we have long since made them a priority in America East,” said America East Commissioner, Amy Huchthausen. “The Spread Respect Forum will bring together leaders from all nine America East campuses who will engage in conversation that will result in impactful culture-changing ideas that they can implement on campus to help enact change.”
The first-ever Spread Respect Forum will include over 20 speakers, including several respected scholars and prominent leaders in the field. Dr. Richard Lapchick, founder of the Institute for Sport and Social Justice, will give the keynote address on the power of sport to bring about social change and the role of athletes.
Representatives from three America East partners -You Can Play, LGBT SportSafe and RISE- will also lead discussions aimed at provoking solutions-oriented conversations that will result in turning education into action.
America East began prioritizing diversity and inclusion in 2012 when it became the first Division I conference to partner with the You Can Play Project, which works to ensure the safety and inclusion of all in sports. Since then, the conference has helped further You Can Play’s mission by sponsoring a speaker series and locker-room campaigns on its members' campuses and by creating videos to educate the general public. The conference has also held Spread Respect nights, formerly You Can Play nights, since 2015 as a way to promote awareness and education at America East events to ensure equality, respect and safety for all athletes without regard to sexual orientation or gender identity.
The conference partnered with LGBT SportSafe in 2016, becoming the first conference in the organization’s Founders’ Club, and sponsored educational programming on each of its campuses. LGBT SportSafe provides training to educate coaches, athletic administrators and recreational sports staff on best practices and policies in creating an LGBTQ+ inclusive athletic community.
In 2019, America East teamed up with RISE, the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality, to expand the scope of its Spread Respect initiative and broaden the conversation on race. The partnership is focused on research and analysis of each member institutions’ current practices as well as education and outreach. America East and RISE also held a community event at UMBC last year that focused on bringing the athletics and campus communities together to identify strategies to help advance diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives on campus, discuss misconceptions, and determine positive strategies for change.
Spread Respect is one of the many America East programs under the conference’s #3Pillars “leadership” umbrella aimed at making a difference for conference stakeholders, on league campuses and within their communities. Other initiatives include SAAC’s mental health campaign, #BetterTo9ether, the America East Alumni Network and Health & Safety Summit and the #3PAcademy, which focuses on providing professional development opportunities to America East constituents through its digital series and in-person programming.
About America East: The America East provides its member schools and their athletic programs a platform upon which student-athletes can achieve both collegiate and life success through the promotion and nurturing of athletic excellence, academic achievement and leadership, on and off the field.
- #3Pillars – Building the Complete Student-Athlete -