Virginia Tech’s Faculty Women of Color in the Academy conference celebrates its 11-year anniversary

The Virginia Tech Faculty Women of Color in the Academy (FWCA) conference, founded by Menah Pratt, vice president for strategic affairs and diversity at Virginia Tech, marked its 11-year anniversary in April with women from across the nation. The conference is a unique educational and professional opportunity for Indigenous women and women of color in higher education and highlights the importance of taking care of yourself while working on personal and professional development.

“The motto for FWCA is to connect, support, and empower,” said Pratt. “I think the opportunity to come to this conference and leave empowered is like saying, ‘I can do this, I can continue, I can persist, I’m strong, I’m resilient, and I’m innovative.’”

The conference began in 2012 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and moved with Pratt to Virginia Tech in 2016.

“When I was at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, we felt that faculty women didn’t have a sacred space to connect with other faculty women outside of disciplinary association,” said Pratt. “Over the years, we have expanded it to graduate students and administrators.”

Since its beginning in 2012, the conference has grown exponentially, and the COVID-19 pandemic introduced the possibility of hosting it in a virtual space. When social and travel limitations were lifted after the pandemic, the number of in-person attendees spiked.

“This year, we welcomed our largest number of in-person attendees — about 600 — in conference history,” said Chatrice Barnes, director of the conference and director of faculty diversity and community programs in Virginia Tech’s Office for Inclusion and Diversity.

As the conference grows, more women from different places across the country are in attendance. This multidisciplinary academic conference provides Indigenous women and women of color a safe space to be themselves and be with one another.

“You don’t see that many women of color who [are] in academia at once, ever, and conference attendees have said that as well,” said Barnes. “FWCA is such a wonderful space, and women come here with this energy of gratitude and sisterhood. I felt that, and [it] was wonderful. I got choked up a couple of times, like, ‘Oh my God, this is so nice,’ that was definitely my favorite part.”

Although the conference is beneficial to Indigenous women and women of color, there are still challenges to reaching more women and getting them to attend.

“It’s two things — you need to find the women and you need to have a budget that’s affordable for women of color because it’s not a disciplinary conference,” said Pratt. “[For example], if I was in sociology, then my professional development money would go to a sociology conference. This is not that kind of conference, so there’s not a lot of professional development money for a faculty member to use to come to the conference.”

Paying for the conference shouldn’t, and doesn’t, rest solely upon the women who attend. Universities have given sponsorships to the conference, which also provides the opportunity for attendees from that university to attend for free.

“That’s a big part of our National Advisory Board’s role,” said Barnes. “These are women who are representing institutions. They are women who are choosing to support FWCA [financially], and that financial support also supports individual women of color at their institutions.”

By sending women of color and Indigenous women to specialized conferences like FWCA, universities and institutions also reap the benefits.

“For universities who sponsor, it's an opportunity to send your faculty women of color to a conference that’s going to empower them,” said Pratt. “On a predominantly white campus where someone might be one of the only [women of color] in a department, college, or program, this is an opportunity for the university to say, ‘I understand we don’t have the diversity represented in our unit, but go to this conference and know that we support you going into a space where you feel empowered.’”

According to a study done at the University of Kansas, the idea that “opposites attract” is upended - suggesting that people are drawn to others who are like-minded.

“Having a space where you’re around people who have the same, or similar identities, gives you a sense that you’re not alone,” said Danny Robertson, social media manager for Virginia Tech’s Office for Inclusion and Diversity and recent graduate from Virginia Tech’s School of Communication.

Although the conference is supported by some institutions, there is still progress to be made.

“I think institutions that are more inclusive and intentional about the work that they do, value [FWCA],” said Robertson. “Some institutions think it’s another professional development conference. They don’t see the inherent value of the space that’s provided to these women.”

The conference is known for its workshops, networking opportunities, and keynote speakers. Keynote speakers for this year's event included Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez, author of "For Brown Girls with Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts" and creator of Latina Rebels; Katherine S. Cho, an advocate for social justice from Loyola University in Chicago; and Tressie McMillan Cottom, award-winning author of "Lower Ed, and Thick."

During the conference, women had the opportunity to attend a writing workshop with Inkwell Academic Writing Retreats and dozens of attendee-led workshops that focused on five conference tracks: leadership, personal well-being, graduate student, career development, and scholar activism. Performances by Angela’s Pulse each morning created opportunities for women to collaborate through dance, and Culture Cafés in the evening allowed individuals to showcase their talents. Small, women and minority-owned vendors were on-site marketing and selling products including clothing, jewelry, candles, purses, books, cosmetics, and more.

Virginia Tech undergraduate student I’yana James attended the conference and served as a member on the  conference’s planning committee. While planning the conference took long hours and threads upon threads of communication across a variety of different channels to reach the conference’s audience, she said it was interesting to work on the conference and see all the pieces come together.

“It was [also] really inspiring to see so many women of color in academia gathered in one place,” James said. “I was doing a lot of running around, but I received so many positive responses from people, and I got to hear amazing stories from women across the world. It was refreshing, and I felt a sense of accomplishment.”

Planning a conference of this magnitude requires support from Virginia Tech staff and volunteers. Details are scheduled down to the minute, and planning for the following year’s conference sometimes overlaps with planning for the current year's conference. Having separate schedules helped to keep everyone that was working on the conference on time, and on the same page.

Next year’s Faculty Woman of Color in the Academy conference is scheduled for April 11-14, 2024, at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington. For more information, visit www.inclusive.vt.edu/Programs/FWCA.html. 

Written by I’yana James and Danny Robertson