Building Inclusive Futures: ReImagining Higher Education for the 21st Century with Chandani Patel

The ReImagining Higher Education Initiative continues its speaker series with Chandani Patel, Ph.D., director of global diversity education and training at New York University.

In an era of rapid technological advancement and increased global interconnectedness, the future of higher education seems increasingly in doubt. What skills and knowledge will students need to meet the challenges of a world in flux? How must traditional forms of education be reimagined to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse student population? How can we as individuals practice critical self-reflection about our own biases and assumptions so that we can meaningfully engage in conversations across different and diverse areas and populations? Patel will guide participants through these questions in order to create a shared understanding of how equity and inclusion are integral to the future of higher education. Through structured activities and discussion, participants will generate concrete strategies they can implement to build an innovative and inclusive institutional culture for the 21st century.

About the speaker:
Chandani Patel, Ph.D., is the director of global diversity education and training at New York University, where she provides strategic direction for the global diversity education and training area within the office of global inclusion, diversity, and strategic innovation and collaborates with colleagues to craft institution-wide educational excellence standards on inclusion, diversity, equity, and belonging.

Chandani focuses particularly on creating inclusive teaching and learning environments for students, faculty, and staff, and she is committed to advancing a more equitable higher education landscape. She has presented and facilitated numerous workshops and presentations on inclusive teaching, learner-centered teaching, active learning, metacognition, critical self-awareness, and advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education contexts. Prior to joining New York University, Chandani was senior assistant director at Columbia University’s center for teaching and learning, where she developed pedagogical workshops and online resources to support instructors in creating inclusive classroom spaces, including a massive open online course (MOOC) titled “Inclusive Teaching: Supporting All Students in the College Classroom.”

Chandani received a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Chicago, and she holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature and an M.A. in Humanities and Social Thought from New York University. Her scholarly work focuses on the Afro-Indian Ocean, with particular attention to the literature of South Asians in Africa, as well as on literary connections between the Indian and Atlantic Ocean worlds. She currently sits on the Academic Council for the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA) and serves as the co-chair of the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network’s Diversity Committee.