Living Library – Book: Yolanda

Just like any normal library, books will be available to borrow, engage with and learn from. Except the Books, in this instance, will be real people with a unique personal experience or perspective that they will generously share with Readers.

Find out more about the Books in this Living Library.

To secure your place, please Select a date and Register (button on the right hand side) for an available session.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Book: Yolanda

Title: Undeterred: Be the change you want to see in the world

Summary: Imagine you’re the President of City College New York but people assume you’re the assistant. How do we irrevocably embed civil rights and social inclusion?

I came of age during the Civil Rights movement in the United States in the 1960s. I took my social activism and used it to help create inclusive environments for all members of the universities where I have worked.

To do this I followed the traditional academic route. I have often been the first “African American Woman” in each of my career roles.

There have been numerous times where my very presence in a geographical space has been questioned. I have been asked by my students whether I was a “real” professor. When I was the Provost, a group of white male faculty did not believe that I could tell them no (this black woman) and wanted to go over my head to talk with the President (who had delegated authority to me). And finally as a University President, people assumed that my driver, who often went with me at night to events in New York City, was the President and I was his assistant.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Available sessions for Yolanda:

• Monday 27 March 2017
• Wednesday 12 April 2017