Exploring Equity from the Perspectives of Black Students

Exploring Liberal Arts Lunch and Learn presentation featuring Dr. Clement Bamikole, Ph.D., Professor, Degree Breadth, Liberal Arts
About this Event

The Liberal Arts team invites you to learn about the some of the exciting research and scholarship activities of our colleagues.

Exploring Equity from the Perspectives of Black Students

In an age dominated by AI, nothing replaces the value of lived experience. Our racialized students bring diverse perspectives shaped by their unique backgrounds, and how we engage with these experiences can deeply impact their journey in post-secondary education. By listening to voices different from our own, we create a more inclusive and supportive community where students feel heard, safe, and empowered to thrive.

Thursday, February 20 - noon to 1 p.m. (Q&A period will follow presentation)

Presenter: Dr. Clement Bamikole, Ph.D., Professor, Liberal Arts, Georgian College

Clement Bamikole holds Ph.D. in Agricultural Extension and Education. Worked at two international research institutes in Africa with focus on adoption of post-harvest technology by farm families to uplift them from poverty to food security. He also worked in the financial sector developing Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SME) loans before relocating to Canada. An immigrant from Nigeria with lived experiences of discrimination and anti-Black racism since moving to Canada over 24 years ago. With resilience, doing odd jobs to support his family and going back to school, he defied all odds of employment barriers working in a group home to support people with disabilities and joggling part-time teaching positions at two colleges in Ontario. Dr. Bamikole joined Georgian in 2009, became full time faculty in 2011 and served as Program Coordinator, Degree Breadth, Liberal Arts between 2017 and 2023. In the community, he served as Chairman, board of directors at the Barrie Food Bank, board member of a faith-based group and volunteered at the Central North Correctional Center (CNCC) to support re-integration of inmates from under-represented demographic into the society. Following the events of the killing of George Floyd and the racial tension of 2020, he spoke out to encourage action at the senior leadership and was asked to co-chair EDI initiatives at the college that ran six anti-Black racism fora in 2020. Another initiative in 2021 led to the coming together of like-minded colleagues that formed the EDI Working Circle (EDWIC). The EDWIC wrote and was awarded $400,000 grant by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to establish the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) center at Georgian. In 2022/23, he was a co-investigator on the research topic, Faculties’ understanding, perceptions, and attitudes of academic integrity at the college level: A case study. In 2023/24, he proceeded on Academic Professional Development leave during which time he carried out a study titled, Exploring Black students’ lived experience in Higher Education: A narrative enquiry.

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The session can be attended in person on the Barrie Campus for Georgian employees, or anyone can join via Zoom. Links for this event will be shared after registration.

Looking forward to having you join us in this webinar!