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Tech Happenings
ACROSS THE UNIVERSITY Tech Happenings
SAVE THE DATE:
Dr. Maurice A. Stinnett will be Indiana Tech’s featured speaker for both of the university's 2022 commencement ceremonies.
Dr. Stinnett is an experienced leader and expert in the areas of diversity, inclusion and equity across the nonprofit, education, and corporate sectors. He serves as global head of equity, diversity and inclusion at Warner Music Group, a leader in global music entertainment. In his role at WMG, Dr. Stinnett spearheads the company’s equity initiatives and implements tailored strategies and programs designed to cultivate a diverse and inclusive company culture. Dr. Stinnett previously made history as inaugural vice president of diversity and inclusion for BSE Global, owner of Barclays Center and the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, where he provided leadership and support across BSE’s brands. Dr. Stinnett was the first Black man appointed vice president of diversity and inclusion for an NBA team. His earlier career experience includes roles in higher education and nonprofit leadership. He held positions as vice President of engagement and chief diversity officer at Cleveland State University and as dean of students at Central State University. In the nonprofit sector, he acted as senior director of community engagement and education at CentroNia, a multicultural, bilingual education nonprofit located in Washington, D.C., and chairman for the World Leadership Program, a White House initiative under the Obama administration that sought to spark learning and dialogue between graduate students and universities in the Middle East and the United States.
Dr. Stinnett is an energetic presenter who is a fierce advocate for equity and inclusion. He has been recognized for his work by various organizations, including receiving the Jackie Robinson Trailblazer Award from Rev. Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH Coalition and being named to the The Responsible 100 corporate leaders list by City & State New York. He is proud to serve as a member of the advisory board of the Warner Music Group/Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice Fund, and as a Social Justice Ambassador for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s National Racial Equity Initiative. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business from Central State University, a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological
Graduate Commencement Ceremony
(master's, doctoral degrees) Friday, May 13 • 7 p.m. Schaefer Center, Indiana Tech's main campus Undergraduate Seminary and a Master of Education and Doctor of Education and Commencement Organizational Leadership from Columbia University. “All of us in the Indiana Tech community are proud to welcome Ceremony Dr. Stinnett as our 2022 commencement speaker,” Indiana Tech (associate, bachelor's degrees) president Karl Einolf said. “He is a renowned leader whose work, Saturday, May 14 • 12:30 p.m. experiences and impact on others are a clear demonstration to Allen County War Memorial all of our students of what it means to live a life of significance Coliseum, Fort Wayne and worth. His story and commitment to community will be an inspiration to each of our graduates.” Dr. Stinnett has previously spoken on Indiana Tech’s campus, serving as the keynote speaker for the university’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Celebration in January 2020. He also addressed the Warrior community during Indiana Tech’s online celebration of graduates in May 2020. Indiana Tech's graduate commencement ceremony for master’s and Ph.D. graduates is on Friday, May 13, at 7 p.m., in the Schaefer Center on the university's main campus. It is free and open to all Indiana Tech students, families, alumni and the public—no tickets are required. The university's undergraduate commencement ceremony for associate and bachelor's graduates is on Saturday, May 14, at 12:30 p.m., at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne. It is also free and open to families, friends and community members. For more information, please visit indianatech.edu/commencement.
ACROSS THE UNIVERSITY Tech Happenings
Cyber Warriors continue reign as top team in state
The Cyber Warriors, Indiana Tech’s cybersecurity team, have continued their long run of competitive dominance this year. The team won their eighth straight and 15th overall Indiana Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC) title on Saturday, Feb. 5, and continued on to a second-place finish during the Midwest Regional CCDC on March 19.
During this year’s state tournament, Indiana Tech beat out tough competition from skilled collegiate teams across Indiana. The Cyber Warriors held off second-place Vincennes University and third-place Purdue University to earn their record eighth straight state title. Each year, competing cybersecurity teams work to combat attempted network security breaches and related challenges that test their problemsolving, technical abilities and teamwork at every turn.
The team then moved on to the Midwest CCDC, competing against fellow state champions from Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin and the winner of the wildcard round in an attempt to qualify for the national competition. The squad finished second during the Midwest competition, earning them a spot in the national wildcard round on April 6. There they also took second, just missing out on a trip to the national finals. With the second place finish, the Cyber Warriors wrapped up their season as the #11 team in the country, out of more than 230 schools competing.
Members of this year’s Cyber Warriors team include Zach King, Marek Grzelak, Osman Yusof, John Rudolph, Bryce Murphy, Nia Iott, Hunter Clements, Myles Nieman and Jeremy MacRoberts. The team is coached by Matt Hansen, an Indiana Tech alum and instructor of computer science who was a championship-winning Cyber Warrior himself during his time as a Tech student. To learn more about the Cyber Warriors, visit techcyberwarriors.org.
New L.E.A.D. certificate program launched to empower leaders
Indiana Tech has created a new program for organizational leaders—the Leveraging Engagement and Action in Diversity (L.E.A.D.) Executive Certificate. The new program is a collaboration between the university’s Ph.D. in Global Leadership program, part of the College of Business, and its Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The certificate equips professionals with the critical skills required to lead and transform an organization’s culture, helping managers and executives become more effective in understanding, leading and implementing inclusive organizational practices.
The L.E.A.D. Executive Certificate program consists of a series of immersive courses created by diversity practitioners and educational leaders. Courses within the program are centered on three main focus areas: Dimensions of Diversity, which examines the subtle ways that a wide range of stereotypes can surface in a multicultural workplace; Creating an Inclusive Environment, which shares best practices related to the evolving role of leaders as agents of change; and Developing a Culture of Equity, which explores approaches to linking organizational strategy, culture and human resources with an emphasis on inclusive excellence.
The L.E.A.D. program has already generated a high level of interest from regional corporate partners, with Parkview Health Systems completely booking the entire first program session, which began April 20, for its management team. There are still spots available for the second session, which will begin Sept. 15. The university is also planning to expand the program to offer it online in the near future. For more information, please visit indianatech.edu/leadcertificate.
Six recognized by Tech Talks symposium for improving their communities
Each year, Indiana Tech hosts Tech Talks, a co-curricular series created to promote active dialogue and awareness about important issues of social justice across the globe. The series centers on a different theme each year and is supported by relevant programming.
This year’s series examines the concept of “living a life of significance and worth,” which is a compelling and thought-provoking component of the university’s mission statement. The objective is to get students to define what living a life of significance and worth looks like to them. What does it look like? How does one achieve it?
To kick off the spring semester of Tech Talks programming, the university recognized six individuals who are doing incredible work in the community and living their vision of what a life of significance and worth looks like. They were welcomed to campus for a late-January reception to celebrate Living a Life of Significance and Worth, an exhibit in the D’Agostino Art Gallery on the lower level of the Snyder Academic Center.
Visit indianatech.edu/significance-and-worth to meet these individuals and learn about their work in the community.
