New Session Within the Conversation Series: Religious Inclusion in Workplace

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Jon Johnson

Equal Opportunity, Compliance & Title IX and the Walton College of Business Tyson Center for Faith and Spirituality in the Workplace are pleased to host a Conversation Series: Religious Inclusion in the Workplace from 9-10 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 26, via Zoom.

Please register by Monday, Jan. 24. The January session will focus on new topics not previously discussed in the series.

The conversation series presents a wonderful opportunity for us to better understand the diverse faith perspectives represented in our U of A community. This event will explore atheism — a perspective held by many of our fellow faculty, staff and student body — and will help attendees feel more comfortable engaging in conversations regarding atheism and agnosticism in the workplace and educational environment. 

The majority of the webinar will include a discussion with professor Jon Johnson, who will discuss his own faith perspective and answer questions. Please note that this event is part of a series and will include new and different information from past sessions. 

Supervisors, managers and the campus community play a role in ensuring that all individuals, no matter their background, feel welcome and that no aspect of their identity will mean that they feel as though they aren't included. The university strives to encourage an environment where employees bring their "full self" to work, where they feel comfortable, willing and able to talk about what is most important to them. As such, the workplace can play a critical role in breaking barriers and encouraging increased intercultural understanding and communication. 

Recordings of past sessions in this series can be found on the OEOC video page.

Speakers

Jon Johnson is the Walton College Professor of Sustainability in the Sam M. Walton College of Business, where he has been on the faculty since 1996. He graduated with a B.S. in zoology and an M.B.A. from the U of A before earning a Ph.D. from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. His research focuses on corporate governance, social network theory and corporate sustainability. Johnson teaches strategy, organization theory, research methods, innovation and sustainability.

In addition to his research and teaching, Johnson has led several sustainability initiatives at the U of A, including founding the Applied Sustainability Center in 2007 and The Sustainability Consortium in 2009. The consortium is an international multistakeholder initiative with corporate, NGO, government and academic members who have collaboratively created a scientifically grounded sustainability measurement and reporting system for consumer goods. Johnson currently serves as chairman of the board of The Sustainability Consortium.

Johnson served as the inaugural department chair for the Department of Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Venture Innovation from January 2020 to August 2021, when he began serving as faculty lead for a grant funded project to create an Outdoor Products and Services program (OPS). The OPS program will offer undergraduate, graduate and nondegree-seeking programs to support the emerging cycling and outdoor economy in Northwest Arkansas.

J'onnelle Colbert-Diaz serves as the director of accommodation and accessibility services/ADA coordinator for the Office of Equal Opportunity, Compliance & Title IX and is responsible for facilitating the interactive process in regard to Disability Accommodation Requests, which can include Disability, Leave Accommodations, Service Animals, Emotional Support Animals, Student ADA Grievances, Barriers to Access, Travel Accommodations, Visitors or Participants in Programs/Services, Recruitment Accommodations and Religious Accommodation requests.

Additional responsibilities include monitoring compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as state civil rights requirements based on disability and religion. The director of accommodation and accessibility services oversees the university's prevention and education efforts, implements the institution's accommodation and accessibility procedures, identifies and addresses patterns and assesses effects on the campus climate to address issues that affect the wider campus community.

Denise Breaux Soignet is the director of the Tyson Center for Faith and Spirituality in the Workplace and an associate professor of management in the Walton College of Business. She earned a Ph.D. in organizational behavior and human resource management from Florida State University and is a certified professional for the Society for Human Resource Management. She develops and delivers innovative courses and executive education on workplace faith diversity and inclusion in her role as director of the Tyson Center for Faith and Spirituality in the Workplace.