DIVERSITY CHAMPION IS CONVOCATION SPEAKER

Peter Vogel, the founder of an organization that advances cross-cultural relations in education and other industries, is the keynote speaker at Central Wyoming College’s Convocation.
               
Scheduled for Wednesday, August 31, Convocation begins at 4 p.m. with the traditional faculty march to the ceremony which will be held at the plaza in front of the Intertribal Education and Community Center. The ceremony, which includes the conferral of the Professor Emeritus title upon longtime math professor Carol Rardin, is open to all and is followed by a Native American dance exhibition and a picnic.
               
Vogel is the founder and managing director of Colorado-based CulturePrep Inc., an organization that empowers individuals and groups from around the world to overcome obstacles that threaten cross-cultural relationships.
               
Vogel is a noted speaker and has assisted people and groups around the world in need of better understanding and appreciation of differences. His 17 international trips in three years have led him to design Safe to Relate, CulturePrep’s series of programs and services building community across cultures.
               
In addition to administering Safe to Relate workshops and mediation services to a variety of organizations, he has equipped more than 200 organizations with strategies to affirm diversity. He was awarded “Peacebuilder of the Year” by School Mediation Center and has been featured in television news programs and newspaper articles.
               
In 1999, Vogel delivered the keynote address on the topic of unity and hope for the future to 10,000 people at Uganda East Africa’s largest youth rally. He has made subsequent trips to Uganda to build friendships and provide funding for small business development.
“The time is ripe for offering forums – safe places – for campuses and communities to engage in a deeper connection between diverse groups of people,” Vogel was quoted as saying on a way to initiate racial discussions on college campuses.