Save the date with logo for 2021 Tilford Conference.

Michael Tilford Conference on Diversity & Multiculturalism

Learn more about past and present Michael Tilford Conference on Diversity and Multiculturalism events.

2022 Conference

Goals of the Conference:

  • Listening to visionary leaders who will inspire you to promote equity and awareness at your institution.

  • Participating in workshops to learn about challenges teaching diverse populations on Kansas campuses.

  • Sharing your passion for teaching and interacting with students regardless of race, gender, religion, and national origin.


About The Conference

The Michael Tilford Conference provides an opportunity for faculty, staff, and administrators at the Kansas Board of Regents' institutions to approach diversity in higher education by examining the challenges and opportunities in Kansas including:

  • Inspire awareness of multiple dimensions of diversity, related practices of inclusion, and the transformation of higher education in Kansas.
  • Inspire awareness of multiple dimensions of diversity, related practices of inclusion, and the curriculum transformation of higher education in Kansas.
  • Participate in workshops to learn about challenges and strategies for teaching diverse populations on Kansas campuses.
  • Share your passion for teaching and interacting with students from all backgrounds.
  • Reinforce the integration of multiple dimensions of diversity into student academic and personal development components.

Thank you

  • KBOR: Council of Chief Academic Officers

  • KBOR: Council of Chief Diversity Offices

  • Tilford Conference Statewide Planning Committee

  • Tilford Conference Volunteers

About Michael Tilford

This conference is named in memory of the late Dr. Michael Tilford, who passed away on November 6, 1996. Dr. Tilford was the WSU representative on the Regents Diversity and Multiculturalism Committee from its onset in 1994 until his death.

In 1969, Dr. Tilford was one of 100 African-American educators from across the country who received Ford Foundation Grants for advanced graduate study. He received his doctorate from Oklahoma State University in 1970. Dr. Tilford also had a bachelor's degree from Langston University in mathematics/chemistry and a master's degree from Johns Hopkins University in science education. He taught mathematics at Wichita West High School prior to teaching at Wichita State University. In 1969 he was the Director of the Wichita Upward Bound Project. He was appointed Dean of the Graduate School of WSU in 1988 and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs in 1994. Dr. Tilford chaired many organizations, and his committee work showed his commitment to the education of students traditionally underrepresented at the university level.

In the 1970s, he served on a committee that developed a successful proposal for the minority studies program. Also, he helped conduct a study of the institutional commitment to minorities at WSU.