Doris Ching, former vice president of student affairs at the University of Hawaii, will speak at Illinois State University at 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 16, in the Priaire Room, center, of the Bone Student Center.

Ching, a leader in higher education in Hawaii and student affairs internationally, will discuss diversity and culture in education with a talk titled What Do Organizational Culture and Change Strategies Have to Do with Advancing A Diversity Agenda? The talk, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Division of Student Affairs and is part of the Speaker Series of Illinois State University.

Ching served the state of Hawaii for more than 40 years as an educator. While at the University of Hawaii, she initiated numerous programs, including diversity programs, Regents and Presidential Scholarship programs, the University of Hawaii-Manoa Children’s Center and the Queen Lil’iuokalani Center for Student Services. Her research and training grants brought millions of dollars to the university.

Along with the vice president position, Ching served as assistant to the University of Hawaii president, associate dean of education, director of teacher corps and chair of the Education and International Division of the Pacific International Center for High Technology Research. With Amefil Agbayani, Ching also served as editor of the 2012 book titled Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Higher Education: Research Perspectives on Identity, Leadership, and Success.

Ching was the first Asian/Pacific Islander elected president of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) and the NASPA Foundation. She currently is a commissioner on the Hawaii Judicial Selection Commission and member of accreditation teams of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. She previously served as commissioner of the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education and member of Hawaii Veterans Memorial Scholarship Board of Trustees, American Red Cross-Hawaii Chapter Board of Directors as well as other commissions, boards and councils.

The Speaker Series of Illinois State University seeks to bring innovative and enlightening speakers to the campus with the aim of providing the community with a platform to foster dialogue, cultivate enriching ideas and continue an appreciation of learning as an active and lifelong process.

If you need special accommodations to fully participate in these programs/events, please contact Julie Barnhill, Presidential and Trustee Events, at (309) 438-8790. Please allow sufficient time to arrange accommodations.