OSU to host ‘Check Your Blind Spots’ anti-bias tour stop

Monday, April 1, 2019

Oklahoma State University is hosting the CEO Action Check Your Blind Spots unconscious bias tour. Using virtual reality and gaming technology, attendees will take an introspective look at their own unconscious biases through the interactive activities using technologies such as virtual reality and digital viewfinders. Students, faculty, staff and the Stillwater community are invited to experience the come-and-go activities from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on April 2 at the Student Union North Plaza upper area.

Check Your Blind Spots was created by CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion through a $10 million investment from PwC, a CEO Action signatory. The tour is being presented at OSU by the Office of the President of Oklahoma State University and the Division of Institutional Diversity. OSU is one of 100 stops the tour is making across the country this year.  

“Oklahoma State is pleased to bring the Check Your Blind Spots tour to our campus,” said OSU President Burns Hargis. “We welcome any opportunity to examine bias and advance our goal to be more diverse and inclusive.”

After going through the series of immersive activities and being exposed to unconscious bias, participants can make a personal commitment to address their unconscious biases and develop more inclusive behaviors in their everyday life by taking the I Act On pledge.

CEO Action is centered around three main pledge commitments.

1. Create safe spaces to have complex discussions about diversity and inclusion;
2. Implement and expand upon unconscious bias education, and
3. Share best and unsuccessful diversity and inclusion practices

“The Check Your Blind Spots Tour offers an innovative opportunity for OSU to broaden our commitment to enriching the culture of inclusion at the university,” said Dr. Jason F. Kirksey, OSU vice president for Institutional Diversity and the university’s chief diversity officer. “We anticipate lots of interest in the unconscious bias experiences and information the bus tour offers, and we are excited about this new partnership with PwC and CEO Action to facilitate our continuous knowledge and growth in the diversity and inclusion space.”

The CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion initiative launched June 12, 2017, created by a group of more than 150 business leaders. According to the organization, it’s the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace. It’s now a collaboration involving more than 600 CEOs of some of the world’s leading companies as well as leadership from academic institutions.

“We're bringing the CEO Action Check Your Blind Spots tour to Oklahoma State and Stillwater to give students, faculty and local community members the opportunity to explore their unconscious bias and to learn from others’ perspectives. This tour provides an important first step in initiating a meaningful dialogue to help all of us become more inclusive,” said Scott Moore, Greater Texas managing partner at PwC and CEO Action spokesperson. “As students enter the workforce, we hope this tour empowers them to play an active role in driving the change we want to see in our world, enabling them to create and participate in inclusive environments.”