“Celebrate UNC Asheville” Roundtable Three: Inclusive Excellence and Equity: The Power of a University Partnership

The roundtable talk will be led by Al Whitesides, Buncombe County Commissioner; Debra Campbell, City Manager, City of Asheville; Kimberlee Archie, Equity & Inclusion Manager, City of Asheville; Dr. Lawrence T. Potter, Chief Academic Officer and Provost at the University of the District of Columbia; and Frank Goldsmith, retired civil rights attorney who currently works as a mediator and arbitrator throughout Western North Carolina.

UNC Asheville faculty respondents include Dr. Trey Adcock, Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies and Director of American Indian and Indigenous Studies; Dr. Agya Boakye-Boaten, Chair and Associate professor of Africana and Interdisciplinary and International Studies; Dr. Tiece Ruffin, Associate Professor of Education; Dr. Darin Waters, Associate Professor of History and Executive Director of Community Engagement; Dr. Kate Zubko, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, NEH Distinguished Professor in the Humanities, 2018-21; and Dr. Keya Maitra, Professor of Philosophy and the Thomas Howerton Distinguished Professor of Humanities.

Mr. Al Whitesides, Buncombe County Commissioner, is recognized throughout Asheville as a successful businessman, a community leader and a living touchstone to the city’s struggle to eliminate segregation.

Ms. Debra Campbell, Asheville’s City Manager, has more than 30 years of experience in urban planning, transit planning and neighborhood revitalization, and is Asheville first African American City Manager and the first woman to hold the position on a permanent basis.

Ms. Kimberlee Archie is Asheville’s first-ever Equity and Inclusion Manager, working with internal and external Asheville partners, nonprofits, the public and stakeholders to establish the use of an equity lens in all City programs and policies.

Dr. Lawrence T. Potter, Chief Academic Officer and Provost at the University of the District of Columbia

Frank Goldsmith is a retired civil rights attorney who currently works as a mediator and arbitrator throughout Western North Carolina. He serves as a board member for Carolina Jews for Justice West. He is a former Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and has served on the Boards of Governors of both the North Carolina Bar Association and the North Carolina Advocates for Justice (NCAJ), serving on and chairing various committees.