Brett Shadle, professor and chair of the Virginia Tech Department of History and a founding member of the Center for Refugee, Migrant, and Displacement Studies, will lead an online discussion exploring the global refugee crisis and the local connection to communities in Blacksburg and Roanoke.

The “Global to Local View of the Refugee Crisis” webinar, the third in the OIA Conversations on Race series, will be on March 10 from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Register online for the webinar.

Panelists will include:

  • Scott Bailey, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Virginia Tech and leader of the Blacksburg Refugee Partnership;
  • Bethany Lackey, executive director of the Roanoke Refugee Partnership; and
  • Katherine Randall, a Ph.D. candidate in rhetoric and writing in the Virginia Tech Department of English and a Blacksburg Refugee Partnership volunteer.

Zohour, a Syrian refugee, will also talk about her experiences. Dina Ali will serve as translator.

Sponsored by Outreach and International Affairs, the OIA Conversations on Race series is free and open the public. The “Global to Local View of the Refugee Crisis” event is being co-sponsored by the Center for Refugee, Migrant, and Displacement Studies.

The goal of the series is to raise awareness of local conditions and how they are linked to global communities of color. The conversations are meant to spur reflection, learning, and continuing dialogue surrounding systemic racism and  communities across the commonwealth and around the world.

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Leland Shelton at 540-231-9617 or email leshelt2@vt.edu.