YANNICK KLUCH
diversity & inclusion leadership
I am fortunate to have received outstanding leadership opportunities to promote diversity and inclusion at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) and beyond. From 2013 to 2018, I served as an International Student Ambassador for the International Program & Partnerships office at the university. For my work with We Are One Team (WA1T; see below), I was also appointed to serve on the university's President's Advisory Council for Diversity and Inclusion (PACODI) for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 academic years. As part of my work with PACODI, I was one of the driving forces behind launching a student-centered counterpart of PACODI. the Student Advisory Council for Diversity and Inclusion (SACODI). Finally, I served as a representative on the Changing Campus Culture Committee, a committee that aims at changing the culture surrounding sexual harassment and sexual violence at the university.
Bringing together my passion for the critical study of sport and inclusive leadership is my work with We Are One Team (WA1T), which is a campus-wide initiative to promote diversity, inclusion, and social justice at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) and beyond. We Are One Team (WA1T) uses sport as a forum to create a dialogue and to promote friendship between stereotyped groups on campus, including but not limited to BGSU Athletics, minority groups, faculty and administration, and the general student body. Through the power of sport, We Are One Team (WA1T) aims to strengthen the sense of community at BGSU by creating awareness of social injustice and by facilitating an environment that values inclusion, diversity, and acceptance.
We Are One Team (WA1T) is a first-of-its-kind initiative in the United States. As a truly interdisciplinary and interdepartmental initiative, it brings together more than 25 different offices, departments, schools, activist groups, and student organizations in the BGSU and Bowling Green community. Under my leadership, We Are One Team (WA1T) has organized multiple panel discussions and a speaker event focusing on social justice issues in sport, has created a social media photo campaign for people to take a stand against injustice, has launched the WA1T Sporting Day series bringing together two of the most isolated groups on campus (student-athletes and international students), and has held an annual WA1T Team Run/Walk attracting hundreds of BGSU and Bowling Green community members.
In 2017, We Are One Team (WA1T) was honored with the prestigious NCAA and Minority Opportunities Athletic Association’s Award for Diversity and Inclusion. The award is a partnership between the two organizations to recognize and celebrate the initiatives, policies and practices of colleges, universities and/or athletics conference offices that embrace diversity and inclusion. Based on my work with We Are One Team (WA1T), I was invited to speak at the 2017 NCAA Inclusion Forum as part of a session titled "Best Practices to Ensure Inclusive Campus Cultures." For more information on We Are One Team (WA1T), please check out the WA1T Bowling Green website here. I am currently in the process of working with multiple universities across the United States to launch We Are One Team (WA1T) chapters at their respective campuses.
we are one team (WA1T)
It is equally important to me to be a leader in the academic disciplines that inform my work. During my time as a graduate student, I have served as the Graduate Student Representative for the Feminist and Women Studies Division (2015-16) and the Communication and Sport Division (2016-17) of the National Communication Association. In addition, I have served as a reviewer for the Communication and Sport Division, the Activism and Social Justice Division, and the Great Ideas for Teaching Students (G.I.F.T.S.) Division of the National Communication Association.
academic service
