Next week’s 15th annual campus-wide diversity forum will create a venue for students to provide input on the University of Wisconsin’s next diversity plan.

This year’s forum, titled “Diversity and education achievement: A statewide agenda,” will focus on educational achievement.

The forum will run for a full day longer than previous years to take a comprehensive look at diversity topics in a statewide context, due to a grant from the UW System, Interim Associate Vice Provost Ruby Paredes said in an email to The Badger Herald.

“The Diversity Forum is an opportunity for the faculty, staff, students and administration to gather together and recommit to their shared goals of diversity and inclusion, and consider thoughtfully the challenges we face while celebrating successes that encourage and spur our continuing efforts,” Paredes said.

An important topic this year will be how UW is formulating its next diversity plan. The forum will also gauge input on the plan from all across campus and the community, Valeria Davis, a UW spokesperson, said in an email to The Badger Herald.

Diversity requires a “360-degree examination of the issues, challenges and solutions toward improvement,” Patrick Sims, Interim Vice Provost and Chief Diversity Officer, said.

“UW has a very long and proud tradition of leaning in to this topic — more than 25 years — and we know that it requires working and being in community.  This is just one of our key campus community gatherings around diversity and we’re also proud to note that its growing bigger, better and more comprehensive every time we come together,” Sims said in an email to The Badger Herald.

The forum will feature three keynote speakers: Sylvia Hurtado, Professor and Director of the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA; Derald Wing Sue, Professor of Psychology and Education in the Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology at Teachers College and the School of Social Work, Columbia University and Attorney Katherine E. Lipper, policy and legal advisor at EducationCounsel, Paredes said.

Among other activities planned is a presentation on the First Wave and Student Orientation, Advising, Registration internship and a talk from College of Letters & Sciences Dean John Karl Scholz, Paredes said.

Davis said she thinks the forum will be very beneficial to the UW community and is a great starting point for engaging on campus diversity.

“It is a chance for people who are involved in or championing diversity all across campus to get together and share information, network and partner. Again, this year the Forum is a key starting point — a kick-off actually — for campus engagement around our next diversity plan,” Davis said.

The forum will take place in Varsity Hall at Union South, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday. Those who cannot attend the forum but are interested in keeping up with the discussion can follow the event on Twitter under the hashtag #UWDiversityForum.