It's More Than That

Bridging between adverse populations – deaf and hearing, Christian and non, straight and queer – is Joanne Coffin-Langdon’s life’s work. “I just find myself with the audacity to want to do it,” says the deaf studies instructor.

Coffin-Langdon was born in Germany and is a mom of nine children, and her story is about boldly and consistently answering the call.

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The research and story of Shawyn Lee, assistant professor of Social Work, merges – removing myths surrounding adoption. 

“What does it mean to be a Korean adoptee? The only way that I can explain it is like this cosmic pull ... like something was pulling my body back home, even though I knew nothing about South Korea.”

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“When you see that student crying in the hallway, after an exam, it’s probably not just the exam, there is definitely something else going on, and it is our job not to have those judgements because there is more to every story.”

UMD Student Association President Neal Bhakta grew up in a lot of different places across the country. His experiences gave him the perspective needed to launch a mental health campaign that’s personally motivated and having a profound impact on our campus culture.

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“Some people can do big things, the big picture, but for me, my realization early on is, where I can make additional difference is one student at a time, one person at a time.”

Helen Mongan-Rallis, an associate professor in the Department of Education, was born in a country deeply steeped in racial turmoil. “I left South Africa in 1984, but I am deeply South African.”

How these roots influence her work at UMD, and how stories empower Mongan-Rallis to better understand people she disagrees with. Plus getting trapped in Lake Superior ice while kayaking, and headstands as a metaphor for being an ally on this episode of “It’s More Than That.” 

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Wendy Reed, dean of the Swenson College of Science and Engineering, is effecting change by challenging, "This is the way we've always done it." 

Hear how her Allies and Advocates program is making sure everyone’s voice is heard – and how embodying a maternal effects scientist was seen as activism, but it wasn’t.

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Vice Chancellor for Student Life, Lisa Erwin, is UMD’s Title IX coordinator — a critical role for our campus. Learn what drives her work on this episode of “It’s More Than That.”

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A robot named Pepper is changing how dementia patients are treated, and its creator changed the traditional image of computer programers. Meet Associate Professor of Computer Science, Dr. Arshia Khan. She talks about overcoming faith bias and discusses her work with robotics in medical care. 

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“The rule was that I didn’t break the rules, no matter how much it cost, no matter how hard it was.”

What’s the cost of following the rules? What about within the context of institutional racism? We hear from Associate Professor of Philosophy, Dr. Jeanine Weekes Schroer, about this and also talk about the political tension between faculty and staff in higher education.

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Mike Kenyanya leapt from his inspirational UMD commencement speech into his role as a University of Minnesota Regent. Mike talks about his continued leadership and how his immigration from Kenya influences him.

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"At ASU for a while anyway, we would regularly get bomb threats and have to clear out the buildings. And oftentimes the bomb threats would be coded with critiques, if you will, about all the multicultural things that we were doing at the university."

Having personally navigated overt bias and death threats, Fernando Delgado talks about what he sees as a need for “more conversations” and “respectfully disagreeing”. As UMD’s Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Fernando sees opportunity in challenging each other along the journey to personal growth. 

Hope you enjoy this episode, and as always, be sure to hit subscribe for more stories that celebrate the human experience in higher education.