COLUMBUS OH – Can we talk?

That’s the question The Ohio State University will ask its campus and the Columbus community this month when the stars and creative team of Lifetime Television’s ground-breaking and award-winning original series “Any Day Now” participate in a two-hour discussion on diversity.

Ohio State, which in October 2000 released a Diversity Action Plan to improve the campus climate for diversity, is collaborating with Lifetime Television and campus and community leaders to present a forum titled, “Can We Talk? Confronting Our Differences Together,” from 3 to 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23, in Weigel Hall Auditorium on the Columbus campus.

Ohio State President William E. Kirwan will be joined by nationally known author, journalist and political analyst Farai Chideya to moderate the forum. Any Day Now stars Annie Potts and Lorraine Toussaint, series creator and executive producer Nancy Miller and executive producer Gary Randall will join forum participants, including university faculty, students and community leaders, to discuss cultural misconceptions. Specifically, they will examine the ways in which a lack of information, misinformation or misunderstandings often contribute to serious social issues of difference, such as racism, sexism and homophobia. The goal of the forum is to promote open dialogue on campus, in the community and in society.

Before the forum, Potts and Toussaint will spend the day with students in their classrooms to discuss their experiences on the weekly television drama focused on the lifelong friendship between two women, one black and one white. Acclaimed for its authenticity and originality, Any Day Now is an open and honest dialogue on race in America. Now in its third award-winning season, the series airs on Sunday nights at 10 p.m. on Lifetime Television.

Kirwan in 1998 came to Ohio State from the University of Maryland, where he had initiated a number of programs aimed at improving the diversity climate. He has consistently sought to increase Ohio State’s commitment in a similar fashion, and has included diversity in the university’s recently released strategic plan as a key component to future success.

“We are serious about enhancing our learning environment through racial and ethnic diversity,” Kirwan said. “Students who attend a university that supports and celebrates diversity will be better prepared to live in the multicultural society and work in the global economy of the 21st century.”

This Ohio State University Diversity Forum is sponsored by Mercedes Benz, USA; Lifetime Television; The Ohio State University’s Office of Academic Affairs, College of the Arts, Fisher College of Business and the College of Humanities; Paul Werth Associates; and NewsCenter on ABC-6 & FOX-28.

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(LO)