By Southern Pigskin Staff
SouthernPigskin.com

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The 15-member panel is composed of a racially diverse blend of student-athletes, coaches, campus administrators and athletics department staff members.

nSoConSports.com

nSPARTANBURG, S.C. xe2x80x93 Southern Conference Commissioner Jim Schaus announced Tuesday the formation of a Racial Equity and Justice Task Force to counsel the league by identifying concepts and developing actionable items that can be used by all conference member schools regarding improving racial equity and social justice. The 15-member panel is composed of a racially diverse blend of student-athletes, coaches, campus administrators and athletics department staff members, with at least one representative from each of the leaguexe2x80x99s 10 full member schools.
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nSamford Director of Diversity and Intercultural Initiatives for Athletics JeNorri Armstead serves as chair of the task force.
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nxe2x80x9cThere is a critical and timely need for exploring this subject,xe2x80x9d Schaus said. xe2x80x9cMuch has been learned through the initial discussions. The task force seeks to identify practical ways to foster awareness and promote education that can make a difference. I am excited to see how it all progresses.xe2x80x9d
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nThe task forcexe2x80x99s main tenets to explore are:
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n- Promoting diversity
n- Education
n- Support for key constituents
n- Awareness
n- Marketing
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nThe task force will meet regularly and will seek input from constituents on SoCon campuses and will aim to engage in conversations with student-athletes on these focus areas, including raising awareness about mental health. The committee is also supporting the NCAA and SoCon SAACxe2x80x99s voting initiatives social media campaign and each SAACxe2x80x99s on-campus efforts.
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nSouthern Conference Racial Equity and Justice Task Force members
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nName Institution Position Title
nKathy Kroupa The Citadel SWA/Sr. Associate AD
nScott Carter ETSU Director of Intercollegiate Athletics
nKay Lennon McGrew ETSU Assistant Legal Counsel
nJackie Carson Furman Head Womenxe2x80x99s Basketball Coach
nBrian Gerrityxc2xa0 Mercer Sr. Associate AD, Executive Director Mercer Athletic Foundation
nKristin Rusboldt UNCG Assoc. AD/SA Services/Diversity & Intercultural Engagement
nTori Powellxc2xa0 UNCG Womenxe2x80x99s Basketball Student-Athlete
nJeNorri Armstead (chair) Samford Director of Diversity and Intercultural Initiatives for Athletics
nDenise Gregory Samford FAR/Asst. Provost for Diversity & Intercultural Initiatives
nKen Jones Chattanooga Associate AD, Compliance
nLamont Paris Chattanooga Menxe2x80x99s Basketball Coach
nJordan Ward VMI Football Student-Athlete
nStacey Miller Western Carolina SWA/Associate AD
nAlex Gary Western Carolina Director of Athletics
nJameica Hill Wofford FAR/Professor, Chair of Chemistry Department

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