Ithaca College

Dr. Derek Greenfield has been speaking for 20 years on issues such as diversity, motivation, hip-hop music and culture, reaching today’s students, and many more compelling topics.  He has given presentations to hundreds of multinational companies (the NBA, AT&T/Bell Labs, the L.A. Housing Authority, to name just a few) as well as many colleges and high schools all over the world.  Dr. Greenfield's motivational talk will be in Hockett Recital Hall in the Whalen Center for Music at noon on Friday November 21st.  All students and faculty are invited to attend.  

Dr. Derek Greenfield is a visionary speaker, consultant, and thought leader dedicated to inclusive excellence and positive change. With his dynamic and interactive approach, creative ideas, track record of success, and sense of humor, Dr. Greenfield has become a highly requested presenter across the globe. His powerful keynotes and workshops on issues such as diversity and inclusion, motivation, team building, student development, innovative pedagogy, and hip-hop culture have been featured at a wide range of conferences, companies, and colleges, including McDonald’s Corporation, NCAA, International Conference on Cultural Diversity, Hilton Hotels, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Texas-Austin, National Black Student Leadership Development Conference, National Dropout Prevention Conference, Progress Energy, and the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks.  

Prior to his full-time speaking career, Dr. Greenfield spent over 20 years as a dedicated and talented college professor and administrator. He most recently served as Director of Educational Equity and Inclusion at Alcorn State University in Lorman, MS. Under his leadership, Alcorn became the only HBCU and only school in Mississippi to receive the prestigious Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award twice from Insight Into Diversity magazine and was named a leader among HBCUs for diversity in a Huffington Post feature article.  

As a testament to his dedication to student achievement, Dr. Greenfield has been included five times on the list of Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, received honors as faculty of the year in previous positions at Saint Augustine’s University and Shaw University, and was recognized as faculty member of the year by the Student Government Association during his first year at Alcorn. His course “Hip-Hop and American Society” has been spotlighted twice in Source magazine as representing the first college course in the nation exclusively devoted to exploring hip-hop culture. In addition to publishing a lengthy list of academic articles, Dr. Greenfield is the author of the widely acclaimed motivational book The Answer is in Your Hands. Before beginning his full-time career in academia, Dr. Greenfield spent seven years as an award-winning youth worker in inner-city Chicago.  

He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Sociology from Northwestern University as well as a doctorate in Education from Cape Peninsula University of Technology in South Africa.   Dr. Greenfield’s work has led him to receive numerous awards and citations, and he was recently named to a prestigious position as a Kellogg Fellow. Reflecting his passion for supporting social justice initiatives, Dr. Greenfield serves on the Board of Directors for three non-profit organizations and continues to engage in youth development efforts in the townships of South Africa.

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact Michael Titlebaum at mtitlebaum@ithaca.edu or (607) 274-1283. We ask that requests for accommodations be made as soon as possible.