Inclusion, Diversity & Equity Committee (IDEC)

About

The Inclusion, Diversity & Equity Committee includes undergraduate and graduate students, educators, researchers, staff and faculty affiliated with the Institute of Cognitive Science (ICS) at the University of Colorado Boulder. We are a collaborative team open to everyone in the ICS community. We are committed to identifying and dismantling racial and other discriminatory oppressive practices within ICS. We accomplish this work by assessing the experiences and perceptions of discrimination and exclusion of our diverse members, creating a resource-hub for learning about individual and institutional oppression and discrimination, identifying areas for change, and leading efforts to facilitate improvements. Our goal is for ICS to be a model of inclusive excellence at CU Boulder by 2029.

Vision

To be a model of inclusive excellence at CU Boulder by 2029.

Mission

To create an organization where everyone, regardless of visible and invisible differences, can thrive in their learning, research, teaching, and professional development through feeling safe, respected, welcomed, and supported.

Goals

Eliminate racism and all oppressions in ICS and its affiliated units.
Create a safe, supportive, welcoming, diverse, inclusive community of researchers, educators, students, and staff.

Objectives

We Stand Committed to: communicate openly with all members of our community; to connect and listen deeply to each other; to work together to address areas where ICS falls short of our anti-oppressive, inclusive, diverse, equitable vision, mission, and goals; to individually and collectively take actions to eradicate oppression, discrimination, harassment, and division throughout the ICS community; to examine and identify implicit or explicit bias, discrimination and systemic oppressions; to implement policies and strategies to dismantle barriers to individual and group success; and to invest time and resources into efforts that create an equitable, diverse, anti-discriminatory, anti-oppressive, inclusive research community.

We recognize that the work of building an inclusive, diverse, and equitable research community will require a sustained, long-term effort. In order to lay a foundation for successful achievement of our vision, mission, and goals, IDEC’s initial objectives involve getting a baseline assessment of where we are as a community with regard to inclusion, diversity, and equity and creating the tools, processes, and systems to support future work.

1. Understanding Current Oppressive and Discriminatory Practices
   • Identify concrete examples of how structurally and organizationally, ICS participates in biased, oppressive and discriminatory practices and systems
   • Identify the oppressions and discrimination experienced and felt by ICS members within the ICS organization
   • Identify the oppressions and discrimination experienced by ICS members within ICS affiliated departments
   • Identify the oppressions and discrimination experienced by ICS members at CU Boulder
   • Identify where ICS is successful in its IDE and nondiscriminatory practices
   • Identify ways ICS can improve its IDE & nondiscriminatory practices
   • Identify what individual ICS members want and need to thrive in ICS
2. Understanding Community, Connection, and Support Practices
   • Identify where ICS fails to build community, connection, and support
   • Identify where ICS successfully builds community, connection, and support
   • Identify ways ICS can improve community, connection, and support, focused on what current ICS members want and need
3. Building the infrastructure needed to achieve long-term success 
   • Develop and install Institute-wide IDE statements
   • Develop IDEC mission, goals, and short- and long-term objectives
   • Create a place for reporting discrimination and listening to our community
   • Develop and maintain anti-oppression education practices for the ICS community
   • Build committee communication and data collection tools
   • Recruit a diverse group of ICS members to support IDEC work
   • Develop a regular meeting structure and schedule to ensure continuity of IDEC work