Wearing more green than is typically seen at a University of Colorado Boulder event, a crowd of more than 250 students, faculty and staff gathered in the Glenn Miller Ballroom on the morning of St. Patrick's Day for a discussion on campus social climate, with Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano joined by CUSG executives Joseph Soto and John Lurquin.
The chancellor welcomed the crowd and began the event with a requested update on tuition rates. Setting the background by explaining the financial strictures imposed on the State of Colorado by the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR), DiStefano praised the CUSG executives for the work they are doing with the Office of Government Relations and the state legislature to help maintain university funding.
DiStefano highlighted the current proposal for a fixed tuition guarantee for resident students. The concept is under discussion with the Board of Regents, and will be addressed again at the Board's April meeting. The chancellor said he believes this is a way the university can help students and their parents by eliminating the variability of rates being set each April making upcoming tuition at CU-Boulder predictable, even if you are now a rising sophomore in high school.
The chancellor then moved on to the town hall’s main topic: campus social climate and how the key elements of embracing diversity and elevating inclusivity affect student success.
"Today, our goal is to have a conversation that will be ongoing as we continue to improve our campus," he said. "Everyone's commitment to help evolve our campus is needed."
DiStefano highlighted the benefits of a diverse and inclusive campus culture, and how a diverse community is a foundation for student success and the underpinning of higher education. He also shared steps the campus has taken toward a more diverse and inclusive community, and reflected upon the demographic composition of CU-Boulder’s resident freshman class, which now closely reflects the demographics of graduating high school students in Colorado. He also introduced Valerie Simons, executive director and Title IX coordinator of the Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance (OIEC), Vice Chancellor Bob Boswell, of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement, and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Christina Gonzales - and highlighted the work being done in their respective areas to address discrimination, harassment and inclusivity.
DiStefano then took questions from CUSG Presidents Soto and Lurquin. The questions had been collected from the CUSG executive's peers and others and came straight to the point of the day's event.
Soto asked the first question, one that many have wondered: "We've heard about diversity and inclusion efforts in the past, and nothing seems to have changed. So why should students think that things are going to change now?"
DiStefano said change is in the air at CU-Boulder.
"Number one, we're having this conversation," he said. "I want it to be a dialog with students, faculty and staff about ways of improving the campus climate." He highlighted the social dynamics forums and the inclusive excellence initiative, reflecting that "putting it all out on the table" is a substantial shift in the campus approach. He also emphasized the transparent nature of our surveys, actions, successes and failures.
Questioning then moved to Lurquin, who shared data from the Graduate Social Climate Survey and asked, "What are we doing to improve the climate for graduate students?"
The chancellor acknowledged that past efforts have focused on the undergraduate populations, and that efforts to improve campus climate for the graduate student population are underway. Specifically, he mentioned trainings about bystander intervention and implicit bias that are part of the graduate student onboarding process. He also spoke about the resources available to graduate students through OIEC, the Graduate School and programs like the Ombuds Office, and said more must be done to make sure that people know their reporting rights and responsibilities.
As the question-and-answer session progressed, the chancellor also involved members of his cabinet to respond to questions in their realm of expertise. This collaboration in answering the questions was echoed in his response to a question about a recent incident of racist graffiti in a campus bathroom: “We have to do this as a team. We need each and every person to work together to report these."
The collaboration and multilevel approach was also evident as the chancellor and his cabinet responded to a question about whether there would be mandatory training to help the campus community converse on these issues in a culturally intelligent way. Cabinet members described efforts in their areas, from effective bystander and harassment training for students and staff, to sessions for faculty on bias and having difficult conversations. They also reviewed the mandatory training for all incoming students and employees.
The chancellor ended with this remark: “what would I like you to take away from this discussion today? First, that this is an ongoing and evolving discussion, and second, that this is not business as usual. In fact, my hope is that people will look back and say – there it is. The pivot point. 2016. That’s when we really started to change our culture as a campus.”
