Editor’s note: This is part of a series of campus updates on diversity, equity and inclusion that will continue throughout the year.
Annual, biennial CU community events coming in spring 2023
Students, staff and faculty will have a variety of opportunities to connect with colleagues, classmates and peers and to engage in dialogue about initiatives and issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion during several CU events this coming spring.
CU in the Community: MLK Jr. Day
The Center for African and African American Studies and the Volunteer Resource Center are teaming up to offer an opportunity for CU Boulder students to honor the birthday and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. during a day of service from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Jan. 16.
Students will spend a day connecting and participating in community celebrations in Denver, including the city’s renowned MLK Marade (march and parade), according to event organizers with the CAAAS and the Volunteer Resource Center.
The annual march and parade is the only one of its kind in the United States and has grown to be one of the largest MLK Jr. Day celebrations in the country.
Organizers will provide food and transportation to students who would like to participate.
CU Social Justice Summit
The daylong University of Colorado Social Justice Summit, a virtual, biennial event for the four-campus CU system, will take place on Jan. 31.
The summit’s 2023 theme is “Operationalizing Liberation for a Diverse Democracy,” and the event is open to all undergraduate and graduate students, university staff and frontline employees, and faculty from CU Boulder, CU Denver, UCCS, the CU Anschutz Medical Campus and the system administration. The summit is also open to alumni and other community members, and participants are encouraged to register early for the summit and for virtual community meetups scheduled for Jan. 30.
The keynote speaker is noted author, scholar and educator Bettina Love, the William F. Russell professor at Columbia University’s Teachers College, who will give a talk titled, “We Gon’ Be Alright, but That Ain’t Alright: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom.”
Women’s Leadership Symposium
Next on the calendar is the 2023 Women’s Leadership Symposium on March 1. Event organizers are accepting proposals for the symposium through 5 p.m. on Jan. 18.
The symposium’s theme is, “The Stories We Need: Claiming Rest, Roots and New Realities,” and organizers said the event “seeks to explore a variety of ways women build their leadership skills and feel empowered to become tomorrow’s leaders.”
Participants seeking additional information may reach out to cisc.@colorado.edu.
Transforming Gender Conference
The Transforming Gender Conference will take place in person over the March 18–19 weekend in the Koelbel Building at CU Boulder. The annual conference—free and open to students, staff, faculty and community members—includes talks and forums and works to raise awareness about issues and identities in the transgender community.
The theme of the 2023 conference is, “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet!” Sessions will include presentations related to youth advocacy, medical transition, queering biology, education for mental health providers, questions and answers for parents and families, and other topics.
Organizers are accepting conference presentation proposals through Feb. 1.
Sustaining our practice of inclusion
Campus efforts and investments to address pressing and painful inequities at CU Boulder are only a beginning. Creating a culture of belonging will take each member of our community practicing sustained personal work to truly embrace and support diverse perspectives and intersectional identities in our community.
During the 2022–23 academic year, Chancellor Philip DiStefano and other campus leaders urge every member of our community to join in learning more about diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism and to work continuously together to address these challenges more actively and in ways that can help authentically transform our campus culture in the coming year.
Campus resources
- CU Boulder Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Website: Find more information about the campus’s work to create and sustain a more inclusive campus community and explore the results of the 2021 Campus Culture Survey.
- Center for African and African American Studies (CAAAS): Provides a focal point for Black community and culture at CU Boulder and a multipurpose space where scholars, students, artists, activists and allies come together to study Africa, African Americans, and the African diaspora. Subscribe to the center’s newsletter to learn more.
- Center for Asian Studies: Strives to be a space of community, curiosity and respectful engagement with Asia, views the area studies endeavor as a necessary yet distinct complement to disciplinary knowledge, and recognizes the historic and geographic centrality that Asia has and continues to play in the human venture.
- Center for Native American and Indigenous Studies (CNAIS): Promotes collaborative research focusing on local and global Indigenous knowledge and fosters projects that aspire to open conversations in Colorado and the world.
- Center for Teaching and Learning: Offers programs focused on creating inclusive classrooms and supports CU’s community of educators through free consultations, teaching resources, programs, seminars, workshops and other events.
- CU Boulder History Project: Seeks to share CU Boulder’s history based on intersectional perspectives to demonstrate our commitment to inclusive excellence and to deepen our institutional memory.
- Latin American Studies Center: Provides an institutional space for research, teaching and discussion on Latin America and Latinx/Latina/Latino studies.
- Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement: Supports programming, events and campus wide initiatives for students, faculty and staff that promote diversity, equity and inclusion. Subscribe to the office’s newsletter to learn more.
- Research and Innovation Office (RIO): Offers resources focusing on diversity, equity and inclusion in research and innovation.
- University Libraries: Provides a rich assortment of diverse reading materials and other resources, events and initiatives for students, faculty, staff, alumni and Colorado residents.
