Editor’s note: This is part of a series of campus updates on diversity, equity and inclusion that will continue throughout the year.
You’re invited to the systemwide CU Social Justice Summit Jan. 31
The final countdown to the 2023 University of Colorado Social Justice Summit has begun, and the biennial event promises an array of opportunities for students, staff and faculty to hear from experts and engage with peers and colleagues from across the CU system.
The virtual, daylong 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.
Noted author, scholar and Columbia University professor Bettina L. Love will give a keynote talk titled, “We Gon’ Be Alright, but That Ain’t Alright: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom.” Other summit sessions include a discussion among the four CU chancellors and another featuring the CU system diversity officers.
Students, staff and faculty are encouraged to register early for the summit and for virtual community meetups scheduled for Jan. 30, the day before the main event.
Learn more about the summit and how to register and access the full agenda and other resources by visiting the CU Social Justice Summit website.
CU Boulder community to commemorate Black History Month in February
The campus community will commemorate Black History Month in February with recommended readings, guest speakers and other events open to students, faculty and staff.
The Center for African and African American Studies, also known as “the Cause,” and the Department of English are co-sponsoring a speaker series on Feb. 24 featuring talks by UCLA English professor Yogita Goyal and Pomona College English professor Cherene Sherrard-Johnson.
Goyal’s talk, “Rethinking Failure: Genres of Anticolonial Thought,” and Sherrard-Johnson’s talk, “Celestial Bodies and Black Ecologies,” will take place from noon to 2 p.m. at the Center for British and Irish Studies on Norlin Library’s fifth floor, followed by a 4 p.m. reception.
Each year, the Department of History offers a list of recommended readings in observation of Black History Month, including writings by faculty and alumni.
Over the coming weeks, please watch for additional events and opportunities to celebrate the history and contributions of Black Americans in February and throughout the year.
UndocuAlly trainings return for spring 2023
The Center for Inclusion and Social Change has announced its spring schedule of UndocuAlly sessions for faculty and staff. The two-hour sessions are also open to students with administrative, professional or teaching roles on campus.
Intended to help the campus better support undocumented students and to create a more welcoming campus environment, the sessions will increase participants’ understanding of relevant terminology and the makeup of the undocumented community.
Participants will also learn more about the history of immigration to the United States; about the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Colorado’s Advancing Students for a Stronger Economy Tomorrow (ASSET) programs and how they impact CU Boulder students; and about the challenges, opportunities and campus resources for undocumented students.
The schedule for spring sessions is:
- Feb. 24, noon–2 p.m., in person. Please register by noon on Feb. 23.
- March 9, 3–5 p.m. Please register by noon on March 8.
- April 10, 10 a.m.–noon. Please register by noon on April 7.
Signature CU Boulder events coming this semester
The theme of the 2023 Women’s Leadership Symposium on March 1 is, “The Stories We Need: Claiming Rest, Roots and New Realities.” The event “seeks to explore a variety of ways women build their leadership skills and feel empowered to become tomorrow’s leaders,” organizers said. For more information, please reach out to cisc@colorado.edu.
On March 18–19, the Transforming Gender Conference will take place in person in the Koelbel Building. 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.
In case you missed it
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- Understanding the full legacy of MLK
- Boulder community wraps its arms around Afghan refugees
- Wealthy democracies have looser immigration policies, researchers find
- Undergrad uncovers evidence suggesting CU pioneer favored eugenics
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.
