Editor’s note: This is part of a series of updates on campuswide diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that will continue throughout the year.
Employee affinity groups provide support, professional development opportunities
Employee affinity groups are open to staff and faculty who want to build community with colleagues, peers and allies, share resources and benefit from training and professional development opportunities.
Staff and faculty members interested in learning more about the groups are invited to attend a Sept. 21 Employee Affinity Group Summit at the Center for Community (C4C). More information is also available via the campus DEI Resource Hub.
Through employee affinity groups, faculty and staff can meet regularly in a mutually supportive setting and advocate for policy changes and new programming. Other desired outcomes include supporting the recruitment and retention of historically minoritized groups and their allies. Currently, six employee affinity groups are providing staff and faculty with supportive campus communities and opportunities to network with colleagues.
The groups are the outcome of a recommendation by the Inclusion, Diversity and Excellence in Academics (IDEA) Council, a collaborative group of faculty, staff and students charged with prioritizing recommendations in the IDEA Plan. The plan, in part, is guiding efforts to sustain a more inclusive and supportive campus culture for students, staff and faculty.
The office led by Senior Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Sonia DeLuca Fernández sponsors the groups, providing guidance, funding access and programmatic assessments. The employee affinity groups are independently established and sustained and are not part of the university’s formal governance structure, and each group determines its own scope and priorities, said David Humphrey, assistant vice chancellor for diversity, equity and inclusion, whose team leads programming support for the groups.
“Affinity groups have long been recognized as an effective strategy for building community, sharing resources and providing education, training and development opportunities to employees, and this is particularly true within higher education,” Humphrey said. “As the results of the most recent campus culture survey indicate, pursuing these outcomes is critical to employee engagement, retention and career success.”
Interested in learning more about affinity groups?
Visit the DEI Resource Hub to obtain more information about joining an existing affinity group or starting a new one.
Attend the inaugural Affinity Group Summit taking place on Sept. 21 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Abrams Lounge in the Center for Community (C4C). The community-building event is designed to open the academic year for all affinity group programming and provide opportunities for groups to orient each other on upcoming events and programming.
Upcoming events
- SNAP Information Session with Basic Needs Center Aug. 30
- Pride Picnic Sept. 5
- Society of Women Engineers Weekly Meeting Sept. 5, 12, 19 and 26
In case you missed it
- CU Engineering offers debt-free degrees for first-gen Colorado students
- Colorado Law’s American Indian Law Program supports Tribal Governments at United Nations sessions
- Christina Alston to lead Colorado Diversity Initiative
- SMART Students Join ATLAS for Summer Research Projects
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.
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.
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.
- Center for Asian Studies (CAS): 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 (CTL): 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 and Latinx Studies Center (LALSC): Provides an institutional space for research, teaching and discussion on Latin America and Latinx/Latina/Latino studies.
- 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.
