Office of the Chancellor > Speeches, Columns and Letters > 12th Annual Campus Diversity Summit

12th Annual Campus Diversity Summit
February 19, 2007

Keynote speaker Professor Robert Jensen, UT-Austin, speaks at Diversity Summit.

Welcome to the 12th Annual Campus Diversity Summit. I would like to thank all of you for coming today, and also to thank the individuals and groups whose hard work has helped to make this event possible, including members of the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Minority Affairs (CACMA), and especially co-chairs Judy Poynter and Mark Augustin, for organizing the sessions and inviting our keynote speaker.

Thanks also go to Christie Yoshinaga-Itano, Vice Provost and Associate Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Equity, and the staff of the Office of Diversity and Equity, for their efforts organizing the summit and the awards ceremony; Karen Shimamoto, CACMA’S student representative, and all of the students who helped coordinate this afternoon’s panel; the Interactive Theater Project cast and coordinators, for this evening’s performance; and the staff from Disability Services for organizing tomorrow’s session featuring guest speaker and storyteller Afi-Tiombe Kambon.

Many thanks to all of you for your help in organizing this year’s Diversity Summit.

I am very pleased to be here with so many of you who are committed to enhancing diversity at the University of Colorado at Boulder. I know that many of you direct diversity programs or participate on diversity committees in your respective departments. Some of you may be here to learn more about campus diversity issues, and I imagine that some of you may also be curious about my thoughts and perspectives on diversity.

Clearly, the landscape for diversity is changing, around our nation and in Colorado. Affirmative action efforts are under attack in several states. Here at home we are facing increased scrutiny of our funding for efforts to promote a more diverse university community.

Admittedly, the challenges we face today sometimes seem as big as the ones we faced 10, 20 and even 30 years ago. This makes it important that now, more than ever, we must come together in our efforts to create an inclusive community, one based on the ideals and principles from which the very first universities were formed.

The concept of diversity is a foundation upon which both ancient and modern universities have been built, hearkening back to the early centuries when the universities of antiquity were first established. This concept has been replicated here in American higher education through the articulation over the past two centuries, that people of all social classes—and more recently, all ethnicities and cultures—could transform themselves, American society, and the world, through the intellectual opportunities offered at our colleges and universities.

These days, you hear talk about universities being strategic in their efforts to enhance the diversity of their respective communities. I contend that in some cases, diversity is viewed not as a core value, but rather as something that must be checked off of a to-do list, creating a kind of “compliance mentality.” What is missing in these situations? I think the answer to that question is that diversity really matters in everything we do, it is a goal, not an activity and the pursuit of that goal will make us all better, better as individuals and better as a society.

Vision for diversity
As I have said before, my vision is to make diversity here at the University of Colorado at Boulder “routine”—to make it a pervasive and integral part of what we do and who we are, and not a line item on a balance sheet; to ensure that it pervades all that we do, making it hard to differentiate where our diversity efforts start and where they end.  

I am confident that we can identify both short and long-term solutions to make this happen. Solutions that are based upon our fundamental core values—principles such as integrity, responsibility, respect, and a desire to contribute to the greater good of our community.

These solutions must be based on a powerful blending of each aspect of diversity, including race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, intellectual, and geographic diversity. They will be accomplished through vibrant and well-qualified students; a talented, thoughtful, and highly motivated faculty, staff, and administration; and a carefully thought out and well executed plan.

Most importantly, these solutions will focus on educational experiences that allow individuals with diverse backgrounds and ideas to come together to share their thoughts and ideas, to discuss different experiences and perspectives and to learn from one another.

As Margaret Meade, the great cultural anthropologist, said, “If we are to achieve a richer culture, rich in contrasting values, we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities, and so weave a less arbitrary social fabric, one in which each diverse human gift will find a fitting place.”

To do this, we must focus on building the skill sets required to be successful in this ever-changing world in which we live—skills such as how to build interpersonal relationships, how to effectively communicate, and how to influence culture change. We must have the courage to deliver uncomfortable messages to others in our community who are not working with us toward these goals.

All of this requires that we develop an ownership mentality—one that recognizes that we have the authority, and in fact the responsibility, to instill diversity in everything we do, and that in the end, we are each accountable for the results of our decisions and actions.

New vice chancellor position
Over the course of the past seven months, we have initiated a number of new programs and expanded our efforts to create a more diverse community—one that welcomes all people. These early efforts have focused primarily on the recruitment and retention of faculty and students.

An additional important step in this ownership mentality requires that we give diversity a greater place in the leadership and management of our university. As you may have heard, we have initiated a search for a new position, a Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement, and Dean Jim Williams has agreed to chair the search.

This new vice chancellor will serve as a member of the senior leadership team, reporting through the provost to me as chancellor, and will coordinate our overall diversity efforts for faculty, staff and students, and manage our outreach programs to underrepresented communities throughout Colorado. The creation of this position and the level of this appointment will ensure that diversity has a place at the table and help diversity to permeate everything we do.

The new vice chancellor will work collaboratively with the deans, department chairs, senior level staff, student groups and the greater university community to develop, implement and assess strategies and programs designed to increase and enhance faculty, student, and staff diversity.

I want the hiring of this position to mark a turning point in the history of the University of Colorado at Boulder—one characterized by a seamless approach to diversity, such that diversity is woven into all we are, all we do and all that we aspire to be. Hopefully with time, we will no longer be able to pinpoint where diversity begins and ends at our university.

Our goal is to bring finalists for this position to campus for interviews in April or May, and to have someone in place by July 1st.

It is important to emphasize two things as we proceed with this search: First of all, the creation of this new position is not a reflection of any dissatisfaction with the performance of the Office of Diversity and Equity or the individuals within that office. They have done a wonderful job since the office was created in 1998, but it is now time to take our diversity efforts to the next level.

Secondly, I want to emphasize that creating this position does not excuse the rest of us from advancing our efforts to enhance the diversity of our university. It is imperative that we all continue to work together and redouble our efforts to develop strong programs that support and foster a more inclusive community.

Preparing for the future
In order for the University of Colorado at Boulder to grow as a diverse institution, our campus community needs to be strong, united and healthy. And our efforts are going to be even more compelling in the years ahead as we become an even more diverse society.

In 2005, the nation’s minority population totaled 98 million, or 33 percent, of the country’s total of 296.4 million. In October 2006, America’s official population count hit the 300 million mark, with 40 percent of the growth resulting from immigration. These mid-decade numbers provide further evidence of the increasing diversity of our nation’s population. This past year the U.S. Census Bureau reported that 1-in-every-3 U.S. residents was part of a group other than single-race, non-Hispanic, Caucasians.

Overall, America is getting less white, more female, older and better educated, according to census numbers. Religion and spirituality are also important components of cultural diversity that are taking on heightened interest across our nation’s campuses. The question is, what are we doing here at CU-Boulder to help students cope with these changing issues related to their identity and their place in the world?

If we don’t recognize and embrace this new reality, we put our institution at risk, we put our communities at risk, and we put our families’ futures at risk.

Yes, we face big challenges ahead, and we cannot afford to fail. Fortunately, thanks to the commitment of numerous people to diversity efforts over the years, we already have many of the resources we need to address them. And in addition to our programs and services, we have each other.

Each one of us has choices to make, in each interaction we have with those who differ in ways that are important to us. We can refuse an opportunity to more fully understand one another, or we can choose to be a beacon of hope and make this world a better place for those who will follow.

It’s up to us to write a new chapter in this story of transformation. As we set out, I want you to feel as I do, that this is not what we are forced to do—this is what we are called to do.

So I urge you go back to the office, go back to your department, and go back to the classroom knowing that together we can take ownership of diversity efforts in our community, and together we can achieve success. Our struggle will be worth it, and we will create a better legacy for this great institution, for your children, and for your children’s children.

In closing, I commend those of you who have been working on the front lines for diversity here at the University of Colorado at Boulder. You have done much, but more still remains for you and for those of us who have recently joined you in your efforts.

Our values of fighting the good fight, staying the course, and keeping the faith have never been more relevant than in the times we live in today. There is value in doing what is right, not what’s easy; value in not just saying that we are going to do something, but actually doing it; and value in overcoming obstacles to become a better, stronger community. I know we can do this—that is where we must go from here—together.

Thank you.