Assistant Dean for Organizational Development & Inclusive Practice

Vanessa Seals
Vanessa Seals

The University Libraries affirm diversity and inclusive excellence to be vitally integral to our mission and vision, as described in our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusive Excellence. We join with students, campus partners, and administrators in continuously working towards greater equity, inclusion, and diversity (EDI) at CU Boulder.

Knowing this will be ongoing and collective work, in alignment with the campus-wide Inclusion, Diversity and Excellence in Academics (IDEA) Plan, we take a strategic and systematic approach to embedding EDI into all that we do. Our Dean's Advisory Committee for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion guides many of our efforts and ensures our alignment with campus goals.

Each member of our community is encouraged to actively participate in efforts within and outside the Libraries. One such effort resulted in this online dashboard to share our equity, diversity and inclusion work with the campus community and beyond. Organized around the “Five goals for building a more inclusive campus community”, this dashboard presents pending, ongoing and completed action items below. 

Please contact us with questions, ideas or comments at libraries@colorado.edu. 

Actions organized by campus DEI goals & priorities

Goal 1
Employee skills & development

Goal 2
Student achievement

Goal 3
Community building

Goal 4
Employee recruitment

Goal 5
Prepare students to participate in a diverse democracy

Status Key

Not started In progress Completed

Goal 1: Employee skills and development

Libraries-wide Hiring Training

All Libraries employees attended a hiring training, planned with campus Human Resources employees, focusing on equity, diversity, and inclusion issues during candidate interviews.

Contributors
Freddy Carey, Linds Roberts

Outcomes
Established spring 2021, continuing

Status

Onboarding & Offboarding

Review and improve University Libraries' onboarding and offboarding processes to be more welcoming, inclusive, easy to understand and equitable.

Status

Goal 2: Student achievement outcomes

Difficult Dialogues Series

Sponsored with Center for Humanities & the Arts

Contributors
Arthur Aguilera, Linds Roberts, Caroline Sinkinson

Outcomes
Ongoing

Status

Goal 3: Community building

Libraries' DEI Community of Practice

This internal Community of Practice fosters a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community and culture that is welcoming and supportive to all.

Contributors
2022 co-conveners: Dulce Aldama, Amanda Rybin-Koob, Sarah Werling

Outcomes
Established 2021, ongoing

Status

Collective Noticing

The Collective Noticing Exercise identifies ways in which systemic racism is embedded within our organization’s policies and processes in order to inform the development of the Libraries’ Anti-Racism Action Plan.

Contributors
DCIDE members

Outcomes
Development of Anti-Racism Plan

Status

Anti-racism action plan

Develop an Anti-Racism Action Plan encompassing inclusive recruitment and retention of diverse library personnel, creating more equitable pathways to recognition and advancement, and challenging white-dominant culture in the University Libraries.

Contributors
DCIDE members, Dean's Advisory Council

Status

Goal 4: Employee recruitment outcomes

Establish Diversity Residency Program

Recommend a model for implementing a Libraries' Residency Program, establishing a three-year faculty appointment with access to professional development and project implementation funds, and propose an inaugural position description. 

Contributors
Kathia Ibacache (chair), Freddy Carey, Deborah Hollis, Curt Williams

Outcomes
Librarians of the Future Fellowship Program

Status

Librarians of the Future Fellowship Program

Provides participants the opportunity to experience multiple career paths within academic librarianship, gain project management experience, build a professional network, and prepare for research and service aspects of a tenure-track library position. This Fellowship Program also positions the Libraries to develop diverse leadership, contributes to the ethnic diversity in the profession as a whole and enhances diverse voices by including diverse perspectives.

Status

Goal 5: Prepare students to participate in a diverse democracy

Spring 2021 One Read

Hosted event at Spring 2021 Diversity Summit: Practicing Courage: Microaggressions and So You Want to Talk About Race with Nikki McCord. Coordinated with Boulder Public Library for One Read campaign.

Contributors
Kalyani Fernando, Amanda Rybin-Koob

Status