Dr. Joanne Arnold set the pace for many of her University of Colorado faculty, staff, alumni, and student colleagues—and others—when her public post-Amendment 2 “coming out” was reported in Boulder newspapers. Dr. Arnold was the first chair of the Boulder Chancellor’s Standing Committee on Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Issues, created in 1993. The Committee, under Arnold’s leadership, made remarkable progress in creating a more inclusive campus for LGBTQ+ students, staff, and faculty and, as a colleague from the Colorado Springs campus reported, “changed the culture on the Boulder campus.”
Dr. Arnold was a professor and associate dean emerita of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at CU-Boulder. She earned three degrees from the University of Colorado, Boulder. While teaching at CU she received two major awards for service to the University of Colorado, including the CU Boulder Faculty Assembly Excellence in Service Award, which noted in part her courageous work for LGBT rights on campus and elsewhere.
She inspired the community with her courage, good cheer, unflagging optimism, and commitment to find justice for all. The purpose of this award is to support and recognize those faculty, staff, and alumni that embody the character and values of Dr. Arnold and have made similar contributions to the campus community.