2019 Spring Diversity & Inclusion Summit

Via Zoom Dr. Clayton-Pedersen will offer a national perspective on efforts to close the gap between best-intentioned actions that lead to unwanted impact. As a long-time consultant on matters of diversity, inclusivity and PARTICULARLY equity, Dr. Clayton-Pedersen will share her expertise with the CU Boulder community. She has been instrumental in SHAPING the Making Excellence Inclusive strategy that enfranchises all AMERICANS. Alma R. Clayton-Pedersen, CEO of Emeritus Consulting Group, a former AAC&U Senior Scholar serving as co-PI and director of the Preparing Critical Faculty for the Future, and a former AAC&U Vice President. To listen to this opening session via Zoom click here. Alternatively, the Zoom link is - https://cuboulder.zoom.us/j/436068873.

This facilitated session with community members will challenge participants to go deeper into Making Excellence Inclusive by discussing the IDEA Plan goals (more inclusive campus climate, infrastructure, and leadership) in concrete ways. This session will guide discussions of how to personalize the IDEA Plan, generate individual goals, and identify engagement opportunities that demonstrate accountability and commitment to the shared value of inclusive excellence that has been articulated by the Chancellor. Conversations will encourage attendees to see themselves as action-takers and change-makers in enhancing campus climate. In a similar format to the previous November 14, 2018 CU Leadership Unplugged session, participants will engage with each other at tables, rotate to speak with a wide variety of people, and record their ideas for group-wide reporting at the end. Please refer to the IDEA Plan Executive Summary as a resource for this summit session.

Hear a condensed refresher of staff inclusive hiring processes so you can diversify your search committees and attract diverse applicants. Engage in staff based hiring scenarios to determine approaches for mitigating bias and approaching a search from an inclusive angle. Feel free to bring recruiting questions your department has and we'll help you work through them. Appropriate for all audiences (even though new to the hiring process) and particularly those who have hiring responsibilities.

Our classrooms are a performative site of equity, inclusion, and success. What can we do to improve outcomes for diverse learners?  This session explores challenges and rewards of inclusive pedagogy.  Join us to learn how to bridge the gap between theory and practice, intent and impact. We will discuss findings from a multi-year project on classroom climate, then apply inclusive practices to scenario-based challenges, learning what works (and why) for all students.

Join two of the Revising Committee members, AVC Alphonse Keasley and Director Alaina Beaver, for a discussion about the draft of the Inclusion, Diversity, and Excellence in Academics Plan and the impact it could have on the campus. In this session we’ll ask some open-ended questions aimed at allowing participants to personalize the goals of the proposed Plan and how they might connect to its goals. The conversation will connect to a more general goal of how people across campus can work to make excellence inclusive in our everyday interactions.

Local governments have been instrumental in creating and perpetuating racist systems. The City of Boulder is committed to identifying ways in which racial inequity impacts our government systems and community, in order to ensure a fair, inclusive, and inspired future. At this interactive workshop, city staff will share information about the city’s Race Equity Initiative and its blueprint for change as well as facilitate discussion about how the city can further align its race equity intentions with meaningful impact. Attendees will better understand how the City of Boulder’s Race Equity work could be relevant to their daily lives.

Engaged inclusivity involves providing avenues for students to empower themselves in the face of social injustices. Sometimes students learn about social injustice without being provided with concrete tools for confronting those injustices. This workshop draws on our experience with an undergraduate course on inclusive pedagogy that provides students with active, engaged practices for mitigating stereotype threat in educational settings. Workshop facilitators (two instructors and two students from the course) will discuss the theory behind how stereotype threat impacts performance, particularly for students with underrepresented identities, and evidence-based practices for mitigating stereotype threat. Facilitators will share perspectives on empowering students through personal narrative sharing that does not further the stereotype threat students may already be experiencing. Participants will interactively reflect on manifestations of stereotype threat and create an action plan with concrete ideas for bringing best practices for mitigating stereotype threat into their own work or study environments.  

Disability Services has spent the past year researching and reviewing the accommodation regarding flexibility with attendance and assignment related issues. The office recognized that the intent for the accommodation was not matching the impact of the accommodation. Due to this research and review, Disability Services has updated the way in which students are accommodated regarding attendance and assignment related issues. These changes reflect current and evolving best practices for student and faculty success surrounding disability. Attendees will learn how to implement the accommodation of The Flexibility with Attendance and Assignment Deadlines Plan.

This session will discuss the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) language skill descriptors, how they can help us better understand our students’ English proficiency skills, and strategies to support international students with language challenges. TOEFL score descriptors indicate that performance at the highest level might still present “use of English that is occasionally ungrammatical or unclear.” This awareness should help determine what to expect of international students’ use of English in oral and written assignments. Based on this information, we will explore instructional practices that are inclusive of international students at all English proficiency levels accepted by CU Boulder. Attendees will be able to design assignments that take into account possible challenges for international students due to English language usage.

In this joint session with free lunch provided by the Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement and the four Chancellor’s Advisory Committees (Chancellor's Committee on Race & Ethnicity, Chancellor's Committee for Women, Gender & Sexuality Committee, Chancellor's Accessibility Committee), participants will learn about the committees as they are currently, as well as a brief history of how they were formed and what their purpose has historically been. The session's main focus will be a discussion about the Committees’ current work, how to get involved, and what the Committees might do to have a greater positive impact on the campus as a whole. Come prepared with questions and input. 

Many Institutions report having seen a loss of civil community as we have known it to be.  We’ve seen a resurgence of student activism across the country, leaving administrators wondering how to encourage respectful student engagement. This interactive workshop will provide you with tools to recognize campus dynamics and implement strategies to foster an inclusive campus environment  that exemplifies social justice in action.

Sam Flaxman will provide technical guidance on how to make teaching materials constructed in PowerPoint meet accessibility guidelines and how to do so in ways that can easily work with your own personal PowerPoint "style."  He brings his classroom experience and expertise to this practical workshop so you can make sure your resources are accessible by all students – aligning intent with impact. Bring your laptops – this is a hands-on session.

This session addresses the experiences and perspectives of DACA recipients from across Colorado. Research professor Edelina Burciaga, CU Denver/Sociology, will share preliminary findings from their collaborative research project that examines the economic, social and political impact experienced by DACA recipients across Colorado.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) seeks to remedy the limitations of learning environments, rather than addressing the limitations of individuals, offering flexibility and options for how information is represented, how students demonstrate their knowledge and skills, and how students are engaged and motivated. Participants will examine how traditional accommodations can unintentionally marginalize students. We'll discuss UDL principles and practices that promote inclusivity and provide support for diverse learners, including -- but not limited to -- those with documented disabilities. You'll leave with a plan for implementing a few simple strategies into your teaching. Appropriate for instructional faculty and staff.

Gain a refresher on strategies for reduction of bias in the faculty hiring process and best practices for inclusion-based hiring (also appropriate for people new to the hiring process). Engage in search situation-based scenarios, and learn more about hiring committee processes that you can apply for your department. Feel free to bring any diversity specific recruiting questions and documents you may have. Get answers about your faculty search process!

When conflict arises due to actions, statements or inaction, how can we enable our CU Boulder community to engage and navigate the conflict in ways that lead towards better understanding, learning and a more inclusive experience for all involved? The purpose of this session is to provide CU students, staff and faculty with knowledge and practical skills to enable them to engage in discussions when Impact does not align with Intent.

Interested in the buzzwords flying around including and related to "inclusive excellence"? Wondering what it might mean to incorporate these ideas into your classroom and pedagogical practice? This interactive workshop includes discussions of identity, positionality and their impact on educational practice, while also introducing practical tips, tricks, and strategies participants can directly apply in their own learning environments. Our goal is to support the creation of educational spaces that foster inclusion and support student learning. Covering topics from course design to pedagogy, the content is applicable to our work as educators across disciplines and specialties.

One aspect of the intent of an action vs. its impact is the climate within which it occurs. A climate can soften or amplify the distance between intent and impact. So it’s important to be informed about the diversity and inclusion aspects of the campus climate. This session will share what we’ve been able to uncover about the climate. It will explore results from the 2014 campus social climate survey of undergraduate and graduate students. It will also compare these findings to results from the 2010 social climate survey and look ahead to the 2019 campus culture surveys. Finally, it will cover results from the campus Faculty Course Questionnaire (FCQ) survey that assesses the instructor’s respect for, and treatment of, students regardless of their identity. After the initial presentation of this information, the presenters will invite a discussion with attendees about the implications of these data for describing the campus social climate, and campus needs to provide additional analysis to address social climate issues.

When conflict arises due to actions, statements or inaction, how can we enable our CU Boulder community to engage and navigate the conflict in ways that lead towards better understanding, learning and a more inclusive experience for all involved? The purpose of this session is to provide CU students, staff and faculty with knowledge and practical skills to enable them to engage in discussions when Impact does not align with Intent.

Through discussion about social justice and equity, the audience will be able to understand the struggle of marginalized communities and their fight to ensure their voice is being heard. Hip hop has made a considerable social impact since its inception in the 1970s. Hip hop has also become relevant to the field of education because of its implications for understanding language, learning, identity, and curriculum. Scholars argue that hip hop can have an empowering effect on youth. While there is misogyny, violence, and drug use in some rap music videos and lyrics, hip hop also displays many positive themes of self-reliance, resilience, and self-esteem. In inner-city neighborhoods plagued by high illiteracy and dropout rates, music remains the most dependable medium of expression. Sponsored by the Center for Inclusion & Social Change.