The Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement (ODECE) made progress this year in implementing plans and programs to make excellence inclusive, cultivate diversity, instill equity and improve the campus social climate.
This year, ODECE hosted five sets of Inclusive Pedagogy Workshops facilitated by national experts (with over 300 registrants from over 40 different departments and programs on campus). In the fall sessions, 95 percent of surveyed attendees felt that the sessions contributed to their knowledge or skills, while 94 percent agreed that they gained resources and ideas that could be realistically implemented. In the spring semester, the numbers stayed strong, with 97 percent of surveyed attendees saying they felt the sessions were effective and 94 percent saying the sessions would help them develop an inclusive classroom.
ODECE also facilitated weekly Inclusive Pedagogy Community of Practice (IPCoP) conversations open to all students, faculty and staff. These opportunities were designed to help spread awareness and uptake of inclusive strategies and practices that make learning experiences welcoming and engaging for all students.
In the fall, ODECE hosted the 25th Diversity and Inclusion Summit with 44 sessions over two days, encouraging campuswide engagement with What’s Your Next Step? This was followed this semester by the largest Spring Diversity and Inclusion Summit yet, with 30 sessions on the theme of Building the Road Map: Finding Our Way.
ODECE celebrated excellence in our own community through the Disability Services Awards Ceremony, the Equity and Excellence Awards Ceremony and other year-end events that recognize campus leaders who are making excellence inclusive at CU Boulder. ODECE closed out the year with a series of town-hall-style update sessions for students, faculty and staff to discuss the campus working definition of inclusive excellence.
ODECE looks to have a busy summer, as it will convene an authoring committee for the Diversity, Inclusion and Academic Excellence Plan, which will be the campus’s evolving blueprint to promote diversity, improve equity and continuously engage the CU Boulder community.
For a more extensive review of this year’s activities, read an article by Bob Boswell, vice chancellor for diversity, equity and community engagement.
