The co-chairs of the Diversity, Inclusion and Academic Excellence Plan Authoring Committee—Daryl Maeda of Ethnic Studies and Merna Jacobsen, deputy chief human resources officer—report the committee is meeting with the leaders of key campus initiatives in preparation to begin drafting the plan next month.
"The committee met with leaders of the Academic Futures and Foundations of Excellence initiatives last week to understand how our Diversity, Inclusion and Academic Excellence Plan can be informed by and contribute to these two important campus efforts," said Maeda.
Jacobsen said, "We are working carefully through this input to ensure we align our efforts for the best results for all of these key initiatives, avoiding duplication or conflicting efforts."
Both said the committee has reviewed extensive data including feedback from ODECE’s eight community update sessions this spring, from campus climate surveys, and from Academic Futures and Foundations of Excellence.
The committee is now looking at the broad landscape of recent work to date on inclusive excellence at CU Boulder while continuing to review diversity plans of peer universities for possible models for CU Boulder. All feedback is welcome at any time directly via ODECE’s website.
The focus now is on drafting the report. In September, the committee and ODECE will host another eight open forums to get campuswide feedback on the draft with a goal of completing revisions by fall’s end. Once completed, the plan will provide a pathway for action in making excellence inclusive, customized to the needs of individual campus units.
"The committee is united in its commitment to produce a plan that addresses current and longstanding realities in clear and direct terms, while providing a blueprint for action at all vital levels that will take us to a better future as a campus community," said Maeda.
