Award-winning actor, producer, director and activist America Ferrera will speak at the CU Events Center on Wednesday, Sept. 1. Doors will open at 6 p.m., with the event beginning at 7 p.m.
If you go
Who: Students, faculty, staff
What: America Ferrera talk
When: Wednesday, Sept. 1, 7 p.m.
Where: CU Events Center
Doors open at 6 p.m. Event begins at 7 p.m.
Student Tickets Faculty/Staff Tickets
Get your copy of American Like Me, plus resources and Canvas course materials
A research guide and open Canvas course are available to instructional faculty and staff interested in integrating the reading of American Like Me: Reflections on Life Between Cultures into their curricula when teaching first-year students this fall. Copies of the book are available from the University Libraries.
The free event is in support of Buffs One Read, a program to foster intellectual community and cultural exchange among students, faculty and staff, and is sponsored by the Cultural Events Board, Center for Student Involvement, CU Student Government, Distinguished Speakers Board, New Student & Family Programs and University Libraries.
The free event is open to CU Boulder students, graduate students, staff and faculty. Advance tickets will be required. Get your tickets here: undergraduate and graduate students and faculty and staff.
This year’s Buffs One Read’s selection is American Like Me: Reflections on Life Between Cultures, edited by Ferrera.
“America Ferrera’s accomplishments as an actor, director, producer, activist and now best-selling author set her apart as someone truly extraordinary,” said Anuja Gore, chair of the Cultural Events Board. “American Like Me explores multifaceted views of American life, all with the underlying message that diverse identities are superpowers, not obstacles.
“CEB, in collaboration with Fall Welcome and DSB, is excited to welcome America Ferrera to CU Boulder and speak with her about her journey through acting and activism.”
Ferrera is perhaps best known for her role as Betty Suarez on ABC’s hit comedy Ugly Betty. For her performance she was awarded a Golden Globe, an Emmy and a Screen Actors Guild Award, among others. She also produced, directed and starred in NBC’s workplace comedy Superstore. And she recently wrapped up production on the second season of Netflix’s Gentefied, which follows three Mexican American cousins and their struggle to chase the American dream. The show will return later this year with Ferrera as an executive producer and director.
“We are very excited to bring the actor––but more importantly––the embodiment of an activist, America Ferrera, to campus this fall,” said Sawyer Bundgaard, chair of the Distinguished Speakers Board.
In 2016, Ferrera co-founded HARNESS, an organization connecting storytellers and activists to amplify the cultural narrative around social justice. She speaks around the country as an advocate for human and civil rights and was the opening speaker at the Women’s March in January 2017.
CU Boulder’s commitment to and engagement with diversity, equity, inclusion
This year’s selection is in line with CU Boulder’s efforts to become a more diverse, equitable, inclusive and anti-racist university. The university seeks commitment and engagement of every member of our community to help us build the practice of inclusion into the daily life of our campus.
Within our community, we share a common desire to continuously improve, and we are driven to become a more diverse, equitable, inclusive and anti-racist university. We have hard work to do to make the progress we must achieve, and we seek the commitment and engagement of every member of our community to help us build the practice of inclusion into the daily life of our campus.
- Educate and inform internal audiences about DEI roles, responsibilities, strategic goals and partnerships across campus.
- Raise awareness among students, faculty, staff and external audiences about the chancellor’s Eight Immediate Actions for Change, the campus’s $25 million investment in DEI, and other major ongoing and new DEI initiatives across campus.
- Build persona and support for the senior vice chancellor for DEI as a trusted messenger and curator of strategic DEI Initiatives for the campus.
- Set the stage for success: This is to set the stage for success and to support the SVC for DEI, who will engage with the IDEA Council and its recommendations and programmatic efforts by ODECE, CISC, the Pride Center, the JEDI Teams, campus communicators, deans, administrative units, academic departments and research centers.
