Editor’s note: This is part of a monthly series of campus updates on diversity, equity and inclusion. This series will continue throughout the year.

Black History Month: #BeTheChange Challenge continues through end of month

There is still time to participate in the Black History Month Racial Equity #BeTheChange Challenge, which ends on Feb. 27.

Since the challenge started in late January, CU Boulder students, faculty and staff have had daily opportunities to explore books, stories, podcasts, films and music “to learn about current and historical issues of racial inequity and ways to be part of the solution,” according to challenge organizers.

Sponsored by the Leeds MBA Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Committee, the annual challenge celebrates Black History Month and supports the Barney Ford Fellowship Fund for Diversity, a scholarship that promotes diversity at the Leeds School of Business.

Among other activities, participants have had opportunities to join book clubs to read How to be an Antiracist by New York Times best-selling author Ibram X. Kendi.

Culture survey results on track for April release

CU Boulder will release the results of the Campus Culture Survey in early April. Nearly 18,000 students, faculty and staff participated in the survey this past fall.

Students, faculty and staff will be able to review the survey results on a dedicated website, obtain information about next steps for addressing the challenges identified through the survey, and explore links to additional educational resources.

Response rates were 73% for staff, 60% for faculty, 48% for graduate students and 30% for undergraduate students, according to the campus’s data analytics office.

The survey asked students, faculty and staff to provide feedback about a variety of issues and experiences at CU Boulder, including sense of belonging, connection and community; feeling valued and respected; and experiences with discrimination, hostile treatment and protected-class harassment, including sexual harassment.

With the support of staff who will serve as campus diversity, equity and inclusion consultants, academic and administrative units will use the results and other resources to develop and implement action plans to address challenges identified at the unit level, said Sonia DeLuca Fernández, senior vice chancellor for diversity, equity and inclusion, who is leading the campus’s next steps for advancing the campus’s DEI priorities.

The university plans to administer the survey every four years to gather insights into how to improve the campus environment in support of the academic, teaching, research and career success of current and future students, faculty and staff.

This year’s survey was part of a broader effort requested by the CU Board of Regents for the four-campus CU system and its administrative offices in Denver.

Campus administrators and senior diversity officers who led the survey process presented the regents with preliminary survey findings on Feb. 10 and will provide additional details to the board during its April 7 meeting.

IDEA Council continues its work to gather insights on student success across the campus

Members of the Inclusion, Diversity and Equity in Academics (IDEA) Council continue their work to gain greater insights into student success practices across the campus.

The council’s goal is to assess and prioritize IDEA Plan recommendations that impact student academic success, including eight pertaining to undergraduate student success and seven pertaining to graduate student success.

In addition, council Co-Chair Lisa Flores, a professor of communication and the associate dean of diversity, equity and inclusion in the College of Media, Communication and Information (CMCI), said council members have invited student groups to share their perspectives on student-facing IDEA Plan recommendations.

Student groups that want to engage in this collaborative process should reach out to the council via IDEAcouncil@colorado.edu for more information.

During these meetings, council members, representatives from campus units and students will discuss current and upcoming work related to IDEA Plan recommendations and whether they should modify the focus of their work and/or specific recommendations based on the current campus climate and needs, among other considerations.

Since convening for the first time in November of 2020, the representatives of the 26-member council have made the recruitment and retention of students, faculty and staff a guiding focus of their work and have put forth eight recommendations aligned with these priorities.

The council has met in subcommittees over the past academic year to prioritize recommendations included in the IDEA Plan, the campus’s roadmap for creating a more diverse and inclusive campus community.

Read more about the IDEA Council’s core mission.

UndocuAlly sessions continue this spring

The Center for Inclusion and Social Change invites faculty, staff and graduate students with administrative and/or teaching roles to attend a monthly UndocuAlly session during the upcoming spring semester.

The center has scheduled two-hour sessions on March 29 and April 21 to provide resources to those who want to show their support for undocumented students and other members of the CU Boulder community.

Students who wish to explore similar opportunities and academic and administrative units that would like to schedule separate sessions can submit a request.

Access more information about resources for undocumented students and employees

Sustaining our practice of inclusion

Campus efforts and investments to address pressing and painful inequities at CU Boulder are only a beginning. Creating a culture of belonging will take each member of our community practicing sustained personal work to truly embrace and support diverse perspectives and identities in our community.

This year, Chancellor Philip DiStefano and other campus leaders urge every member of our community to join in learning more about diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism and to work continuously together to address these challenges more actively and in ways that can help authentically transform our campus culture in the coming year.