With the arrival of the 25th听Diversity and Inclusion Summit next week, CU Boulder Today听sat down with Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement Bob Boswell to talk about the importance of the summit and how it fits into the university鈥檚 overall strategy on diversity and inclusive excellence.
Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement Bob Boswell
This is the 25th Diversity and Inclusion Summit. How has it changed over the years?
I think the summit started out with a strong mission of raising consciousness and awareness about the importance of diversity. Today it has evolved into an event that not only raises consciousness but that provides a storehouse of strategies and takeaways that can continue to build community and make progress long after the summit ends. And that progress is vital right now.
We鈥檙e at a real crossroads as a nation, and it鈥檚 being felt on every college campus in America, including ours. We haven鈥檛 seen political division like this since the Vietnam era, and whether it鈥檚 Charlottesville, Las Vegas or what happened in New York City last week, I think we have to make a stand against fear, against hate and for a more inclusive vision for our nation and for our community.
The key is that people need strategies for building that kind of nation and community听and for understanding each other. This year鈥檚 summit is an amazing array of sessions on how to do just that, both as an individual and as a community member.
What in your mind is the biggest barrier to achieving greater diversity and inclusion at CU Boulder?
I think it鈥檚 the perception of some that nothing is happening and that we鈥檙e exactly where we were, say, 20 years ago. First off, talk to somebody who was here 20 years ago. We鈥檙e a more diverse campus by far, with more resources devoted to diversity and to serving diverse communities than we鈥檝e ever had听and a commitment from the highest levels鈥攆rom the chancellor through the cabinet and across the university听in every college and school.
Now, nobody has any illusions that we don鈥檛 have a great distance to travel and more work to do. But at CU Boulder, we鈥檙e focused on something very challenging鈥攖aking the vital incremental steps needed to build an inclusive and diverse campus culture from the ground up.
For example, among the many things we鈥檙e doing is trying to change the way faculty work with students through our inclusive pedagogy community of practice that the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Community Engagement (ODECE)听is launching this year. We鈥檝e got 65 people already signed up, and as the program grows, we鈥檒l make significant changes that will be experienced by students every day in the classroom. We鈥檙e working on a communications strategy to really get the word out on what progress we鈥檙e making and communicating what people can do to add to that progress.
Is there a particular seminar or program in the Diversity and Inclusion Summit that you鈥檙e looking forward to?
What I like about this summit听is how it combines the personal with the transformational. We鈥檝e got workshops that are focused on achieving the personal mindset to do the work of inclusion and community building. We鈥檝e got sessions on disabilities related to outdoor recreation and how to be more inclusive for adaptive athletes and recreationists. There is a听talk from Airbnb Director of Diversity and Belonging David King III. We鈥檝e drawn from the wide experience and expertise of our faculty and staff, and we鈥檝e invited some exciting national leaders in diversity and inclusive excellence and members of our local Boulder community, such as City Manager Jane Brautigam, to participate.
So this is, I think, the most layered and rich summit we鈥檝e ever put on, which I think is great. We鈥檙e at a place where we can really see how this event has become part of campus traditions and reflect on the value the summit brings to the campus.听The balance of individual skillset building and community action and understanding that is embodied in the range of workshops is really inspiring. It鈥檚 a recognition that transforming your community is really a balance of individual understanding and commitment and community action. 听
Are there defined goals for this year鈥檚 Diversity and Inclusion Summit?
We鈥檇 like to see more people attend and make a personal commitment to carrying on the work of diversity and inclusive excellence at CU Boulder. We鈥檇 like to see the skills that can be cultivated be used over and over again in our community to build understanding and momentum toward greater diversity and inclusive excellence.
We鈥檇 like to see people who have never attended before come and be inspired to become more active in the work of diversity on campus and in our community and make use of some of the digital resources we鈥檝e gathered to help people take the next step in their commitment to diversity and inclusive excellence.听
