Our Plan of Action for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in 2020-2021

Since the launch of the annual Diversity Summit twenty years ago, the University of Denver has worked to engage and critically question the ways in which we as a community (students, staff, faculty, alumni, leadership, and community partners) could more fully embody our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). As we begin the 2020-2021 academic year, DU’s DEI work will engage in five areas of impact, each with specific action items, aimed at securing leadership, taking action, and increasing accountability and consistency across the university. This action plan will serve as a new platform as we enter into the next stages of our vision for a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive DU.

The areas detailed below are linked to DU’s newly reimagined DEI web portal that also includes information and updates on DU’s larger DEI commitments, such as our work on supporting DU’s Native American and Indigenous community.  Follow each link below to learn more about each action item, including anticipated dates for completion, updates, assessment and opportunities for engagement.  This Action Plan will serve as a new launching pad as we enter into the next stages of our vision for a more diverse, equitable and inclusive DU.   

Impact Areas 

1. Improve how we talk about, understand and measure DEI at DU

• Articulate, educate, and train on DU's unifying philosophy of diversity, equity, and inclusion informed by the key terminology of minoritized and intersectionality
• Host regular chancellor and leadership engagement events to meet with faculty, staff, students, and alumni from Indigenous, Latinx, Black, Asian Pacific Islander, LGBTQ+ and other minoritized communities, informing continued planning, measurement and assessment. 

2. Give DEI power, authority, and accountability

• Initiate campus-wide as well as division-level diversity, equity, and inclusion leadership, planning, and support  
• Establish a DEI steering committee that includes the chancellor, provost and unit-level DE leadership 
• Conduct a comprehensive review of DEI campus climate workgroups, studies, reports and student demands followed by regular updates and consistent use of data 

3. Invest in and provide training for students, staff, and faculty

• Identify and address institutional barriers at DU to close the opportunity gap between minoritized students and non-minoritized students 
• Advance faculty diversity and retention 
• Institute baseline, mandatory training and continued professional development for administration, faculty, staff and students 

4.  Build support specifically for our Black community

• Support and provide resources to address the lived experiences of Black community members at DU 

5.  Launch university-wide programming to explore a more equitable future

• Facilitate substantive discussions throughout the year on exploring the term antiracism 

Office Leads and Collaborators  

The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion will work closely with the Division of Student Affairs and Inclusive Excellence (SAIE) and the Office Human Resources and Inclusive Communities (HRIC) to lead these areas of impact.  We also plan to engage with and connect every action item to all parts of campus where issues of diversity, equity and inclusion are concerned.   

Collaborators  

The Provost’s Office 

The Chancellor’s Cabinet 

The Dean’s Council 

Faculty Senate 

Office of Teaching and Learning 

Faculty of Color Association (FOCA) 

Staff of Color Association (SOCA) 

Black@DU 

LGBTQ+ Affinity Groups

Women’s Coalition 

Latino Leadership Institute 

Critical Race and Ethnic Studies Minor 

Gender and Women’s Studies 

Urban Studies 

Center for Judaic Studies 

The Center for Sustainability 

The Office of Internationalization 

Interdisciplinary Research Institute for (In)Equality (IRISE) 

The Latinx Center  

The Cultural Center (SAIE) 

Inclusive Excellence and Equity Education (SAIE) 

The Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX 

Disability Services Program (SAIE) 

Learning Effecttiveness Program (SAIE) 

The Equity Lab at the Colorado Women’s College 

Community + Values 

DU Grand Challenges 

IMPACT 2025 Knowledge Bridges 

Center for Community Engagement to advance Scholarship and Learning (CCESL)  

Alumni of Action 

Undergraduate Student Government 

Graduate Student Government 

Joint Council  

Student Affinity Groups

Interfaith and Religious Council 

Interfaith Chair