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Community + Values Initiative
#YouBelongAtDU
People yearn to feel connection and a sense of belonging, even as they pursue their individual goals. This is especially true at the University of Denver, where we create knowledge, strive to have an impact, and are dedicated to the public good.
Community + Values is the focused and empathic work we are doing as a community, to strengthen ourselves from within. We strive to be doers, amplifiers, and connectors in our community. The initiative began in spring 2019 as a way to compose a collective narrative that creates a greater sense of shared values and belonging. We have invited and connected with thousands of faculty, staff, students and alumni to contribute their voices and energy and help us explore. And, that’s exactly what they have been doing.
The result has been a series of community conversations, events and initiatives that have helped us understand the opportunities we have as a community to create a greater sense of belonging for all. We know that DU does not yet feel like “home” to everyone who wants to belong, and we want to change that. We also know that many already feel entirely comfortable at DU, and we want to amplify those experiences.
We want to hear from you. Your voice and your heart belong in this work. DU is your home. It’s our home.
April 24
Earth Week Community Celebration!
Join us in celebrating our planet by exploring local Colorado businesses and internal DU partners advocating for environmental sustainability! There will be free food, drinks, raffle prizes, and of course, plants! Learn what you can do to show some care for our earth. Open to DU students, staff, and faculty. Sponsored by C+V, Sustainability Council, Well@DU and DUSF.
- 3:00pm-5:00pm
- Community Commons, Room 1700
May 2
Community Film Screening: Snapshots of Confinement
During World War II more than 120,000 Japanese Americans were forcibly removed from their homes and confined in a series of camps managed by the War Relocation Authority. The US government initially imposed policies that limited the use of cameras by Japanese Americans in confinement sites, while simultaneously utilizing photography for propaganda. Despite the ban, Japanese American families found ways to document their lives. Join us for this screening of Snapshots of Confinement, a film highlighting how these photos reveal stories of community and resilience, transforming how this dark history is understood today. A Q&A session following the film will feature film participants, Derek Okubo & Marge Taniwaki, as well as director and producer, DU Associate Professor, Esteban Gómez.
Event Sponsors: IRISE, CECEL, C+V
- 5:00pm-7:30pm
- Reiman Theater in Margery Reed Hall
May 9
C+V Wellness Hours at Beans Coffee!
Grab a friend or a colleague and meet us at Beans Coffee for a free beverage!
Dates: April 11, May 9, and June 6
- 9:00am - 11:00am
- Joy Burns Center, Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality Management, 2044 E Evans Ave, Denver, CO 80210
May 10
Story Mosaic Series Event
The Story Mosaic Committee is excited to invite you to their third event on Friday, May 10 from 2:30pm-3:30pm at Community Commons 1700! This quarter, we are thrilled to collaborate with 4D and have our theme be Unsung Heroes: Mentors of a Moment. Storytellers will share about a mentorship moment and thank their mentor for their guidance. Click Here to Sign up as a Storyteller!
The Story Mosaic is a cross-campus story telling initiative aimed at bringing the DU Community together to tell, listen and learn from powerful stories. Social norms have taught us that men should not be emotional or vulnerable. Instead, men ought to be tough and hide their emotions. Storytellers will share their experiences, understandings, and lessons learned along their journey to living authentically. We are excited to see you there!
- 2:30pm-3:30pm
- Community Commons, Room 1700
19,000+ event & program attendees have helped guide our work
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Pathways to Community
Explore
Who are we as a community?
Through this pathway, we actively explore and build community through various events, programs, webinars, and dialogic sessions. We explore the following questions: How do we build community and show up for one another, within and across our disciplines, divisions, departments, and communities? And how does our identity as an academic institution shape, benefit and inspire community for everyone connected to DU, regardless of the role they play?
Experience
What is our collective relationship?
How do we access, create and live in community—individually, in small collectives and as a whole? As we share our stories, we learn about the real differences in the ways we experience community. As well, some patterns of our shared values have emerged. Activities include a Community Voices, increased presence of social media highlights, and featuring the work of our amazing community members via the You Rock! Awards program.
Evolve
How do our systems and structures reflect our values in action?
We create and adopt practices, and hold ourselves accountable to making decisions that reflect our communal commitments. We draw on the employee engagement and COACHE surveys and campus climate work, expand our use of inclusive pedagogy tools and resources through the Inclusive Teaching Practices website, and create community-led workshops and conversations for defining our shared values and how we imagine living them.
C+V Happenings & Communications
The Launch of DU Story Mosaic: Sharing Stories, Building Community - A Storytelling Initiative:
The DU Story Mosaic is a cross-campus collaboration that recognizes the incredible power of storytelling. Modeled after the Human Library and building on our C+V Community Voices work, this initiative aims to bring together the entire DU Community to engage in a meaningful exchange of our unique stories. Our hope is that community members listen, learn from each other, and practice reflection to experience personal growth in the process. We also seek to inspire change within our organization through storytelling. The Mosaic will offer participants the opportunity to share stories through a variety of creative expressions to cultivate an embodied community experience where everyone can feel safe to be vulnerable and their authentic selves.
Learn More about the Story Mosaic
Celebrating Heritage Months
DU is committed to living our values of diversity and inclusion. Our community and institutional success is dependent on how well we engage and embrace the rich diversity of our faculty, staff, administrators, students and alumni. With that shared value in mind and in partnership with Human Resources & Inclusive Community (HRIC), the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI), The Cultural Center, Community + Values, and the Staff of Color Association (SOCA), we will celebrate the identities and histories of members of the DU and world communities each month through through features and events.
Learn More about Heritage Months
A Letter to the DU Community from C+V: In Solidarity & Strength
Read Community + Value’s full letter to the DU community in response to the continued violence against Black people with the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Ahmaud Arbery. The C+V Steering Committee refuses to stand by in silence or passivity and let this systemic violence and crimes against Black people and their lives continue to happen. We reassert, in the strongest terms, our continued stance against institutional racism, violence, bias, hate, and injustice.
Read Now
Inclusive Teaching Practices | Office of Teaching & Learning
Growing from Community + Values
Led by Valentina Iturbe-LaGrave, PhD, Director for Inclusive Teaching Practices and Co-Lead of the Community+Values initiative, this project aims to solve complex problems, engage multiple perspectives, foster greater belonging, show compassion beyond boundaries and shape the future of our world. This is inclusive teaching at the University of Denver.
Contact
Community + Values
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CommunityPlusValues@du.edu
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community.du.edu
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Mary Reed Building
2199 S University Blvd
Denver, CO 80208