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The members of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the Â鶹ӰԺ recognize that the university sits upon land within the territories of the Ute, Cheyenne, and Arapaho peoples. Further, we acknowledge that forty-eight contemporary tribal nations are historically tied to the lands that make up the state of Colorado.

We firmly believe that diversity, equity, and antiracism make our community stronger, our department more dynamic, and our work better. Therefore, the Department is committed to providing a healthy, safe, respectful, and supportive environment for all of our students, staff, and faculty regardless of their race, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, creed, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, political affiliation, political philosophy, high financial need, or status as first-generation college students.  

Our department prides itself on supporting our undergraduate and graduate students’ success and well-being. This includes expanding their understanding of the diversity of human experience and the negative effects of the dynamics of oppression throughout history. By teaching Spanish and training students in Latin American and Iberian languages, linguistics, and literatures, we are increasing the visibility and prestige of these world languages and cultures. Through our work, we also foster a nuanced understanding of the unique backgrounds and perspectives of the largest underrepresented group at the state and regional level, which includesLatin American, Latinx, and Spanish and Portuguese-speaking cultures. Ultimately, many of our culture and literature classes also cover the sociohistorical and current presence of indigenous peoples in the Americas necessary to foment a culture of diversity.

In recent years, we have striven to strengthen the diversity of our Department at every level. We have expanded the expertise of our faculty to include areas like Second Language Acquisition, Heritage Languages, Mexico, and Digital Cultures. At the graduate level, the department has secured three Graduate School Diversity Recruitment Fellowships for our incoming graduate students. Undergraduate fellowships, similarly, aim to encourage and recognize the commitment of our students to equity, diversity, and antiracism.

Through all of our work, we actively work to advance the campus mission of inclusive excellence. However, we also recognize that working towards further diversity, equity, and antiracism is an ongoing process. Accordingly, we pledge ourselves to expand racial, ethnic, cultural, and gender diversity among our students, faculty, and staff and to provide equal opportunity to all. Seeking to develop a culture in which all members of our community feel supported and are able to thrive is a fundamental goal for our department. Steps aimed at fulfilling our commitments and goals include:

• Recruiting and retaining diverse faculty, students, and staff, 
• Establishing and/or participating in dedicated efforts to improve representation, such as workshops, trainings, and discussion forums,
• Denouncing and resisting acts of racism, religious intolerance, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, ableism, and those contravening democratic ideals,
• Minimizing the barriers that disproportionately affect underrepresented groups,
• Supporting DACA students, DREAMERS and other members of the undocumented community at CU Â鶹ӰԺ,
• Adopting the CU Antiracist Creed

All members of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese look forward to strengthening our equity, diversity, and antiracist efforts together.