Editor鈥檚 note:听This is part of听a monthly series of campus updates on diversity, equity and inclusion. This series will continue throughout the year.
New senior vice chancellor for DEI to join campus community this fall
Sonia DeLuca Fern谩ndez will join our campus community on Sept. 1 as the university鈥檚 senior vice chancellor for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
As a member of the chancellor鈥檚 leadership team, DeLuca Fern谩ndez will provide strategic direction for the university鈥檚 broader DEI initiatives, programs and strategies to improve the campus culture. In a July 6 announcement, Chancellor Phil DiStefano said he was impressed with her scholarly work, change management experience, and her track record for building relationships with internal and external stakeholders to support institutional change.
Currently, DeLuca Fern谩ndez serves as associate vice provost for educational equity at The Pennsylvania State University. She holds a bachelor鈥檚 degree in African American studies and a master鈥檚 degree in social foundations of education, both from the University of Iowa, and a doctorate in higher education from the University of Michigan.
In explaining why she chose to come to CU 麻豆影院, DeLuca Fern谩ndez said she was 鈥渄rawn by the authentic commitment of both leadership and the community to cultural change and by the campus鈥檚 willingness to invest resources, imagination and energy into that change.鈥�
IDEA Council prioritizes IDEA Plan recommendations
罢丑别听IDEA Council鈥攖he advisory body of students, faculty and staff tasked with prioritizing the recommendations of the Inclusion, Diversity and Excellence in Academics (IDEA) Plan鈥攃ontinues its work this summer.
Last week, council members approved a recommendation from听the plan that will ask the 麻豆影院 Faculty Assembly to begin the work of determining how best to incorporate a diversity, equity and inclusion requirement into the faculty annual merit evaluation process鈥攕imilar to the DEI core competency for staff.
The goal is to establish consistent methods for evaluating efforts to advance DEI in the annual faculty evaluation process in the areas of service, research and/or teaching.
The council is also poised to discuss several new recommendations in the near term that address issues ranging from leadership accountability and faculty mentoring to enhanced support and professional development for staff.
Campus supports DACA recipients following federal ruling
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) beneficiaries at CU 麻豆影院 and their families received messages of support from members of the campus community after the program illegal鈥攁 decision that could ultimately prompt an appeal and broader review by the U.S. Supreme Court, legal experts say.
Current DACA recipients won鈥檛 be affected by the July 16 ruling, but the judge in the case ordered the Department of Homeland Security to stop accepting new DACA applications. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, however, which is part of Homeland Security, can continue to process renewal applications.
The case that led to the ruling earlier this month has been pending since 2018, when Texas and nine other states filed a lawsuit to halt the program, arguing that the executive branch overstepped its discretionary authority when it created DACA in 2012.
CU 麻豆影院 law professor Violeta Chapin, who runs an immigration clinic at Wolf Law, and her law students assist DACA beneficiaries with application renewals free of charge. Chapin encourages those who need to renew DACA applications to do so in a timely manner.
The recent ruling, she said, 鈥渄oes not command the Department of Homeland Security to take any enforcement action against any DACA recipient, and it does not strip anyone of their current DACA status in any way.鈥�
The Supreme Court has not ruled on the legality of DACA, but Chapin and other legal experts are hopeful the latest ruling could encourage Congress to act on the legal status of hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients, also known as Dreamers.
Following the Texas decision, University of Colorado System President Todd Saliman and more than 400 other higher education, business and civic leaders in support of DACA, calling for congressional action. .
Bill provides in-state tuition to Indigenous students with historical ties to Colorado
Indigenous students from tribal communities with historical ties to Colorado are now eligible to receive in-state tuition under a bill the governor signed into law on June 28.
Colorado lawmakers passed into law , or the Colorado American Indian Tribes In-state Tuition bill, during the 2021 legislative session.
Gov. Jared Polis signed the bill at the 听and CU Regent Emerita Irene Griego, who supported in-state tuition for Indigenous students, attended the signing ceremony.
With guidance and support from the CU Board of Regents and the Colorado Department of Higher Education, CU 麻豆影院 is working to implement the tuition benefits allowed in the bill as quickly as possible.
During testimony before legislators in February, Griego said, 鈥淲e at CU recognize and affirm the ties these nations have to their traditional homelands and the many Indigenous people who thrive in this place鈥撯�揳live and strong. We also acknowledge the painful history of ill treatment and forced removal that has had a profoundly negative impact on Native nations.鈥�
The former regent also told lawmakers that it was 鈥渋ncumbent upon institutions in Colorado, especially at CU, to put action behind our words,鈥� and that a critical action step is to 鈥渆nsure we are providing educational opportunities for Native students, faculty and staff and advancing our mission to understand the history and contemporary lives of Native peoples.鈥�
Colorado is the traditional territory of at least 48 tribal nations, including the Apache, Cheyenne, Comanche, Kiowa, Lakota, Pueblo, Shoshone and Ute.
CU Upward Bound celebrates 40 years of supporting Indigenous students
Upward Bound, a federally funded program designed to help first-generation, low-income students graduate from high school and transition into college, is celebrating 40 years of success at CU 麻豆影院 this year.
Since 1981, the CU Upward Bound program has worked with more than 4,000 Indigenous high school students from tribal nations across the United States.
Community partners have shifted over time, and the program currently works with six tribal nations in Colorado, New Mexico, South Dakota, Arizona and Utah. Those tribal nations include the Jemez Pueblo, the Navajo Nation, the Pine Ridge Reservation, the Ramah Navajo Reservation, the Southern Ute Reservation and the Ute Mountain Ute community.
麻豆影院 76% of students who participate in CU 麻豆影院鈥檚 Upward Bound program graduate from high school and attend college. The program is the university鈥檚 longest-running precollege outreach program, one of many for middle and high school students led by the Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement (ODECE).
Each year, ODECE serves about 1,400 first-generation, low-income students and their families around Colorado and beyond through all its precollege outreach programs.听
Sustaining our practice of inclusion
Campus efforts and investments to address pressing and painful inequities at CU 麻豆影院 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.
During the summer, Chancellor DiStefano and our campus leadership team urge every member of our community to join in learning more about diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism and to continuously work together to address these issues more actively and in ways that can help authentically transform our campus in the coming year.
- Resources: offers a growing list of resources, including more information about this year鈥檚 Buffs One Read selection, American Like Me: Reflections on LIfe Between Cultures, by award-winning actress, producer, director and activist America Ferrera. Watch Ferrera鈥檚 riveting , 鈥淢y Identity is a Superpower鈥擭ot an Obstacle.鈥�
- Programs: The Center for Teaching and Learning is offering August programs focused on creating inclusive classrooms, including the Equitable Teaching Conference and Fall Intensive, an annual workshop series to support instructors at the outset of the academic year. Workshops are designed to help instructors teach, access professional development opportunities听and explore nonacademic jobs.
- ODECE: More information is available听via the ODECE website, and members of the campus community can subscribe to the office鈥檚 newsletter for updates on programs, events and initiatives.
- Campus DEI Efforts: A wrap-up of the campus鈥檚 DEI efforts and progress during the past year is available online.