2012 CU Diversity and Inclusion Summit invites participants to ‘Amp it up’

The University of Colorado Boulder’s annual Diversity and Inclusion Summit will feature a variety of sessions for students, faculty, staff and community members from Nov. 13-15. All events are free, open to the public and on the Boulder campus.

The organizing theme for this year’s summit is “AMP it up! Awareness, Movement and Practice.” Along with sessions on awareness, inclusiveness and classroom and campus diversity practice, a selection of events will focus on the physical embodiment of diversity. These sessions will include dance, martial arts, yoga and theater as physical opportunities to discuss and engage with diversity. Sessions with a focus on pedagogical best practices for inclusive classrooms are another highlight of this year’s summit.

“The planning committee has been a model of the kind of cooperation that Chancellor DiStefano recently called for in his State of the Campus address,” said Alphonse Keasley, CU-Boulder’s assistant vice chancellor for campus climate and community engagement. “The members have worked tirelessly to organize a summit that speaks to this year’s theme, ‘AMP it up! Awareness, Movement and Practice.’ We sincerely hope and expect that participants will gain much from the sessions for truly amping it up for diversity, inclusion and social justice.”

Peggy McIntosh, associate director of the Wellesley College Center for Research on Women, returns to the summit and will share her new research in the keynote address “Using Privilege as a Catalyst for Change” on Tuesday, Nov. 13, at 9:15 a.m. in the University Memorial Center’s Glenn Miller Ballroom. McIntosh is best known for her essay “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” and last spoke in association with the summit in 2009, and on the Boulder campus in 2001.

Highlighted sessions during this year’s summit include:

• Tuesday, Nov. 13, 12:30 p.m., UMC Glenn Miller Ballroom.
  “When Green Means Money: Economic Diversity in Boulder,” presented by Boulder City Manager Jane Brautigam.
• Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2 p.m., UMC Glenn Miller Ballroom.
  Plenary: “Efficiency vs. Effectiveness: Recognizing the Difference for Low Income and First Generation Students” presented by Valerie Embry, director of the Academic Excellence Student Support Services Program.
• Wednesday, Nov. 14, 9 a.m., UMC Glenn Miller Ballroom.
  Plenary: “Class, Race and Immigration in Higher Education” presented by CU-Boulder professors Melissa Hart and Ming Chen.

The educational and exploratory sessions highlight the research, talents and insights of faculty, students and staff and offer a view of diversity beyond the most common definitions. The event is hosted by the CU-Boulder Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement, the Chancellor’s Advisory Committees and the city of Boulder.

The Diversity and Inclusion Summit shares the most current and up-to-date best practices around matters of diversity, inclusion, equity and social justice. As a public forum, the summit provides content to inspire new members of the campus community and to sustain veteran campus members toward a greater pluralistic campus, introduce everyday skills and practices for fostering an inclusive campus and work environment, and advance the skill set of long-term practitioners of diversity, inclusion and social justice.

A complete schedule of diversity summit events is available in the CU-Boulder Events Calendar at http://tinyurl.com/CUDiversitySummit2012.