DEI Minute

Inclusive Research Mentoring Micro-Credential—April 23, 2025

Susan Glairon — Wed, 07 May 2025 22:00:04 +0000

Inclusive Research Mentoring Micro-Credential—April 23, 2025 Susan Glairon Wed, 05/07/2025 - 16:00

Academia thrives by exhibiting inclusive mentoring in research, teaching, and service of students, staff, and faculty members. Inclusive mentoring in research is especially necessary to provide equitable opportunities for marginalized students and scholars, promote the creation and sharing of diverse ideas, and help students of all backgrounds feel supported and safe as they work on challenging research projects. However, many academics may not have formal training on how to exhibit inclusive research mentoring.

In response to this limitation, the Center for Teaching & Learning (CTL) and the Graduate School at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� offer an Inclusive Research Mentoring (IRM) micro-credential, which is offered to graduate students, postdocs, faculty, and staff members. This free course aims to help participants:

Enhance their mentoring skills;
Advance inclusive practices to foster inclusive environments;
Develop leadership abilities to better guide mentees through the research process;
Expand career opportunities by earning a digital badge; and
Network with peers to help create a collaborative mentoring network.

Participants must complete seven steps to earn the IRM micro-credential, including pre- and post-program mentor self assessment and attending three DEI-focused workshops to enhance awareness and implementation of inclusive mentoring practices. Following the program, participants will earn a digital badge to verify the enrollment and completion of the IRM course.

To find out more about the IRM micro-credential, interested participants can read more here. In addition to the IRM micro-credential, the CTL offers additional micro-credentials, including the Just & Equitable Teaching (JET) micro-credential. To find out more about the micro-credentials offered by the CTL, read here.

Additional Resources

CTL Micro-Credential Offerings:

/center/teaching-learning/programs/micro-credentials

IRM Micro-Credential: /center/teaching-learning/programs-services/micro-credentials/inclusive-research-mentoring-microcredential

JET Micro-Credential:

/center/teaching-learning/programs-services/micro-credentials/just-equitable-teaching

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Accent Bias and Discrimination—March 13, 2025

Susan Glairon — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 18:56:36 +0000

Accent Bias and Discrimination—March 13, 2025 Susan Glairon Wed, 03/19/2025 - 12:56

What is Accent Bias?

Accent bias is a commonly overlooked form of discrimination. Our accent is part of our identity, and, unfortunately, we tend to assign people to certain categories based on their accent.

Upon initial meetings, we can linguistically profile someone and assume what their socioeconomic status, ethnic origin, background, and education level may be. In doing so, we are drawing upon often-negative stereotypes and assumptions.

The primary causes of accent bias and other related biases are social identity and what is known as ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism is the “view of things in which one’s own group is the center of everything, and all others are scaled and rated with reference to it.”¹

What should you do to minimize accent bias?

Acknowledge and be aware that we have this unconscious bias. Make an effort to look beyond prejudices related to the delivery of a message to its actual content.
If you don’t understand what someone says, seek comprehension respectfully by asking the speaker to slow down, asking for clarification, or asking them to confirm if a paraphrase of what they said matches what they meant.
Appreciate diverse perspectives as you experience them. Increased exposure to different accents can heighten our sensitivity to language and reduce the impact of ethnocentrism and this unconscious bias.
Research shows that within 1 minute of listening, we can recognize words spoken by non-native speakers as quickly as that of native speakers, so if you find yourself having trouble understanding someone, stay patient, listen, and you’ll find yourself adjusting to their speech pattern quickly.

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How to Handle ICE Requests—Feb. 27, 2025

Susan Glairon — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 15:47:07 +0000

How to Handle ICE Requests—Feb. 27, 2025 Susan Glairon Thu, 02/27/2025 - 08:47

In recent weeks, there has been increased activities and heightened awareness in the Front Range area around enforcement actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). These actions raise both questions and concerns about where enforcement actions can occur and how local entities may interact with federal immigration enforcement officers.^[1]

Since the University of Colorado is a public institution, significant portions of campus are open to the public, including immigration enforcement officers. However, FERPA prohibits CU from giving information on a student’s immigration status to federal immigration agents^[2]^[3]. Should ICE present itself in a classroom, laboratory, or living environment on campus, you should immediately call the dispatch at CU PD at 303-492-6666 (24/7). Inform the officer that you are not obstructing their process but that you are required to contact CU PD and wait for their instructions. For restricted access spaces that include homes and dorms, you have the right to deny immigration officers entry unless officers have a judicial warrant^[4]^[5]. Since the university is actively updating resources with the most up-to-date guidance, we encourage you to review the guidance directly from these sites and note that this information is not legal advice.

The JEDI committee is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive community that supports the campus statement that, “��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� welcomes all undergraduate, graduate students and postdoc scholars who are pursuing their higher education goals on campus, regardless of immigration status^[6]”. If you have recommendations, questions, or concerns, feel free to reach out using the Anonymous Feedback Form.

^[1]
Note: Articles can also be accessed through the CU library through the institutional subscription
https://www.denverpost.com/2025/02/13/ice-detainments-denver-courthouse-immigration-state-law-activists/
https://www.denverpost.com/2025/02/12/dps-sues-trump-homeland-security-ice-raids-schools/

^[1] https://www.colorincolorado.org/immigration/guide/rights

^[1] https://www.higheredimmigrationportal.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/FERPA-Overview.pdf

^[1] https://www.aaup.org/sites/default/files/ICE%20Flyer.pdf

^[1]/undocumentedstudentresources/faqs-0#4-can-residence-hall-advisers-other-university-employees-and-students-refuse-to-allow-federal-immigration-enforcement-officers-to-enter-residence-hall-rooms

^[1] /cisc/resources/undocumented-student-resources

^[2] https://www.colorincolorado.org/immigration/guide/rights

^[3] https://www.higheredimmigrationportal.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/FERPA-Overview.pdf

^[4] https://www.aaup.org/sites/default/files/ICE%20Flyer.pdf

^[5]/undocumentedstudentresources/faqs-0#4-can-residence-hall-advisers-other-university-employees-and-students-refuse-to-allow-federal-immigration-enforcement-officers-to-enter-residence-hall-rooms

^[6] /cisc/resources/undocumented-student-resources

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Celebrating Black History Month—Feb. 12, 2025

Susan Glairon — Wed, 12 Feb 2025 22:56:14 +0000

Celebrating Black History Month—Feb. 12, 2025 Susan Glairon Wed, 02/12/2025 - 15:56

[Originally published February 2024; Updated with 2025 resources & events]

A Brief History of Black History Month
Every February, we celebrate Black History Month by recognizing the many contributions and sacrifices of our Black and African American community. Before there was a month, there was “Negro History Week,” established in 1926 by U.S. historian Carter G. Woodson, who became known as the “father of Black History.” Woodson envisioned a weeklong celebration to encourage the coordinated teaching of Black history in public schools (Britannica). By the 1960s, this weeklong celebration evolved into a month-long celebration and in 1976, President Gerald R. Ford officially recognized Black History Month during the country's 1976 bicentennial. February was chosen primarily because the second week of the month coincides with the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Lincoln was influential in the emancipation of slaves and Douglass was a former slave and a prominent leader in the abolitionist movement (NPR). The Association for the Study of African American Life & History (ASALH) establishes a theme for Black History Month each year, a tradition initiated by Woodson. The theme for 2025 is “African Americans and Labor.” Read more about this year’s theme on the ASALH website.

Celebrating Black History Month at CU
CU’s Division of Student Affairs has compiled a webpage that includes many opportunities for the CU community to celebrate, learn, and engage. Each year, University Libraries publishes a recommended reading list for Black History Month. This year, they have expanded this into an extensive guide that includes external resources and information, CU resources, and recommended reading and viewing. Relatedly, the Center for African and African American Studies (CAAAS) has also created a guide that is intended to serve as a starting point for exploring the many resources that CU Libraries has related to African and African American Studies.

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Undergraduate peer mentoring can promote diversity and inclusion in STEM — Jan. 29, 2025

Susan Glairon — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 21:23:23 +0000

Undergraduate peer mentoring can promote diversity and inclusion in STEM — Jan. 29, 2025 Susan Glairon Thu, 01/30/2025 - 14:23

In an undergraduate setting, peer mentoring programs typically partner 3rd and 4th year students with first and second-year students via one-on-one meetings and community events to strengthen the STEM community among current students and smooth the transition for new students. Other goals of these programs are to foster a sense of engineering identity, enhance academic outcomes, and ultimately aid in student retention. Students from under-represented backgrounds in STEM can benefit from peer mentoring programs, as they may not have a strong sense of belonging within an engineering program or identify as an engineer. JEDI outcomes can be further supported via targeted mentor recruitment and training, which can be tailored to provide mentors with skills to better support and increase their effectiveness with students from a diversity of backgrounds.[1]

In a program at the University of Arkansas College of engineering, a peer mentored cohort exhibited 94 percent retention from Fall to Spring semesters vs. 74 percent for non-mentored students (with similar admission profiles) and were two times as likely to have GPAs higher than 2.5 (with a 9 percent higher GPA overall). [2]Reported benefits to mentees include academic advising (advice on coursework and navigating the curriculum), study skills and strategies (especially in regards to forming study groups), and hearing about mentors’ experiences including their own challenges with the degree.[3]

CEAE offers a voluntary peer mentoring program for which mentees must sign up via an online application. The CMU-CU Engineering partnership program in Grand Junction also offers a peer mentor program that is integrated with two first year courses, in which interaction with peer mentors is required via class assignments. Mentors organize voluntary weekly study groups and exam study sessions for second year engineering courses. Additionally, though the BOLD Scholarships Program is not explicitly a peer mentorship program, it does foster community and connect scholars with peers.

By supporting and promoting peer mentoring programs within CEAE, we can support and retain students from a diversity of backgrounds. Explicit recruitment of peer mentors from diverse backgrounds and training of JEDI principles can also further this goal.

Best regards,

The CEAE JEDI Committee

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Nov. 20 is Transgender Day of Remembrance — Nov. 15, 2024

Susan Glairon — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 21:32:22 +0000

Nov. 20 is Transgender Day of Remembrance — Nov. 15, 2024 Susan Glairon Fri, 11/15/2024 - 14:32

Transgender Awareness Week, Nov. 13-19, is a time to celebrate, uplift and honor our transgender friends, family, students, staff, and faculty. The week concludes on Nov. 20 with the Transgender Day of Remembrance; an annual observance that honors the memory of the disproportionately large number of transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.

This year, the ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� University Libraries will hold a series of events and programs to increase awareness about transgender experiences, celebrate and welcome trans students, researchers, faculty, and staff to the Libraries and bring attention to specific collections and services the University Libraries and the Center for Research Data & Digital Scholarship (CRDDS) provides.

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Accessibility within digital materials - beginner basics — Oct. 31, 2024

Susan Glairon — Thu, 31 Oct 2024 18:55:36 +0000

Accessibility within digital materials - beginner basics — Oct. 31, 2024 Susan Glairon Thu, 10/31/2024 - 12:55

What do you consider when you create a digital material or a piece of computer information? Have you thought about the challenges that different people may have in accessing digital media and information?

With how frequently we communicate and obtain information on the internet, it is important to acknowledge that not everyone has equitable digital accessibility. In their article, Chris Mays defined digital accessibility as “the practice of designing digital content and technologies in a way that they can be accessed, understood, and used by as many people as possible, including those with disabilities.” Digital accessibility includes thoughtfulness on how an individual can navigate digital content if visually impaired, see contrasting colors if color blind, and understand video and audio content if deaf or hard of hearing.

Digital accessibility is not limited to social media platforms. Educators and researchers also have to be considerate of individuals’ abilities to access, obtain, and digest information from a digital platform. To allow all individuals to access your digital content for your classroom or research dissemination, consider the following suggestions:

Use large font sizes and readable font styles throughout.
Provide alternate text and image descriptions for figures and images.
Add captions and transcripts for video and audio media. Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint have functions to turn captions on while teaching.
Use colorblind friendly color palettes and color contrast in text and images.
Ask students if they’d prefer printed or digital copies of homeworks and other assignments.
When you have the means, publish your articles open-access, to make research results freely accessible to all.

For more information, see the following resources:

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� Resources on Digital Accessibility

Mays’ article in Userway. Link.

Pembleton’s article on digital accessibility in the classroom. Link.

Bong & Chen’s review article on increasing faculty’s digital accessibility awareness. Link.

Lazar’s article on digital accessibility during the pandemic and beyond. Link.

Color contrast and palette checkers for figure publications. Online and built-in soft proofing options

Financial support from CU libraries for open access publishing. Link.

Best regards,

The CEAE JEDI Committee

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Resources & Updates — Oct. 17, 2024

Susan Glairon — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 17:21:08 +0000

Resources & Updates — Oct. 17, 2024 Susan Glairon Thu, 10/24/2024 - 11:21

Belated welcome to the 2024-2025 school year! The DEI Minute is a bi-weekly department newsletter distributed by the CEAE JEDI Committee with the goal of educating our readers on topics related to justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. Our committee is tasked with working on projects to foster inclusive excellence in our department. Some reminders & updates for the new year:

We encourage you to review our committee’s current initiatives, accomplishments, and membership here.
We have an anonymous feedback form. Upon submission, this form will be routed directly to the department chair and chair of the CEAE JEDI committee. This form is intended for anonymous feedback related to your experience in the Department. It is intended to address issues of department culture, leadership, and policy. It is not intended to report an emergency or critical situation. For concerns involving discrimination, ethics, or unwanted sexual behavior, you can report these through the ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� Don't Ignore It site.
We have a robust Inclusive Pedagogy resource document for department reference. This is a living document that can be updated at any time as resources and information evolve.
Some upcoming events include:
- Join Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations Oct. 14 and 16, co-sponsored by CEAS
- October 25: JEDIA Scholar Learning Community hosts Creating a Broader Impact Plan
- Special Event: Oct. 28 CMCI Speaker Series to Feature International bestselling author, Naomi Klein, talking about “Doppelganger: Why Everything Feels Wrong These Days and How to Get Back to Stable Ground." Registration Required.

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Mental Health & DEI — April 24, 2024

Anonymous — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 21:41:05 +0000

Mental Health & DEI — April 24, 2024 Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 04/25/2024 - 15:41

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and it is important to discuss the connection between Mental Health and DEI.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), one in five adults in the U.S. have a mental illness. While the statistics show that these rates are similar across racial/ethnic boundaries, factors such as race, gender, age, orientation, disability and socioeconomic status influence who will receive the mental health services they need. Racial and ethnic minorities, those with lower socioeconomic status, and those in rural communities are less likely to seek or receive mental health care. For example, in 2018, Asian Americans were 60 percent less likely and Hispanic populations were 50 percent less likely to access mental health treatment compared to white populations.

This often stems from the stigma surrounding mental illness, which is felt differently across racial, gender, and socioeconomic boundaries. Some communities, especially older generations, still see mental illness as something to be dealt with alone, or see those with mental illness as less than, which they are not. Consciously including mental health in DEI discussions can help destigmatize mental illness and enable people to seek the treatment they need. Access to mental healthcare is also a struggle for many minority groups, including fear of racism and lack of medical professionals with similar cultural backgrounds.

For ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� students, Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS) provides a range of mental health services, including free one-on-one therapy sessions and psychiatric services. They also provide workshops on topics such as combatting anxiety and skill-based therapy groups that can help develop self-acceptance and communication skills.

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/director/messages/2018/mental-health-research-diversity-matters

https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2020/08/13/higher-ed-should-lead-way-ensuring-mental-health-integral-part-diversity-equity-and

https://theorendaco.com/2023/05/intersection-of-dei-and-mental-health

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National Autism Acceptance Month — April 10, 2024

Anonymous — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 20:42:18 +0000

National Autism Acceptance Month — April 10, 2024 Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 04/10/2024 - 14:42

April is National Autism Acceptance Month. By definition, students with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have some problems which may interfere with receptive or expressive communication. Some of these differences are very subtle and can be misinterpreted as volitional acts on the part of the student. It’s important to understand that some students with an autism spectrum disorder may be very articulate and have a large vocabulary which may “hide” their communication challenges.

Students with ASD are considered “neurodivergent.” Neurodivergent describes, in short, someone who processes information differently than what is typical within their culture. Unfortunately, many assume that most people they interact with are neurotypical, meaning they tend to learn skills and reach developmental milestones around the same time as their peers. This is frequently the case in many academic classrooms and labs where faculty fail to solicit feedback from students on how to improve their teaching or advising methods and provide accommodations to students on the spectrum. Autistic students will most likely not have the communicative confidence to express their needs upfront. Some examples of ways we can create a more welcoming academic environment include:

Communication skills: Those with ASD have difficulty understanding sarcasm, jokes, or idioms. Be literal in your expectations.
Social skills: Those with ASD experience higher levels of social anxiety and stress and appreciate their alone time. Faculty should be cognizant of group discussion and group project requirements and the additional stress this can cause some students.
Sensory differences: Allowing hats, sunglasses, headphones, and other sensory items can bring students comfort.
Learning styles: Students with ASD may have a non-conventional, complex, or an uneven learning profile. For example, they may need more visual imagery when learning, such as videos and pictures.
Technology: Allowing computers and using classroom capture so students can re-watch content can be very helpful for our neurotypical students.
Coping skills: If a student discloses that they have ASD, consider agreeing upon a signal to know when the student is overwhelmed. This could be particularly helpful for students attending social/networking events and conferences.

By spreading awareness and increasing our understanding, we can help create a more welcoming and comfortable environment for our neurodivergent students, staff, and faculty!

Best,

CEAE JEDI Committee

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