Goal 7: Make antiracism central to CC’s communication

 

Goal 7 Current Commitments:

 

The Office of Communications and other campus communicators will be trained to assess past and present communications (as well as what is not said or represented) through the antiracist lens and improve their understanding of how framing can perpetuate stereotypes, bigotry, and racist ideology.

A communications audit will be conducted to examine communications on diversity, inclusion, and antiracism, as well as discourse — the way community members voice their opinions and become informed. The audit will review existing interpretations of antiracism and guide reframing to support the goals of the initiative. This will include celebrating achievements and contributions of community members from marginalized groups. Also, communications policies, practices, procedures, and channels will be studied through a framing analysis. The antiracism initiative will become a key theme in CC communications. In recruiting students, faculty, and staff, the goals of the antiracism initiative and transformative experiences associated with it will be communicated, building campus community support for this work.

The Office of Communications will develop an antiracist strategic communications plan. This plan will outline the college’s antiracism goals to build a shared understanding of this work and build support for it, and will keep the campus, alumni, and parent community engaged and informed.

Parties accountable:  Board of Trustees, president, vice president for communications, vice president for enrollment, vice president for advancement, and director of alumni and family relations

Report an issue - Last updated: 01/17/2023

In Progress

  • DEI leadership positions - created and recruited

Ongoing

  • Academic/Administrative Department/Program Annual Antiracism Work Reports
  • Started the Colorado Pledge, making CC more affordable to Colorado families
  • Equity audit of the staff handbook and staff policies 

Completed

  • Communications Diversity Audit (CC login required)
  • Established “CC Conversations”
  • Armstrong Quad renamed Tava Quad to honor ancestral lands
  • Equity audit of the faculty handbook 
  • Equity audit of the student handbook 
  • Equity audit of staff recruitment procedures and processes
  • Antiracism Plan Oversight Committee
  • External review of racism at CC; and established Antiracism Implementation Plan
  • 45% of all honorary degrees awarded from May 2012 to August 2019 were to people of color
  • $1 million gift from Susie Burghart '77 for accelerating CC's antiracism work
  • Approximately $7 million spent on ADA improvements
  • Naming of key spaces - Tava Quad, Collins House, Salazar House, etc.
  • Gender-neutral bathrooms
  • Founded the Butler Center
  • Added Living Learning Communities on Indigenous Peoples and LGBTQ+
  • Adopted a smudging policy
  • Adopted a pronoun and preferred name practice
  • Established the Wellness Resource Center
  • Increased meal plan dollars for students on financial aid
  • Centralized funding opportunities for students
  • Hosted the Equity Conference for High School Speech and Debate Teachers
  • Started the Student Opportunities and Advising Hub
  • Made Race, Ethnicity, and Migration Studies a major
  • Made Indigenous Studies a minor
  • Added an elder-in-residence and diversity and inclusion specialist
  • Established the Africana Intellectual Project
  • Completed the Susie B. Challenge supporting the Colorado Pledge
  • Added a test-optional policy
  • Joined QuestBridge; enrolled more than 150 QuestBridge students across four classes
  • Raised nearly $70 million for need-based financial aid since 2014
  • Raised first endowment for Bridge Scholars Program, endowment resources for student internships through Edge Internship and Public Interest Fellow Program
  • Increased outreach and partnership efforts with community-based organizations 
  • Doubled the fly-in budget for underrepresented students to attend programs
  • Removed the application fee for applying to CC
  • Funded the Bridge Program early arrival through $400 grants to offset early arrival to campus
  • Added transgender benefits to health insurance
  • Started Excel@CC, and added diversity and inclusion training for staff and faculty
  • Added the Presidential Leadership Awards program, including one for diversity and inclusion
  • Held first-ever diversity-related virtual-reality experience for faculty and staff 
  • Hired a curator of the Southwest Art Collection for the Fine Arts Center
  • Launched Untold Stories of students, alumni, and employees from marginalized social groups
  • Added acknowledgement of the original inhabitants of the land upon which CC sits 
  • Hosted affinity reunions supporting marginalized groups 

NOTE: some of these progress points may apply to multiple goals.