The University of Colorado Boulder has prioritized diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) excellence across many facets of the university (e.g., climate, infrastructure, and leadership) and outlined its blueprint in the 蜜桃传媒破解版下载 IDEA Plan1. Groups at all campus levels are tasked with implementing this plan; the CEAE JEDI committee is the Department level group focused on identifying actionable ways the department can advance the IDEA plan.
As the CEAE department collectively works to recognize ways to enhance our DEI excellence, we have to recognize that there is no single best practice or one-size-fits-all solution. There is a broad, healthy debate around the effectiveness of different approaches that may have common goals but underachieve these goals2. For example, there are several arguments that the multi-billion dollar industry of mandatory workplace diversity is ineffective, because it is unlikely to change the hearts and minds of participants3,4,5. More specific to academia, there is a broad debate about how DEI policies (not concepts) can conflict with academic freedom6and more specifically how DEI statements during faculty hiring have the potential to create 鈥渕onoculture incubators of mutually exclusive ideologies鈥�7. Two significant challenges to DEI success are 1) defining what 鈥淒EI success鈥� is, and 2) just defining what DEI means 鈥� that is, whether any two people have the same understanding and intent of DEI concepts8.
What works in DEI?听Internet searches for this phrase result in a lot of sites and material related to the corporate DEI lecture industry. A few useful resources are provided听9,10. Generally, transparency and commitment of leadership to institutional cultural change have been noted as the most significant impacts on achieving some DEI goals. A third challenge emerges here - how to set DEI goals, i.e., 鈥渟uccess鈥� has to be defined. A simple example: if a unit seeks to increase diversity, a plausible sequence of events would be: a) evaluate current diversity of members, b) identify bottlenecks, and c) address them. In addition, *accountability* for these steps and for assessing whether goals were met must be addressed.
Call to Action: The CEAE JEDI committee can be a constructive mechanism to help identify and advocate for organizational changes that improve department culture, policies, and practices. We want your input to help identify the most effective means and methods to bring positive change. There is an听anonymous feedback form听on the website and ideas can also be sent to听ceae-jedi@colorado.edu
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