June 23, 2020

Diversify CU Boulder NOW

We, the students, faculty, and staff of the University of Colorado Boulder want campus leaders to hear our voices. We expect to be included in the planning and implementation of all efforts by the university to actively change policies and behaviors that perpetuate racism in our community. Following the senseless murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Nina Pop, and George Floyd, we have committed to taking action in our own lives, including changing the institution we attend.

CU Boulder’s bold claims of excellence in leadership, innovation, and impact¹ are in stark contrast with its diversity statistics² and current environment³. While CU Boulder is ranked #2 in Geosciences in the United States⁴, is in the top 50 universities for National Science Foundation research and development funding⁵, and was the first university to achieve a STARS Gold rating for sustainability⁶, the U.S. News & World Report 2020 University Database⁷ diversity index shows CU Boulder is 231st out of 374 schools nationally and in last place in diversity in the PAC-12 schools:

CU Boulder is also woefully behind in state-level diversity rankings, coming in 12th of 16 Colorado colleges and universities:

Even without the data, anyone can look around campus and see the lack of racial diversity. The only way to change this is to overhaul the priorities of our institution, and it is the Regents, President, Chancellor, Provost, and other campus leaders that have the power--and duty--to do so. The current environment at CU Boulder will not improve without large-scale, top-down structural change that extends far beyond recruitment. Without accompanying changes in university practices and culture at all levels, recruitment becomes yet another empty gesture, one that abandons Black students, researchers, and faculty at CU Boulder and leaves them responsible for changing an environment that constantly excludes, marginalizes, and devalues them.

CU Boulder campus leaders’ recent response to George Floyd’s murder and continued protests includes releasing statements, a call to implement the previously approved IDEA plan⁸, and lists of actions that, although encouraging, lack a critical component--the necessity of engaging with and amplifying the voices of those most impacted by the structure and culture of the current system.

We stand with Olivia Gardner and Ruth Woldemichael, in conjunction with the Black Student Alliance, and strongly support all of their demands provided to Chancellor DiStefano (see bottom of page), including those that were excluded from the Chancellor’s campus-wide email sent on June 18.

We demand action from university leadership to create a campus where Black and other underrepresented people and identities are recognized as equal members of a community to which they rightfully belong. Campus leadership must not only recognize the imperative need for cultural and structural improvement at CU Boulder, but also actively engage the community in efforts to augment both while maintaining transparency and accountability throughout the process. Not speaking up now and not acting now to change policies and behaviors that perpetuate racism actively supports racism.

By signing this petition, I am affirming the Black community and acknowledge the current environment at CU Boulder is exhausting and distressing to them and to all underrepresented groups. I commit to anti-racism on campus and acknowledge my signature is one way of holding myself accountable in this endeavor. I am calling on campus leaders to prioritize their efforts and to take immediate action that demonstrates to the Boulder community, and all academic institutions, CU Boulder’s unwavering commitment to leading this charge.

We, the undersigned, welcome the opportunity to meet with all campus leaders at CU Boulder. We need campus leadership NOW. We are ready to do the work, are YOU? You may reach us at DiversifyCUBoulderNOW@gmail.com. Thank you for your consideration.

Ruth Woldemichael
Undergraduate Student
Vice President of Black Student Alliance

Kalkidan Bulbula
Undergraduate Student
President of Black Student Alliance

Olivia Gardner
CU Boulder Alum
Co-Founder of Transformative Teach

Holly Olivarez
CU Boulder Diversity Scholarship Recipient
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow
Environmental Studies Program
Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR)

Olivia Pearman
PhD Candidate
Environmental Studies Program
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES)

Hannah Zanowski
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR)
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

Tina Geller
PhD Student
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

Anna Hermes
PhD Candidate
Environmental Studies Program
Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR)

Rayna Benzeev
PhD Candidate
Environmental Studies Program

W. Spencer King
Candidate, Masters of the Environment
Sustainable Food Systems

Tessa Gorte
PhD Candidate
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

Mckenzie Dice
PhD Student
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

Lauren Dunteman
Candidate, Masters of the Environment
Sustainable Food Systems

References:

1 University of Colorado Boulder Rankings & Achievements - accessed June 21, 2020

2 CU Boulder 2018-2019 Diversity Report (published June 2019) https://www.cu.edu/doc/oaareportdiversity-2018-19pdf - accessed June 11, 2020. Interactive data here: https://www.cu.edu/diversity-report-interactive-data

3 African American Student Experiences at CU Boulder, focus group summary - accessed June 22, 2020

4 University of Colorado--Boulder in United States - US News Best Global Universities - accessed June 22, 2020

5 NSF – NCSES Academic Institution Profiles – Rankings by total R&D expenditures - accessed June 22, 2020

6 STARS Gold Rating Participants & Reports | Institutions - accessed June 22, 2020

7 2020 Campus Ethnic Diversity at National Universities | US News Rankings - accessed June 18, 2020

8 CU Boulder Diversity Plan | Office of Diversity, Equity & Community Engagement - accessed June 15, 2020

How the Diversity Index is calculated:

“U.S. News factors in the total proportion of minority students, leaving out international students, and the overall mix of groups. The data are drawn from each institution's fall 2018 total undergraduate student body. The ethnic categories used in the calculations are non-Hispanic African-American, Hispanic, American Indian, Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian, Asian, non-Hispanic white and multiracial (two or more races). Students who did not identify themselves as members of any of those demographic groups were classified as non-Hispanic whites for the purpose of these calculations. The formula produces a diversity index that ranges from 0 to 1. The closer a school's number is to 1, the more diverse the student population.” https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/campus-ethnic-diversity, accessed June 18, 2020.