CU Social Justice Summit to include array of engaging sessions, community meetups
The lineup of sessions for the Jan. 31 University of Colorado Social Justice Summit includes a welcome message from CU President Todd Saliman, a keynote by noted scholar and author Bettina L. Love and a discussion among the chancellors of the university system’s four campuses.
Faculty and staff: Attending or participating in this event? Don't forget to stamp your employee passport afterward for a chance to win a prize.
The theme for this year’s summit is “Operationalizing Liberation for a Diverse Democracy,” and the all-virtual, biennial event is open to undergraduate and graduate students, university staff and frontline employees and faculty from CU Boulder, CU Denver, UCCS, the CU Anschutz Medical Campus, the CU system administration and other members of the CU community.
Registered participants may also choose to engage in a series of community meetups the day before the summit. More information about the agenda and for both the summit and the community meetups is available on the summit website. Due to capacity limitations for the all-virtual event, organizers encourage students, staff and faculty who wish to attend the systemwide event to register as early as possible.
During the morning session, Love, the William F. Russell professor at Columbia University’s Teachers College will give a talk titled, “We Gon’ Be Alright, But That Ain’t Alright: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom.”
Following the keynote address, summit participants will be able to choose from among 14 presentations during three sessions, featuring faculty, staff and student subject matter experts and executive leaders from all four CU campuses and the system administration.
In the afternoon, the community is welcome to join a student-facilitated discussion on the university’s efforts to create and sustain more inclusive campus communities featuring CU Boulder Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano, CU Denver Chancellor Michelle A. Marks, CU Anschutz Medical Campus Chancellor Don Elliman Jr. and UCCS Chancellor Venkat Reddy.
Other summit presentations will focus on anti-racist and trauma-informed pedagogy and policy; diversity, equity and inclusion in medical training; restorative justice; self-care and mental health and wellness; inequities in health care access; elevating communities of color in institutional decision-making; coalition building; social justice assessment; reflexive museum practices; social justice in classrooms; combating ableism; and examining other ways in which the CU community can work to foster and sustain more inclusive campus communities.
Register for a community meetup on Jan. 30
Registered summit participants may also sign up to attend one of six community meetups the day before the main event. Due to capacity limitations, event organizers encourage participants to sign up early if they are interested in attending one or more of the meetups.
The intention of the meetups is to provide supportive spaces where participants can share experiences and reflect on the summit theme and the ways in which it impacts personal identities. Facilitators will guide conversations, and the meetups are open to all undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, university staff, frontline employees and community members.