“We have partnered with the CSU System – Pueblo, Global, CSU Spur and Todos Santos in Mexico – as well as many community partners, including the City of Fort Collins, Poudre School District and the United Way,” said Assistant Vice President Ria Vigil, who oversees the annual symposium for the Office for Inclusive Excellence and leads a volunteer committee that reviews and selects programming proposals, coordinates keynote speakers and events and promotes the symposium to the greater community. They added: “We have scaled up the event to include so many community and system partners; it’s exciting to see how much we’ve grown and so encouraging to see the excitement for DEI education events.”

 Keynote speakers 

Keynote speaker adrienne maree brown (lowercase intentional by author), writer, activist and facilitator will present an online keynote address virtually on Monday, Oct. 23, from 11 a.m. to noon. Bestseller author of Emergent Strategy, brown writes about radical self-help, society-help, and planet-help to shape the future we want to live in.  

OiYan Poon will deliver a keynote address titled “We Won’t Go Back: Sustaining Movements for Racial Justice After ‘Affirmative Action’” virtually on Thursday, Oct. 26, from 11 a.m. to noon, r. Poon is a program officer at the Spencer Foundation, an associate professor affiliate of Higher Education Leadership, and the former director of the Race & Intersectional Studies for Educational Equity (RISE) Center at Colorado State University. Her research focuses on the racial politics and discourses of college access, higher education organization and policy, affirmative action, and Asian Americans.  Thursday is co-sponsored by the School of Education and features sessions focused on DEISJ educational practices.  

 Opening reception and film  

An opening night reception and film screening is set for Monday, Oct. 23, starting at 5 p.m. at the CSU Fort Collins campus in the Lory Student Center theatre. The film selection, “Breaking the News,” will begin at 6 p.m. at CSU Fort Collins with additional watch parties at CSU Pueblo and Todos Santos.  

“Breaking the News” documents the frustration of the media’s dearth of women and people of color. Emily Ramshaw wanted to do something radical about the white men dominating newsrooms. So, in 2020, she and a motivated group of women journalists banded together to buck the status quo and launch The 19th* News, a digital news startup based in Austin, Texas.  

The film documents the honest discussions at The 19th* around race, gender and identity equity, revealing that change doesn’t come easy and showcases how one newsroom confronts these challenges both as a workplace and in journalism. But this film is about more than a newsroom. It’s about a nation in flux and the voices that are often left out of the story.  

A panel discussion will follow the film featuring Emmy-nominated Mexican-American Director and Producer Chelsea Hernandez and The 19th’s interim chief product officer and audience director Alexandra Smith.  

The ACT Human Rights Film Festival,  CSU’s Thematic Year, CSU Pueblo and CSU’s Todos Santos Center in Mexico are partners for this program.  

MURALS presentations 

Undergraduate research symposium students from the Multicultural Undergraduate Research Art and Leadership Symposium (MURALS) will present projects on Tuesday, Oct. 24, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Lory Student Center Theatre. MURALS immerses students of color in various disciplines to expose them to diverse research opportunities. The four main aspects of the program include mentoring, presenting scholarly work, networking, and learning about multicultural leadership.  

Presenters include 2023 Overall Winner Jocelyn Lapham, Creative Arts Winner Kyla Ballard, STEMM Winner Sreeya Kairamkonda, Service Learning and Leadership Winner Victoria Silva, Social Sciences/Humanities Winner Abrao Soares Pereira and Innovation and Entrepreneurship Winner Joselle Gyamfi.  The 2022 First Year Scholars Academy Experience winners Charlotte Avanzi (Grad Student) and Lauren Bennett will also present their research. First Year Scholar students are given a $2,000 stipend to complete relevant research for a faculty member on campus. All MURALS students are mentored throughout their research and presentation preparation. Students, faculty and staff interested in getting involved with MURALS as a participant or mentor are encouraged to attend this showcase.   

CSU Inspire  

The symposium celebrates the work of CSU’s faculty and staff through CSU Inspire. This featured event brings five to 10 TED Talk-like sessions led by CSU faculty, staff, and students, and focuses on sharing engaging and inspiring initiatives happening on campus about social justice in short, eight-minute presentations. Watch this year’s presenters on Wednesday, Oct. 25, from 10:50 a.m. to noon in the Lory Student Center Theatre or online.  Featured speakers include:  

• Reham Abdunabi, senior political science student, double minor in international development and legal studies.
• Shannon Archibeque-Engle, associate vice president for the Office for Inclusive Excellence.
• Molly Gutilla, associate professor of public health at Colorado State University.
• Ruth Hufbauer, director of the Graduate Degree Program in Ecology.
• Roberto Munoreanu, assistant professor graphic design, art and art history.
• Elizabeth Sink, master teaching instructor in Communication Studies.

Montana State representative joins transgender policy panel  

The Transgender Policy Panel on Wednesday, Oct. 25 , from 5-6:30 p.m. will discuss “Politics, Transgender Rights, and Democratic Health” with Montana State Rep. Zooey Zephyr and Erin Reed. Zephyr is the state representative for Montana’s 100th House District and the first trans woman to hold public office in Montana. She made national news when the state’s Republican supermajority banned her from the House floor due to her advocacy for trans people and her constituents. Reed is an independent journalist and author of the Anti-Trans Legislative Risk Assessment Map, which tracks legislation impacting trans people in state legislatures. Moderated by Pride Center Director Maggie Hendrickson, panelists will discuss why reactionary politicians frequently target LGBTQ+ people and how attacks on trans people’s civil rights undermine democratic health. They will also share how they cultivate queer joy during extreme political precarity.  

“The 2023 Symposium planning committee, led by Assistant Vice President Ria Vigil, have this year put together one of the best symposia ever hosted by OIE, and I encourage our CSU community to attend as many events as possible,” said Vice President for Inclusive Excellence Kauline Cipriani. “The breadth of topics pertaining to diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and justice (DEIAJ) is stunning, with speakers addressing such topics as the lack of diversity in media, sustaining on-campus diversity without race-conscious admissions, and the connection of transgender rights to a healthy democracy.  Of course, we are also highlighting the work of our own amazing students, staff and faculty during the MURALS and CSU Inspire sessions. I am incredibly proud of the work of our small but mighty CSU planning committee whose collective vision and passion always lead to a powerful week of DEIAJ programming for our community and among the best offered at any institution of higher education in the country.”  

Workshop highlights 

Community partners, including the City of Fort Collins and United Way, and CSU faculty, students and staff will present 90-minute workshops centered around diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice. Workshops will be available online all week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.   

Additionally, workshops will be presented in-person on Tuesday and Wednesday at CSU Fort Collins. Limited spaces are available for programs presented in person. CSU system partners will host watch parties and stream events at the Pueblo, SPUR and Todos Santos, Mexico campuses.   

CSU’s Pride Center in Fort Collins celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. They will discuss the current political realities for our LGBTQIA+ students and employees from a national and local context and offer tangible, actionable resources for participants to help us invest in queer futures and the vision to create a campus climate where all LGBTQIA+ people can thrive.  

Several teaching methodologies will be offered, including “Inclusive Teaching Symposium – Promoting Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity in the Classroom” and “Talking Across Differences: A Healing Justice Framework for Assisting International Students in the U.S.”  

Ranked as one of the best in the U.S. for military veterans by Military Times, CSU will also offer workshops for military and veteran students with “Serving the Military and Veteran Student” and “More Than a ‘Thank You’ for Your Service: Integrating Awareness of America’s Military and Affiliate Needs Across the College Curriculum.”   

Alejandro Covarrubias will host a featured session titled “Why Latine & Latinx? – Exploring the depth, breadth, and beauty of the Latina/e/o/x community and how to create a community of belonging” virtually on Friday, Oct. 27, from 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. This session will discuss the complexities within the Latine community and explore the concept of Latinidad across multiple dimensions of identity. This session intends to broaden our awareness and knowledge about what communities constitute the Latine community and how CSU works to create a space of belonging through language and practice rooted in institutional values.  

Inclusive spaces 

The Symposium for Inclusive Excellence is committed to welcoming individuals in a positive and respectful learning environment. Several services will be available as a commitment to accessibility during workshops. Live Zoom sessions will feature the option to set translation services for many languages. Select the language of choice for the captions. American Sign Language interpretation will be available at all online and in-person sessions. All gender restrooms are centrally located in the Lory Student Center. As stated on the Inclusive Campus webpage on the CSU website, “All Gender restrooms expand access for everyone and can be used by anyone. They also benefit a diverse group of people including transgender/ gender nonconforming individuals, parents and caregivers who have children of another gender, disabled people who have personal attendants and caregivers of another gender, individuals with chronic illness, and people from cultural backgrounds whose bathroom practices are not traditional in the United States.”