Faculty says diverse backgrounds and ideas necessary to inclusive environment
Faculty members from a range of departments are speaking out on how to encourage diversity within their own field and among their colleagues and students.
Physics Professor Patricia Rankin noted the importance of diversity on campus.
“I think you could argue for diversity in a couple of ways,” Rankin said. “You could say it’s the fair thing to do, but it’s about seeing more that it’s the right thing to do.”
Rankin said studies have shown that teams and organizations work better when the team is more diverse and has more viewpoints coming in.
Rankin is a principal investigator for Leadership Education for Advancement and Promotion. Founded by a grant called The National Science Foundation Advance Institutional Transform Award, the program was created five years ago to address institutional policies surrounding diversity issues.
The problem, Rankin said, is that women have been traditionally underrepresented in the fields of science and engineering. Although the program does not specifically address women faculty, it addresses the institutional policies that affect faculty to see if they are working.
Rankin has seen changes at CU since LEAP was founded.
“The climate is better here than five years ago,” she said. “There are policies in place that weren’t five years ago. We’re really working hard to build on that momentum.”
For Bud Coleman, associate professor and chair of the theatre and dance department, the key to increasing diversity is to increase inclusivity for all students, prospective students, and faculty.
“I can’t speak for the entire staff, but I would love to see an increase in diversity in our staff and our students,” Coleman said.
Coleman said offering courses with a variety of perspectives is one way to include everyone.
“In our coursework, there’s a multiplicity of world views, whether in dance or theatre classes, so our students are introduced to more than just western culture in our classes,” Coleman said.
Coleman said classes like African dance, hip hop and flamenco work to include as many different people as possible.
Coleman emphasized the importance of taking actions to increase diversity now rather than later.
“We have to say that we’re not going to do that in the future, but do it now,” he said.
Dayna Bowen Matthew, a professor and associate dean of the law school, stressed how important diversity was to the Law School.
“In our strategic plan, we describe ourselves as a diverse community of scholars,” Matthew said. “The reason that it’s so important in law is that we study how to examine every single issue that we look at from every other vantage point.”
Broad viewpoints and different perspectives are critical to educate law students who can solve social problems that involve conflicting and balancing interests in today’s world, Matthew said.
“Otherwise, we’d be educating lopsided lawyers,” she said.
Matthew emphasized how important it was for her students to have diverse backgrounds and ideas.
“We have to have [diverse perspectives] because when our law students go into the real world, they are going to have to deal with all kinds of people, with all kinds of problems,” she said. “They must be equipped.”
Matthew said the Law School pursues great students who bring diversity to the school and supports them individually to get what they need in order to attend CU.
For example, Matthew said, if a student comes from a rural background, the Law School will work with him to get him financial aid. If a student is from a foreign country, the Law School will help the students get into language classes.
According to Matthew, the school makes those accommodations to have a combination of different interests.
All three faculty members said small steps can be taken to encourage diversity at CU.
Rankin said little things, even like an invitation to lunch, can make a difference.
If a junior faculty member is invited to have lunch with other faculty members, they feel more welcome in the department, Rankin said.
Rankin also noted that hate speech, even a joke, should be taken seriously.
“It shouldn’t be left for a woman to say a joke is sexist, or for a black man to say it’s racist,” she said. “People in the dominant group should be sensitive, and call on their peers on behavior that is inappropriate.”
Coleman agreed.
“The people at CU, as incumbents, it’s our responsibility to make CU a welcoming, supportive, inclusive environment as we can,” Coleman said.
If someone hears hate speech, they should feel empowered to have a “teaching moment” with them, he said.
“If someone overhears it, it may not be meant to be hurtful,” Coleman said. “We should be aware of how language is used.”
Matthew said CU needs to welcome everyone.
“[We need to] be open, not just tolerant but open, to everyone from every background,” Matthew said. “Make everyone feel as though they are essential to the fabric of this great university.”
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Marcy Franklin at Marcy.franklin@colorado.edu.
