Nothing may be more personal than how people refer to us. Using a person鈥檚 chosen name and desired pronouns is a form of mutual respect and basic courtesy. Everyone deserves to have their self-ascribed name and pronouns respected in the workplace. And it鈥檚 up to us to create a safe space for everyone who is comfortable displaying those pronouns. (Of course, this is a personal choice, and no one is required to share their pronouns.) Below are 5 easy ways to help create that safe space:
For many of us, email is our primary point of contact. And with that, it鈥檚 helpful for others to know our pronouns and how we want to be addressed.
Video instructions for different platforms can be found below:
Web-based Outlook 365 -
Windows-based Outlook software -
Mac-based Outlook software -
Even before COVID, Zoom meetings were increasing in popularity. And to ensure there is no confusion about how attendees wish to be referred to, there are two easy steps you can take.
Update 7/2/2021 - Zoom has .
Simply visit and once logged in, select 鈥淓dit鈥� next to your profile.
If introductions take place, introduce yourself with your pronouns. It鈥檚 as simple as, 鈥淗i, I鈥檓 Vanessa Luna. My pronouns are she/her/hers and I am a Staff Council representative鈥�
Academic Affairs recently released updated syllabus statements, which can be found at /academicaffairs/policies-customs-guidelines/required-syllabus-statements. It includes an updated statement about pronouns.
You can also encourage your faculty to include their pronouns in their syllabus under their name. (However, please remember that this is not required, and some may not be comfortable sharing their pronouns.)
If you are an HR manager or supervisor, during onboarding a new employee you can ask if the employee has pronouns they would like to share. An example may be 鈥淚f you have pronouns you would like to share, please let me know.鈥�
It is never safe to assume someone鈥檚 gender. Living a life where people will naturally assume your correct pronouns is a privilege that not everyone experiences.
If someone tells you their pronouns, use those. But if you don鈥檛 know their pronouns, use gender neutral ones, like 鈥渢hey鈥�. It takes some practice, but in the end you will be helping create a more inclusive environment for all.
For more information about pronouns, you can visit the Center for Inclusion and Social Change website. They even offer a pronouns guide.
Everyone deserves to have their self-ascribed name and pronouns respected in the workplace. And it鈥檚 up to us to create a safe space for everyone who is comfortable displaying those pronouns. Included are 5 easy ways to help create that safe space.Staff Council is committed to honoring and recognizing the land in which the University of Colorado at Boulder resides and the communities of Indigenous Peoples at the University. We understand the importance of elevating Indigenous voices and strive to authentically acknowledge the Indigenous Peoples and territories of Colorado. We start this journey by including a land acknowledgment on our website.
We lead with responsibility as Staff Council to represent a community of voices at CU and foster an inclusive and socially responsible community of staff, faculty, and students. We invite our council members and constituents of the University to participate in land acknowledgments to reclaim space of 鈥�traditional territories and ancestral homelands of the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Ute, Apache, Comanche, Kiowa, Lakota, Pueblo and Shoshone Nations. Further, we acknowledge the 48 contemporary tribal nations historically tied to the lands that comprise what is now called Colorado.鈥�
As we reside on ancestral lands and seek to honor Indigenous Peoples of the CU community, we must learn about the history weaved into the land, the stories of Indigenous Peoples in our community, and the tribal nations who comprise the traditional territories and homelands of Colorado. To elevate Indigenous voices, we must disrupt and begin a path of healing to resurface Native American history, traditional storytelling, and ancestral knowledge of those most sacred to the land and bloodlines of Indigenous Peoples.
To truly understand the land in which we reside is to unveil the history and instigate a sense of responsibility of acknowledgment, respect, and honor to Indigenous Peoples and their homelands. Integrating land acknowledgments into spaces and practices of higher learning invites Indigenous perspectives to heal truths of the past and lead with visibility and strength.
Staff Council is committed to honoring and recognizing the land in which the University of Colorado at Boulder resides and the communities of Indigenous Peoples at the University. We start this journey by including a land acknowledgment on our website.The Inclusion, Diversity and Excellence in Academics (IDEA) Plan is the campus鈥� blueprint for diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and outlines 3 key areas of impact: Climate, Infrastructure and Leadership. Designated by campus leaders, the 26-member IDEA Council has begun their work of prioritizing the recommendations outlined in the IDEA Plan.
Led by co-chairs Teresa Hernandez and Lisa Flores, the full council began meeting monthly in September 2020 and will spend the next few months gathering data and focusing on student, staff and faculty recruitment and retention. During this time, subcommittees will identify gaps and areas where the campus can improve its recruitment and retention efforts.
Watch out for updates from the IDEA Council in 兔子先生传媒文化作品 Today and be sure to reach out to your unit council representative to ask how you can be a part of the change you want to see.
兔子先生传媒文化作品鈥檚 work towards a more inclusive, diverse and equitable environment is always situated within the broader context of our society. We are linked to the social climate of our campus, region, state and nation. The sessions in this year鈥檚 remote Diversity Summit will explore the multiple intersecting events impacting our immediate community, which in turn affect our broader communities.
The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has changed how we learn, teach and work, and has altered the ways we create inclusive communities while physically separated. This has deepened the meanings of resilience and service. With this in mind, staff are invited to virtually attend the Fall 2020 Diversity Summit and extend the conversation around the summit theme to build awareness, foster community and connections; and to equip participants with actionable ideas and strategies to move our campus to one where inclusion is central to our identity.
The Diversity and Inclusion Summit is free and open to all 兔子先生传媒文化作品 staff.
Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020 Schedule:
Featuring the Ivalas Quartet 2020 Festival Fellows performance of George Walker鈥檚 鈥淟yric for Strings,鈥� available for streaming throughout the day.
9:00am to 10:15am
Panel: 鈥淐ultivating Inclusion in the Classroom: Practices that Make a Difference鈥� with moderator Vice Provost Michele Moses and panelists Dr. Susan Jurow from the School of Education, Dr. Donna Meija from Theatre and Dance, Dr. Reiland Rabaka from Ethnic Studies, and Dr. Becca Ciancanelli from the Center for Teaching and Learning
11:00am to 12:15pm
Conversation: 鈥淎nti-Asian Racism, COVID-19, and Anti-Racism Work鈥� with Dr. Jennifer Ho from the Center for Humanities & the Arts and Ethnic Studies and Linds Roberts from University Libraries
1:00pm to 2:15pm
Panel: 鈥淒iscussion on our Campus One Read, So You Want to Talk About Race鈥� with moderators Kalyani Fernando and Amanda Rybin Koob from the University Libraries and panelists from the Black Student Alliance, Dr. Sam Flaxman from Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Amy Moreno from Engineering and Applied Science
6:00pm to 7:15pm
Stories and presentation: 鈥淗eartwork: Finding Your Fire鈥� with Tanaya Winder from 兔子先生传媒文化作品 Upward Bound
Look for more information soon. Please contact odece@colorado.edu if you have any questions.
兔子先生传媒文化作品鈥檚 work towards a more inclusive, diverse and equitable environment is always situated within the broader context of our society. The sessions in this year鈥檚 remote Diversity Summit will explore the multiple intersecting events impacting our immediate community, which in turn affect our broader communities.兔子先生传媒文化作品 Staff Council would like to thank all who participated in the Open Forum with campus leadership.
If you were unable to attend, the event was recorded and can be viewed at the following link*:
https://cuboulder.zoom.us/rec/share/5JJ5A62p2FhISbOd1UvURr8bRt_bX6a82iEa8qIJyhy7gTcvgBRJjFLazsYPuUIi
*Please be aware, CU credentials are required to view this recording.
Staff Council and campus leadership would also like to provide some follow up information to a specific question that was asked during the forum:
鈥�Given we鈥檙e all required to wear masks on campus, what is CU doing to prevent and/or ensure all employees (including student staff) do not engage in racial profiling?鈥�
After reviewing the response, Staff Council connected with campus leadership to provide additional context and engage in a conversation regarding racial profiling experienced by various communities on campus. This can include the use of face masks and how it can inhibit non-verbal communication (such as smiling) to navigate situations where racial profiling exists.
Staff Council and campus leadership would like to reiterate the importance of safety measures such as mask wearing in preventing the harmful impacts of COVID-19. We are dedicated to protecting the herd.
All parties involved in these discussions agreed to actionable items specific to this concern. In addition to existing efforts, there will be ongoing conversations regarding bias, working to incorporate new messaging specific to this concern in future campus communications, and including language crafted with Human Resources below:
CU is devoted to broadening awareness of Bias occurring on campus. And while we are committed to safety measures such as mask wearing to Protect Our Herd, we wish to acknowledge that many persons of color have been taught to express non-threatening signals through facial expressions (like smiling) to safely navigate the world in situations of profiling of any kind. We encourage all CU community members to educate yourself regarding bias, and strive to lead all interactions with kindness and good will.
-Inclusive Excellence, Boulder Campus Staff Council
The Diversity and Inclusion Summit is a free multi-day event open to the 兔子先生传媒文化作品 community and city of Boulder personnel. One of the campus' longest-running events, the upcoming event on Tuesday, February 25th at the UMC marks the 30th Diversity and Inclusion Summit.
The spring Summit theme is Intentionality: Humanity in Action and will address how we move from merely talking about diversity and inclusion to how we model behaviors and practices that produce real change for all of us.
兔子先生传媒文化作品 will welcome Kali Fajardo-Anstine, the author of the Campus One Read book, Sabrina & Corina: Stories. Her critically acclaimed collection of short stories, set in Colorado, lean into themes of race, feminism, queerness and class, and explore societal injustice.
ODECE and the Summit planning committee have partnered with the University Libraries to extend Fajardo-Anstine鈥檚 work in additional sessions throughout the day, including a panel on gentrification鈥檚 impact on Colorado communities and a map exhibit showcasing historic views of Denver and Boulder. To learn more about these sessions, visit the Libraries webpage.
of Sabrina & Corina: Stories are available for the campus community. To learn more, visit the ODECE website.
The theme of the upcoming summit is Intentionality: Humanity in Action to be held on Tuesday, February 25 in the Glenn Miller Ballrooms. The opening presentation will be given my , the author of Sabrina & Corina, our Campus One Read. 兔子先生传媒文化作品 Libraries have developed special summit sessions to compliment the author鈥檚 presentation and compel participants to dive deeper into some of the books themes. There will also be a pop-up map exhibit that invites viewers to appreciate the significance of place along the Front Range and in Colorado.
The goal of the summit is to move from merely talking about diversity and inclusion to modeling behaviors and practices that allow us to return to the heart of who our work impacts -- people. Intentionality is about what you do and how you do it.
If you are interested in submitting a summit session, please visit the Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement session submission page. Be a part of the change that makes excellence inclusive at 兔子先生传媒文化作品.
We at CU should all strive to be an ally in our community. Below we list just a few actions you can take in your day to day life to be a better ally.
Ally (plural allies): (noun) an individual who is not a member of a particular group but who works for the rights of that group; e.g., a white person who works against racism, a man who works against sexism, a heterosexual who works against heterosexism.
For more information on how to activate your allyship, you can attend any number of the talks taking place at the CU Diversity Summit, November 12th and 13th.
A "One Read" offers participants an opportunity to read a common book and engage in a community-wide discussion on its subject matter. This year鈥檚 Diversity and Inclusion Summit One Read offers 兔子先生传媒文化作品 staff an outstanding opportunity to become immersed through the power of story-telling into the cultural experience of local author . Several copies of Fajardo-Anstine鈥檚 book, are now available at Norlin Library. The Kirkus Review of Fajardo-Anstine鈥檚 debut collection of short stories notes, 鈥淔ajardo-Anstine takes aim at our country's social injustices and ills without succumbing to pessimism. The result is a nearly perfect collection of stories that is emotionally wrenching but never without glimmers of resistance and hope.鈥� Sabrina & Corina was selected by the Diversity Summit Planning Committee to expand and deepen awareness of identity and belonging. For more information about the summit and the theme visit ODECE鈥檚 website.
Think about the times you might have witnessed a microaggression, a thinly-veiled derogatory comment against yourself or someone else regarding innate factors of personal identity. Did this happen in the office... on a public bus... or in a classroom or on campus? When it happened, did you speak up? Did you feel equipped to respond in the situation? Do you ever get to debrief about these kinds of interactions, or discuss what might have been done differently?
Individuals across our 兔子先生传媒文化作品 community who are interested in making excellence inclusive are invited to attend ODECE's open Inclusive Communities of Practice (ICoP) sessions, where exploring microaggressions is just one topic.. These 90-minute meetings are organized around a topic related to diversity, inclusion, equity, social justice, and human interaction. These conversations are meant to be 鈥渂rave spaces鈥� where faculty, staff and students can talk honestly about areas of concern and practice techniques for making excellence inclusive in your everyday experiences. Two sessions are held each month in CASE W313 from 10:30-noon. For more info visit the ICoP page.
Inclusive Excellence Belongs to All of Us!
In early May 2019, the Inclusion, Diversity, and Excellence in Academics (IDEA) Plan steering committee released an update in 兔子先生传媒文化作品 Today regarding the status of the revised draft IDEA Plan. 兔子先生传媒文化作品 the ODECE website to read the draft plan. As noted in the article, the steering committee mapped the plan鈥檚 priorities and aligned them with the other strategic initiatives currently underway.
It鈥檚 an exciting time for staff to immediately engage in making excellence inclusive by reading the plan and attending town halls and other engagement opportunities to learn how to individually contribute to transforming our campus community starting today.
With 4000+ staff at 兔子先生传媒文化作品, we have the capacity to authentically cultivate diversity, embrace equity and be a welcoming and inclusive university. To get involved, please visit What鈥檚 Your Next Step? on the ODECE website, sign up for information about inclusive communities of practice dialogues, participate in the fall diversity summit, and sign up for diversity and inclusive excellence professional development opportunities available through the 兔子先生传媒文化作品 Department of Human Resources.