February 2024 newsletter headline, with a photo of Guggenheim Hall to the right.
Content This Month
See you at the Celebration of DI&A at Mines

The fifth annual Celebration of DI&A at Mines is a week away. After months of planning, the Mines DI&A team is thrilled to see such a strong response from campus. Over 190 community members and counting have registered for one or more activities happening during the multi-day Celebration. This year includes:  

  • 14 interactive workshops facilitated by Mines faculty, staff and students  

  • 27 academic and major campus unit diversity posters  

  • Keynote lunch from Jamila Bryant, founder of Push Forward Development, who will present Deconstructing Intersectionality for a Better Tomorrow.  

  • Student organization resource tabling 

  • Kickstart’s Connect the Dots event (April 4) 

Still need to register? Visit the event page to scope out the full agenda and to select your sessions of interest. The Celebration of DI&A at Mines is on Tuesday, April 2, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. Workshops will be in the Student Center Ballrooms. All registrants will receive a personalized email with room locations and times for the sessions they selected when they registered by the end of the week.

Mines receives ASEE Bronze Reaffirmation award

Mines DI&A is excited to announce that Colorado School of Mines was once again awarded Bronze status from the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) as part of their Diversity Recognition Program. Mines received its inaugural Bronze status recognition in 2021 and through a competitive re-application process in 2023, Mines was awarded Bronze status for the next three-year cycle: 2024-2026. The ASEE Diversity Recognition Program was created to publicly recognize engineering and engineering technology colleges and their programs that make significant, measurable progress in increasing diversity, inclusion and degree attainment outcomes.

Mines’ continuing Bronze level recognition means we are among the nation’s leaders in inclusive excellence. It demonstrates Mines is committed to establishing support for marginalized groups in engineering, quantifiably analyzing and assessing DI&A outcomes at the institutional level, implementing programs and initiatives that strengthen K-12 or community college pathways and making progress on campus’ DI&A Strategic Plan focused on continuous improvement.

This recognition is a campus-wide effort. Thank you for your contributions to fostering a more inclusive and welcoming campus community where Orediggers can succeed and thrive.

WISEM sponsors the annual Academic Management Institute experience, recognizes participants at campus luncheon

Each year, the Women in Science, Engineering and Mathematics program sponsors up to four women to attend the Academic Management Institute (AMI) as an effort to develop more leaders on campus. The program is in its 22nd year. This year’s Mines representatives are:

  • Dr. Nanette Boyle, Interim Department Head & Associate Professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering

  • Dr. Jenny Briggs, Assistant Dean, Graduate Studies

  • Molly Markley, General Counsel, Office of General Counsel

  • Emilie Rusch, Director of Communications, Communications and Marketing

Some of the participants will give an overview of their AMI projects and discuss what they learned throughout the program at the annual luncheon on April 16. RSVP by April 9. There is a cap on the event. Registration is first come, first served.

Mines attends National TRIO Day at the Capitol

Late last month, the Mines TRIO Upward Bound Math and Science (UBMS) program celebrated National TRIO Day at University of Colorado Denver and the state Capitol along with numerous other TRIO participants, staff and alumni throughout the state. There were 13 Mines UBMS participants in attendance along with three staff members. The event featured several TRIO alumni speakers, keynote speaker – Jen Rudolph from the Council of Opportunity in Education, and the presentation of a TRIO Day proclamation from Rep. Matthew Martinez at the state capitol. Event attendees also wrote letters to their legislators sharing their stories about TRIO’s impact.

On February 24, 1986, a congressional resolution (H. Con. Res. 278) declared Saturday, February 28, 1986, should be designated “National TRIO Day” to commemorate the annual achievements of the Federal TRIO programs in communities across the country. Since then, the TRIO community has reserved the fourth Saturday in February as National TRIO Day.

Mines MSA and Hillel collaborate for Islam/Judaism 101

You are invited to join the Mines Muslim Students Association (MSA) and Mines Hillel for a collaborative event: Islam/Judaism 101. The event is held on April 15, 5:30 to 7:30 pm in BE 241. Panelists from both groups will discuss similarities between Muslims and Jews and how both can work together to strengthen intercommunity relationships. Audience members can also ask the panel questions about both faith traditions. For more information about the event, contact Adam Church church@mines.edu. MSA and Mines Hillel hope to see a strong campus turnout for an evening of learning and friendship. 

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Sexual assault, harassment and abuse can happen to anyone. April allows us all to elevate healthy community values like consent, respect, inclusion, compassion and safety. Mines has a variety of events throughout the month to raise awareness and provide resources to those impacted by sexual assault. A complete list of events can be found at: www.mines.edu/shape/saam. 

There are many resources on the Mines campus if you, or someone you know, experience sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence or stalking. Two resources include the SHAPE office and the Office for Institutional Equity.  

  • The Sexual Harassment and Assault Advocacy, Prevention, and Education (SHAPE) office provides educational opportunities to prevent harm and violence, and to promote safe, healthy relationships. They also provide confidential resource advocacy support for survivors of sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating and domestic violence and stalking.  

  • The Office for Institutional Equity (OIE) offers resources and will facilitate a neutral and equitable process to all parties to an incident of sexual misconduct or discrimination. OIE staff are trained to provide trauma-informed response and resources to all parties to an incident of sexual misconduct or discrimination. Unlike SHAPE, OIE is not an advocacy office. A list of resources can be found on the OIE website at www.mines.edu/oie/on-and-off-campus-resources.

Contribute to next month’s Digest 

Help us highlight the work you or your department is doing across campus to support DI&A at Mines by submitting a brief article to next month’s Mines DI&A Digest. Submissions must be received by the first week of the month in order to make it into that month’s Digest.

Save the Dates 

Hyperlinks = virtual meeting access information. All times are Mountain Daylight Time.  

  • 3/27 @ noon EMPOWER/WMCA/SWE Women’s History Month Luncheon, Friedhoff Hall 2 

  • 4/2 @ all-day Celebration of DI&A at Mines 

  • 4/4 @ 5:30-8:00 PM Kickstart Connect the Dots, Labriola 

  • 4/15 @ 5:30-7:30 PM Islam/Judaism 101, BE 241 

  • 4/16 @ 11:45 AM-1:00 PM AMI Luncheon, Student Center-Ballrooms DE 

  • 5/8 @ 5:30-7:30 PM The Continuum, Green Center

As always, we welcome your ideas, thoughts and feedback at diversity@mines.edu.
Thank you for being a member of an inclusive Oredigger community and an advocate and ally for positive social change.

Diversity, Inclusion and Access