Celebration of DI&A at Mines recap
The fifth annual Celebration of DI&A at Mines was earlier this month, and we could not have been more pleased by the turnout and the number of community members who facilitated a session or volunteered at the event. If you were able to carve out time to encourage your colleagues or peers and support your own professional development, we hope you found the time valuable. Over 275 community members plus drop-ins registered for one or more activities during the multi-day Celebration. This year included:
- 14 interactive workshops facilitated by Mines faculty, staff and students
- 27 academic and major campus unit diversity posters
- Keynote from Jamila Bryant, founder of Push Forward Development, who presented on Deconstructing Intersectionality for a Better Tomorrow
- Catered lunch from Tocabe and Sodexo
- Student organization resource tabling, departmental and campus unit posters
- Kickstart’s Connect the Dots event on April 4
There was a post-event survey sent shortly after the Celebration. If you did not have the chance to submit your thoughts on your experience, there’s still time. We welcome your feedback to help improve next year’s event.
Mines DI&A Award recipients announced
The 2024 award recipients demonstrated an exceptional understanding of diversity and inclusion as represented by their efforts to:
- enhance inclusion through fostering dialogue and positive communication between persons of diverse backgrounds,
- promote an environment free from bias and discrimination,
- raise awareness and lead initiatives that advance diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion,
- support efforts in the Mines DI&A Strategic Plan and/or
- serve as a catalyst for change in the areas of diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion,
- contribute to DI&A at Mines beyond primary position description or role expectations on campus.
Congratulations for this year’s recipients:
Kelsie Diaz, Graduate Program Manager, Department of Electrical Engineering – Creating a Culture of Inclusion
Lauren Guido, Graduate Student, Department of Geology & Geological Engineering – Supporting Student Success
Adam Schade, Undergraduate Student, Department of Mechanical Engineering – Raising Awareness
Dr. Emily Smith, Teaching Associate Professor, Department of Physics – Supporting Student Success
These individuals and snippets from their nominators’ submissions will be featured individually on Mines DI&A social media page next week. They each received a plaque to proudly display in recognition of their outstanding work to promote an inclusive campus community and to foster a greater sense of belonging for all Orediggers. We are grateful for their leadership and contributions.
A special thanks for the awards review team for their work in selecting these outstanding individuals.
Mines DI&A Fellows announced
The Mines DI&A Fellows program recognizes highly accomplished and motivated faculty and staff for their exceptional DI&A service to campus. The $10,000 award provides support as they gain leadership experience and drive diversity, equity and inclusion institutional change at Mines. Each Fellow leads a strategic initiative or program that furthers the vision and mission of Mines DI&A. We are excited to announce the three newest Fellows and the projects they will champion.
Dr. Katy Armstrong 
Advancing Pay Equity through Expanded Offer and Salary Negotiation Education. Pay equity begins at the undergraduate level. Education related to offer and salary negotiation, as well as career management, is critical. Researchers from the National Association of Colleges and Employers and Break Thru Tech found that women who utilized campus career services received more job offers than their male counterparts. This Fellowship program will build upon existing programming within the Career Center in dedicating funds, energy and time to increasing student education and awareness in offer and salary negotiation. Ways in which this goal will be achieved include strengthening campus collaboration in offering this education, expanding student program offerings and training faculty/staff on best practices in coaching students through salary and offer negotiation.
Liz Cox 
Mines Academy Engagement Plan – Bolstering diverse enrollment at Mines through outreach to community college students. The Mines Academy Pathway to Mines (MAP to Mines) builds community, sense of belonging and transfer readiness for community college students in the Mines Academy as they prepare for future transfer to Mines. Strengthening the transfer pathway is a diversity initiative of Enrollment Management, and MAP to Mines will support future community college transfers, often low-income, first-generation, veterans and/or underrepresented students, to pursue a STEM degree at Mines. The MAP to Mines program will use an asset-based approach to engage Mines Academy students for successful transfer through orientation, workshops, resources and specialized campus events to be delivered while students are at the community college. Evaluation of MAP to Mines will provide new understandings of the challenges and opportunities of the transfer process and transition to Mines.
Sheena Martinez
Succession Planning for Kickstart Dialogue Programs at Colorado School of Mines. Colorado School of Mines graduates enter cutting edge STEM fields and play a crucial role in helping solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Of these challenges is a critical need in today’s workplace and greater society – the ability to communicate effectively across difference. By providing intentionally designed dialogue opportunities, students can cultivate skills necessary to collaborate and learn across differing perspectives. This project focuses on supporting Kickstart, an existing registered student organization committed to addressing this need through campus dialogue programs. “Kickstart is dedicated to building an inclusive community that enables the sharing and exploration of diverse identities.” Established in 2020, Kickstart has been actively engaged in this important work, which is vital for current and future generations of engineers. Grounded in the Intergroup Dialogue model, this initiative aims to establish a sustainable framework for engaging students in building dialogue skills.
Last call for FY24 Community Grants
As part of our commitment to Mines@150 and the Strategic Plan for Diversity, Inclusion and Access, Mines DI&A continues to provide seed-funding for new DEI initiatives with impact through the Community Grants program. So far, this academic year, five projects submitted by faculty, staff and students have received funding. Additional funding is available through June 15 if you or someone you know has an idea that could use some financial support. Access the Community Grant Proposal Form.docx (sharepoint.com)
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.
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.
