A buzz around commencement activities
Commencement is a few short weeks away – ask any senior, they’ve likely got it down to the hour. Prior to the main show, campus is a-buzz honoring our seniors who gave of their time, talent and treasure and left their mark on campus. You’ll see these students celebrated all over campus leading up to and through commencement: award banquets, the Continuum, Lavender graduation, MEP graduation banquet, to name a few. Many of these events are open to faculty, staff and students. You’ll find the important details scattered throughout the Daily Blast in the days and weeks leading up. We encourage you to carve out some time to celebrate with them. These events present great opportunities to get to know students on a deeper level by meeting their friends, families and significant others. Alumni also find their way back to campus to help recognize our outstanding graduates this time of year. You’ll be amazed to hear how Mines prepared them well for life after college.
Celebrations leading up to commencement also include faculty and staff who are recognized at the annual faculty awards banquet. Festivities begin at 3:30 PM in the Student Center grand ballrooms on April 26.
We look forward to celebrating our outstanding Orediggers with you!
Dr. Kate Youmans, Heather Houlton, Kelly Knechtel and Arielle Rainey
Mines DI&A
Content This Month
- Celebration of DI&A at Mines recap
- Four Orediggers join the Mines DI&A Ambassador program
- Campus climate survey remains open through the end of this month
- Undergraduate researchers needed: accessibility and accommodations for students in STEM
- AIAA seeks DI&A co-chair position for next academic year
- Peer Educators close another great year, anticipate 2023-2024
- April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month
- Contribute to next month’s Mines DI&A Digest
- Save the dates
Celebration of DI&A at Mines recap
Thank you to the nearly 300 Orediggers who attended all or parts of the day-long Celebration of DI&A at Mines on April 3. Early feedback has proven this annual event continues to be a meaningful day of learning, skill development and networking.
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98% of respondents (n=52) to the post-event survey agreed or strongly agreed the workshops offered discussed topics of interest to them
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94% agreed or strongly agreed attending the workshops increased their knowledge about DI&A work
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92% agreed or strongly agreed attending the poster session increased their knowledge about DI&A initiatives and/or programs at Mines
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91% intend to practice the new skill(s) they learned during the Celebration
An extra thank you to the workshop facilitators, student and corporate panelists, Sodexo and poster creators who helped make this day a success.
If you would still like to submit your feedback, the survey will remain open through the end of the month.
Four Orediggers join the Mines DI&A Ambassador program
We are excited to welcome four new individuals who have joined the 18 faculty, staff and students who currently serve in the Ambassador role. Mines DI&A Ambassadors are active allies and advocates for equity. Through this program, Ambassadors help meet campus’ growing requests for diversity, equity and inclusion learning and skill development opportunities.
Mark Bowen, Undergraduate Student, Quantitative Biosciences and Bioengineering
Dr. Deb Carney, Teaching Professor, Department of Applied Mathematics & Statistics
Dr. Mary Elliott, Executive Director of Residence Life and Auxiliary Services
Dr. Chuck Stone, Teaching Professor, Department of Physics
Learn more about the Mines DI&A Ambassador program and the workshops they are equipped to facilitate. Workshops will resume in fall 2023.
Campus climate survey remains open through the end of this month
Mines wants to know: What has your experience been like on campus? What can be improved at our institution? What do you need to succeed?
At Mines, we seek to create an inclusive and accessible environment where all students and employees can be fully engaged, feel safe and respected, and thrive. As part of our commitment to Mines@150 and the Strategic Plan for Diversity, Inclusion and Access, Mines is currently running a campus-wide climate survey, which will close at the end of the month. The Viewfinder survey gathers information about your experiences on campus and your perspectives regarding Mines’ strengths and opportunities for growth in the DI&A-space, broadly.
Participation in this survey is completely anonymous. It is administered by INSIGHT into Diversity, Campus Climate Surveys, which is a neutral third-party, who will manage the data on our behalf. They will only share survey responses to the Mines DI&A team in broad categories, which will limit the possibility of individuals being identified. If you feel uncomfortable answering a question, simply skip it and move to the next section.
Be sure to make your voice heard! Search Viewfinder in your inbox for your survey link. Please be sure to save enough time in your day to complete the survey. It will take around 15-25 minutes.
Undergraduate researchers needed: accessibility and accommodations for students in STEM
The goal of the Accessibility and Accommodations for Students in STEM research project is to discover how to ease the transition from high school to college and identify ways to make STEM education more accessible. Findings from this research will inform the development of the Accessibility Course for Education (ACE) to help Mines faculty make their courses more accessible.
With help from project mentors, Brianna Buljung and Seth Vuletich, Research Librarians at Arthur Lakes Library, the undergraduate researchers will conduct literature reviews, create surveys, analyze data and create presentations for conferences. These surveys will help form a plan on how to better prepare students for their first year at Mines and will be shared at conferences to aid other institutions in better meeting the needs of their students. The researchers can expect to work four-five hours a week including a one-hour team meeting. Interested students are invited to complete the application by May 20.
AIAA seeks DI&A co-chair position for next academic year
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is looking for someone to serve as the DI&A Co-chair for the 2023-2024 school year. This individual will work with the DI&A chair to plan activities and events. They will also aid the DI&A chair in finalizing plans for the Pathfinder Conference on September 16. This position is a great addition to any resume and extends opportunities to network with industry professionals. Time commitment is one-two hours a week, which includes collaborating with MEP and WOAA, reaching out to potential speakers, attending campus or organizational DI&A meetings and planning events. The DI&A Co-chair will also receive mentoring from the DI&A Chair in preparation for serving as the DI&A Chair the following school year, if interested. Interested students are invited to complete the application.
AIAA is the primary professional society for aerospace engineering in the U.S. As a student branch of this society, AIAA@Mines provides students with connections to aerospace professionals and strives to promote aerospace and avionics industry involvement through workshops, conferences, lectures and company tours.
Peer Educators close another great year, anticipate 2023-2024
Through innovative, student-centered outreach, programs and workshops, the Betsy’s Friends Peer Educators create an inclusive support system on campus promoting safe, healthy behaviors and relationships. During the 2022-2023 school year, Peer Educators lead over 50 programs and events including workshops, outreach tables and campaigns. Mines is thankful for the graduating seniors who contributed their hard work and innovative spirit to the program over the years.
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Maura Belcher, BS
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Kayla Benson, BS
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Tatum David, BS
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Claire Garski, BS (Dec 2022)
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Makenna Green, BS
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Mridhula Manoj, BS (Dec 2022)
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Daniel Morrison, MS
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Anthony Perea, BS
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Sarah Vaughan, BS (Dec 2022)
Looking ahead, 24 new Peer Educators will join the program in the fall. Thirteen are interested in going through the Mines DI&A Ambassador training. The 2023-2024 Peer Educator cohort will have five supervision groups: DI&A, Healthy Relationships and Violence Prevention, Mental Health, Peer Listening and Wellness. Learn more about the Betsy’s Friends Peer Education program by visiting the program’s website.
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month
MINES Betsy’s Friends Peer Educators, SAAVE (Student Advocates Against Violence & for Education) student club and the SHAPE Office have a suite of tabling and learning opportunities this week. These activities aim to elevate the stories of survivors and equip individuals with tools to support victims and survivors of sexual assault. Participate in Colorado Denim Day on Wednesday, April 26. Since 2016, Mines has joined the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CCASA) in the prevention education campaign to raise awareness about sexual assault, show support for survivors and unite the Mines community with communities across Colorado. Meet on Guggenheim’s front steps on Wednesday, 4/26 at 12:45 PM for the annual Mines Denim Day photo.
Learn more about SHAPE and their important work on campus.
Contribute to next month’s Mines DI&A 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 the next Mines DI&A Digest. Submissions must be received by the second week of the month in order to make it into the 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.
