We are shaping the next generation of architects, landscape architects, city planners, designers, and preservationists. By removing systemic barriers and creating a more diverse and inclusive environment for students, faculty, and staff, we are all able to better understand, empathize, and inform the world around us. 

• Grow our JEDI scholarship fund to be able to increase equity of access to our programs
• Implement effective recruitment strategies with an intentional focus on those who are disadvantaged, minorities, and students of color
• Review admissions policies and requirements
• Grow connections with educational programs
• Grow mentorship opportunities
• Create and celebrate a culture of inclusion

Highlights

• Admissions Review Committees for our graduate programs work to identify top applicants through a holistic process, with underrepresented students receiving additional scholarship funding consideration. 
• A new mentorship connection method was launched to allow students to seek mentors based on criteria better tailored to individual needs. 
• CAP received over $390,000 in funding for JEDI scholarships. 
• New scholarships were created for undergraduate Transfer and First-Generation students as well as for school districts with historically high populations of students of color. 
• Pre-Architecture designation was discontinued to remove the perception of unequal treatment between Pre-Arch and BS Arch students. 
• Established a new National Organization of Minority Architecture – Students (NOMA-S) and All for Women in Architecture Students (AFWIAS) chapters. 

>> View a detailed list of actions taken

• Student Recruitment: Hired an undergraduate student recruiter (Program Coordinator) to actively recruit prospective BS Architecture students, focusing on underrepresented students and communities.
• Scholarships: Created new scholarships to recruit and retain students, focusing on underrepresented students and communities and those who incorporate the values and practices of JEDI.
  • JEDI Scholarship (Undergraduate and Graduate)
  • CAP Opportunity Fund to support DACA and First-Generation Students (Undergraduate and Graduate)
  • First-Generation Scholarship (Undergraduate)
  • Transfer Student Scholarship (Undergraduate)
  • Harsh Parikh Diversity in Design Scholarship (Undergraduate)

As leaders and mentors, faculty and staff should not only represent diverse backgrounds and experiences but should also value the diversity of ideas and thoughts of their students, peers, and our community. CAP aims to offer a culture of inclusivity, empathy, and collaboration. 

• Work with recruiting firms and other experts to develop recruitment strategies
• Institute inclusive recruitment practices
• Remove explicit and implicit biases from candidate evaluation processes
• Train search committees
• Hire diverse faculty and staff
• Foster an inclusive environment

Highlights

• Human Resources removed names and university pedigree from all search data for faculty and staff job searches, limiting unconscious bias and forcing decisions to be made solely on the merits of the applicants.
• The Department of Architecture established a JEDI Visiting Faculty position. Leyuan Li is coming in January 2023 as the second Visiting JEDI Faculty. The faculty members in this position play an important role in foregrounding issues of equity and diversity in the college.
• Language related to JEDI issues was provided to supervisors for use during faculty and staff annual reviews.
• CAP faculty member was trained to be an EDI “Search Advocate.” 
• In addition to the usual advertising from CU, we post externally to other organizations that serve people from historically underrepresented groups. 

>> View a detailed list of actions taken

• Established JEDI visiting professorships in Architecture
• Currently redact information from resumes that may prejudice the candidate (e.g., dates of graduation, names of institutions of higher education)

Just as our faculty and staff should reflect the diversity of our student body, our curriculum including courses, studios, research projects, creative work, and pedagogy, should be representative of global histories and perspectives that make it possible for us to advance culturally, environmentally, interpersonally, and innovatively as a society.

• Update curriculum to include diverse perspectives, precedents, and historical context
• Update instructional strategies so that students with diverse abilities and unique capabilities can succeed

Highlights

• The biggest change to the program was the reorganization of the curriculum to enhance the student experience by loading the core content knowledge classes into the first year to prepare students equally with the needed skills to be successful in studios that follow.
• Our faculty supports an Olmsted nominee each year and in recent years they have addressed issues of refugees, inclusive design for LGBTQ+ individuals, therapeutic design, resistance, and play. We have had two national award winners and two nominees.
• The Department has developed two mandatory Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Workshops for both our graduate and undergraduate students to help them become more effective collaborators and leaders.
• The department has overhauled its Professional Practice course to focus as much on how one acts as an architect as what one does as an architect. This involves more discussion and exercises on interpersonal skills, collaborative skills, listening skills, leadership skills, ethics, judgment, and empathy.
• Starting in fall 2023, our core Planning Practice & Technology course will become Planning Practice & Engagement, bringing training on equitable, inclusive, and effective engagement techniques into the core curriculum.
• In courses across our curriculum, as well as throughout our extra-curricular activities, we intentionally invite diverse guest lecturers.

>> View a detailed list of actions taken

• As part of the accreditation review preparations and process, CAP students met with the chair of the Architecture Department to provide feedback on curriculum and course content.
• The Architecture Department held an inter-cultural competency workshop for faculty, facilitated by Adriana Medina, a DEI consultant. Additional workshops will be available, including an opportunity for Studio V students in September 2022.

Collaboration is the first and biggest step toward breaking down silos. By engaging more effectively and connectively with allied professions in shared JEDI efforts and opportunities, constructs and barriers that exist beyond our classrooms can be thoughtfully and empathetically evaluated for the present and future generations of architects, landscape architects, planners, urban designers, preservationists, academics, interior designers, and beyond.

• Provide a diverse pipeline of talent as students engage in internships and begin professional careers
• Consult with alumni regarding how CAP may have better prepared them for professional careers
• Engage with the professional practice community regarding the impact of JEDI objectives on the profession and how best to prepare students

Highlights

• The CAP Advisory Board expanded to increase the diversity of thought, culture, and perspective to embolden the future of CAP. 
• Landscape Architecture has successfully reached out to professional firms to support our students with dedicated JEDI scholarship funds.
• Actively solicit firms with greater diversity, in terms of employee demographics, work types, sizes, locations, and clientele to participate in the annual career fair and sponsor internships. 
• Two full-time MURP faculty members are on the Colorado APA EDI committee. In 2022, we surveyed professionals across the state about EDI in their workplaces. At the state APA conference in September 2022, we are presenting the survey results, and are hosting a roundtable session entitled, “Investigating Ways Forward for Better EDI Outcomes in the Planning Profession.” 

>>View a detailed list of actions taken

• The National Organization for Minority Architects – Student Chapter (NOMAS) hosted a reverse panel event, with students serving on the panel and sharing their experiences and what they are looking for from employers for an inclusive work environment. (See https://vimeo.com/488217234/4d6db2a566)
• CAP graduates who have been immersed in an inclusive college culture enter the professional community with passion, knowledge, and skills to advance JEDI
• The Department of Urban and Regional Planning surveyed planning organizations about their inclusive practices, discrimination, and training. The results will be presented to the American Planning Association (APA) Colorado chapter in fall 2022.

Whether we realize it or not, we are all impacted by design every day. From the design of our buildings and spaces to the design of our cities and how we navigate and move within them, our disciplines exist to create better standards for the design we experience in our everyday lives. It is important that we put what we teach into practice and ensure the inclusivity of our facilities, resources, and technology. 

• Research best practices in diversity and inclusion to implement change; e.g., a place for Muslim students to pray, a lactation room, non-gendered bathrooms, etc.
• Provide equitable access to course content and educational resources.

Highlights

• The CU Denver Building's First Floor Lobby is open to the public Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. MT and is closed on Sundays. For CAP students with activated badges, the building hours are 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. MT every day. Faculty and staff with activated access have 24-hour building access every day of the week.
• In 2022, the water fountains throughout the building were made ADA-compliant, and a comfortable, private lactation room was purpose-built on the third floor of the CAP building. There is an ADA-accessible restroom on each floor of the CAP building, and the main lobby entrance has power-assisted doors. 
• In June 2021, CAP substantially upgraded the Wi-Fi in the CU Building by collecting input from building users who indicated areas of poor Wi-Fi access by placing red dot stickers on floor plans posted throughout the building. 
• Students and faculty can access the computer lab and printers when the building is open (6 a.m. – 1 a.m., seven days a week), and 24/7 from remote locations using a VPN option. PaperCut (remote printing software) provides students access to plotters 24/7; prints can be collected at 6 a.m. when the building opens. 
• Students and faculty have free access to software from their own computers and in the labs including AutoDesk (AutoCAD, Revit, 3DS Max), Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Dreamweaver), SketchUp Pro, and ArcGIS Pro.
• There is equipment that may be checked out by students and faculty, including DSLR, mirrorless, and “action” cameras (GoPros); camcorders; voice recorders; tripods; phone/tablet adapters for tripods; and boom poles. Additionally, the Visual Resource Center manager is FAA-licensed to fly the CAP-owned DJI Phantom 4+ Pro drone for aerial photography and video in support of teaching, learning, and research. 
• CAP currently has 10 laptops available for students to check out for up to a semester, and the college is in the process of procuring five more. 

>> View a detailed list of actions taken

• CAP opened a lactation room on the 3rd floor of the CU Denver Building
• CAP’s Visual Resources Center has begun captioning video content

It is our job as the CAP community to pursue a more just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive future, not just for the built environment, but for our students and future generations. We are committed to holding ourselves accountable through the transparency of our actions, our openness to feedback, and our resiliency as we evolve.

• Develop multiple modalities to invite and collect feedback
• Create JEDI-focused communications
• Maintain JEDI webpage
• Offer JEDI-focused programming
• Continue the conversation

Highlights

• CAP has adjusted communication approaches regarding important career development services and events to reach more students, through channels they find more accessible like a direct conversation, video, text, and social media.    
• CAP launched a new JEDI website, listing goals, funding raised, campus and community resources, and updates on work done. 
• We have analyzed the data from the CWC survey and have initiated processes at addressing the low level of respect that staff feels from faculty in particular. 

>>View a detailed list of actions taken

• All faculty, staff, and students were invited to participate in JEDI forums.
• In 2021, the CAP JEDI committee and subcommittees met monthly to share progress on initiatives and projects.
• A JEDI page on the CAP website was created to share goals, plans, and progress reports.
• We are developing communication channels to receive feedback and investigate new areas of opportunity.
• rafting a CAP JEDI Action Plan that will guide the work and establish objectives with a schedule of short- and long-term goals.
• We continue to analyze the CWC survey and develop strategies for addressing issues it raises.
• We are using the Decision Support Toolkit to begin looking at completion rates and times as well as DFW and other indicators of student success through the lens of JEDI

A unique quality of the academic experience is the opportunity to explore your passions and dreams alongside others who share your passions and dreams. While we cannot control how respond to our work, we can work diligently as a college to create an inclusive and supportive learning environment where students, faculty, and staff can thrive.

• Maintain a constant feedback loop among all stakeholders
• Build community through college-wide and program-wide activities
• Invite outside guests/outside perspectives to participate in college or program activities