CENTER FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN POLICY
The University of Denver Center for African American Policy is a unique blend of academics, public policy, community and public service. The Center was formed to encourage public discourse and increase the flow of information on issues, policies and trends affecting African Americans. The goal of the Center is to work for and achieve a positive change in the present and future lives of African Americans through academics, the arena of public discourse, community and public service.
2006
ASCENT Live Radio
A unique Internet-based weekly public affairs show, ASCENT Live is a live one hour broadcast consisting of a public policy news roundup from CAAP’s correspondent in Washington, DC., exclusive live interviews with leading public personalities and panel discussions presenting a diverse array of thinkers, commentators and advocates. ASCENT Live broadcasts live at http://kvdu.du.edu every Wednesday from 5-6PM MST.
Mental Health Disparities Project
Funded by AstraZeneca and jointly sponsored by the Lt. Governor, the Center for African American Policy held two summits addressing mental health disparities in Colorado. The vision was to build existing work being done in Colorado communities for a better understanding of issues relating to mental health services for minorities. The Fall 2006 Summit--prioritizing action steps to change policy, planning, funding and programs addressing mental health disparities will be in October.
Summer College Workshop
The Center will hosted its 5th annual Summer College Workshop: Surviving and Thriving…What You Need To Know About College Friday, August 4 – Sunday, August 6, 2006. The workshop is intended for African American high school freshmen, sophomores and juniors from the Aurora and Denver metropolitan area. The concurrent sessions featured topics as: How to Get Ready for College; Financial Aid, ACT/SAT Testing and the general sessions will include Building Leadership Skills; Getting off to the Right Start…For a Successful Finish, Successfully Interviewing for Admissions, Essay Writing, Cultural Awareness and Empowerment Sessions.
The goal of the workshop is to provide quality information to students and assist them in better preparing for college. Information for the next workshop will be available January 2007.
2005
ASCENT PRESS
ASCENT PRESS is a project of the Center for African American Policy (CAAP) at the University of Denver and is a newly established publishing division distributing books focused on public policy issues impacting the African American community. Funded by the University of Denver, ASCENT PRESS represents a larger effort by CAAP to create a continuum of unique information-driven properties, including publishing and CAAP's BlackPolicy.org project. The purpose of ASCENT is to identify quality non-fiction titles, assess their influence on shaping Black public policy, and market them to a large international audience eager to absorb such information. Standing in the Gap, written by Senator Peter C. Groff and Councilman Michael B. Hancock, is the first in a line up launch of cutting-edge titles acquired and promoted by ASCENT PRESS.
SUMMER COLLEGE WORKSHOP
The Center for African American Policy completed its fourth Summer College Workshop for African American high school students. There were 45 African American highs school students attending this workshop, grades ranged from freshmen to seniors from over 15 metropolitan high schools. There were eight college peer mentors who assisted with this workshop. Activities included an Ice Breaker-Comedian Clinton Jackson; concurrent sessions—How To Get Read for College, Essay Writing and Financial Aid. General Sessions covered topics such as Leadership, Entrepreneurial and Etiquette. Additionally, we had two empowerment sessions—males and females while parents attended a reception and panel discussion sponsored by the African American Alumni Association.
2004
SUMMER COLLEGE WORKSHOP
Because of its success in previous years, the Center for African American Policy was able to host its third annual Summer College Workshop. The workshop extended an additional day with 50 African American high school students attending. The theme of the workshop was: Ready, Set, Go! Preparing for College, It’s Never Too Early to Start. Sessions covered such topics as Financial Aid, ACT/SAT Testing, The Allure of Money: Don’t Get Caught in a Financial Web, Affirmative Action, How to Get Ready for College, Essay Writing. There were also bonding activities for the students.
Host of Colorado Health Disparity Conference
A statewide gathering of health experts discussing health issues affecting African Americans.
2003
SUMMER COLLEGE WORKSHOP
The Center for African American Policy completed its second Summer College Workshop for African American high school students. Sixty-one African American students attended this workshop ranging from sophomores to seniors in high school. Students attending were from Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Brighton, Thornton, Denver and Aurora.
Students stayed in the dorms over the weekend while attending receptions, concurrent and general sessions. Concurrent sessions were: Learning about Financial Aid, Writing an Introductory College Essay, Preparing for College and Leadership. Saturday evening, students attended a male and female empowerment session while their parents attended a reception in their honor at the Four Points Sheraton, hosted by the African American Alumni Association. After the empowerment sessions, students and parents were treated to a movie in the Driscoll Ballroom.
PUBLIC POLICY WEBSITE
The Center for African American Policy has created the only comprehensive African American website dedicated to the distinct arena of African America politics and public policy. BlackPolicy.org is an on-line project in keeping with our mission to encourage public discourse and increase the flow of information, policies and trends affecting African Americans. The website will ultimately be a clearinghouse of public policy and political information.
2002
The Center for African American Policy continues its administrative support for the African American Alumni Association.
COLLEGE WORKSHOP
Sponsored by the Black Student Alliance, Office of Multicultural Affairs, African American Alumni Association and the Center for African American Policy. The workshop provided valuable information to 100 African American high school juniors regarding higher education.
AFRICAN AMERICAN SUMMIT
The Center for African American Policy hosted the African American Summit—Implementing the Agenda. The focus of the summit was to allow participants of the February 2001 Summit to create implementation plans from the agendas compiled during the session. A town hall meeting was also held entitled “Disparity and Criminal Justice” where participants discussed issues on criminal justice and disparity and racial profiling, the background of bills, efforts made nationally and the history of racial profiling.
2001
Throughout the year, the Center continued its work with the African American Alumni Association.
COLORADO AFRICAN AMERICAN AGENDA SUMMIT
The Center hosted the Summit on the campus of the University of Denver. The Summit featured a collection of national and local speakers addressing health & family, education, economic empowerment, spirituality, law & justice, technology and governance. The goal was to prepare action plans to help lay the foundation for continued positive movement in the Colorado African American community for the 21st Century.
2000
AFRICAN AMERICAN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
The Center, in conjunction with the African American Alumni Association, Office of Admission, Office of Multicultural Affairs, and Clara Villarosa (Board of Trustee- DU), have worked to promote the mission of the group of recruiting, retaining and supporting the African American students at the University of Denver.
Ascent magazine
Summary of prior years activites:
Revised: August 2006