A Climate that Prizes Diversity
The Spirituals Project works to preserve and perform spirituals, an important African-American song tradition.
Hear some of the songs as performed by The Spirituals Project, which was founded by a DU professor and is based here.
The University of Denver cultivates a campus climate of respect, understanding and appreciation of individual and group differences. That commitment is articulated in a diversity statement that guides University practices.
DU's commitment to diversity is championed by the Center for Multicultural Excellence, which works with faculty, staff and students on issues of campus culture and the recruitment and success of diverse groups at the University.
CME services include:
- Mentoring: The Community of Excellence program pairs talented students with collegiate coaches. The coaches, who are DU faculty or staff, guide students through a set of activities that enhance the academic experience and that help the students build a strong connection to the DU community.
- Consulting and advising: Students can turn to the CME if they're having trouble with an issue related to diversity-such as intergroup conflict or bringing multicultural issues into the classroom. And academic advising is available through African American Student Services, a department of CME.
- Discussion and networking: CME creates opportunities for people of varied backgrounds to come together to learn about social and identity groups other than their own, and to build relationships with people around campus. At the Diversity & Unity Intergroup Relations Retreat, for example, undergraduate and graduate students spend two days in the mountains exploring leadership and tolerance issues.
- Graduate student services: CME provides gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender graduate students and graduate students of color with the academic, professional and social support they need to complete their degrees. The center has created an advisory board for students of color, and every year it sponsors a Graduate Workshop Series that prepares students for a career in academia.
- Diversity Summit: Every year, DU brings together scholars from around campus and around the country for a day of discussion about diversity. The summit is free for students, faculty and staff.
- Summer Institute on Multicultural Faculty: Every summer, the University of Denver hosts "Promoting Multicultural Excellence in the Academy," a national institute about the underrepresentation in academia of faculty of color and women.