Diversity Strengthens Us
Diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice (DEIJ) enhance the research, scholarship, and creative pursuits of our graduate community.
We are committed to propelling student and postdoctoral scholar success through community building including supporting student groups that provide a space for underrepresented students; DEIJ education and development offerings; and mentoring development. We engage faculty mentoring efforts aimed at cultivating the mentor-mentee relationships between CSU faculty and graduate students to improve recruitment and retention of underrepresented students and postdocs.
CSU’s Principles of Community guide our efforts and we uphold these principles through all Graduate School efforts.
Mentoring Excellence as a Guiding Principle
The guiding principle in our DEIJ initiatives is strengthening the graduate community through robust mentoring. Mentoring is a crucial and defining factor in a graduate student’s success. Mentoring matters — it enriches the lives of mentors and mentees on many levels!
Student Focus
Student focused activities include support for marginalized student populations as well as educating graduate students around DEIJ issues central to improving the graduate community as a whole. We strive to build knowledge of DEIJ issues and incorporate that understanding into a student’s current and future mentee-mentor relationships.
Faculty Focus
The Graduate Center for Inclusive Mentoring (GCIM) provides leadership for faculty directed mentoring efforts such as the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) and Mentor Well Certification. Mentoring initiatives are prioritized through the lens of DEIJ. Learn more about GCIM below.
Signature Events
Graduate students, faculty, and postdocs are welcome!
Mentor Mondays
This in-person series discusses effective mentoring relationships and their critical role in the graduate community. Each session is from Noon to 1:00 p.m.
- Sept. 11 (moved due to the University Holiday on Sept. 4) | What are the attributes of a good mentor?
- Oct. 2 | How to build life-long mentor-mentee relationships
- Nov. 6 | Seminar by Dr. Maggie Werner-Washburne
- Dec. 4 | The most common problems in graduate school and how to get past them.
Registration is required at: col.st/6plvn
Special Guest Speaker
- Registration is required. Dates to be announced in Fall 2023.
Mentor Mentee Meetup
- Registration is required. Dates to be announced in Fall 2023.
"The Mentor Mondays are really nice because I'll meet students who are not in my area, and I'll be able to listen to what kinds of issues they're dealing with and then think about how that applies back to what I do."
Student Groups
At the core of student DEIJ initiatives, we support and provide leadership to student groups dedicated to marginalized graduate student communities. Building DEIJ competencies through educational opportunities offered through university, graduate student, or Graduate School initiatives is key to the success of the entire graduate community.
Graduate students and post-doctoral scholars are encouraged to connect with communities directly or consult with the Graduate School associate dean about strategies for connecting with groups that will help you build a strong community.
University Initiatives
- Student Diversity Programs and Services
- Office of Inclusive Excellence — access trainings, the Educate Yourself guides, the Diversity Newsletter, and more
- Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Module
Graduate School Initiatives
- Graduate Professional Development Series sessions in fall and spring semesters (GPD sessions are published on our events calendar)
- Inclusive Pedagogy Training for Graduate Teaching Assistants
- Competencies Road Map — build DEIJ Competence
- Admission, Enrollment, and Student Success Reports to help identify equity gaps at various stages of the graduate student lifecycle
Graduate Student Initiatives
Graduate QT’s – a social, professional, and support group for (LBGTQ+ and Ally) graduate students:
- Contact via email at GRAD_QTs_INFO@mail.colostate.edu
Graduate Student Council advocacy committees:
- Graduate Students of Color. Contact via email at GRAD_GSC_GSOC_INFO@mail.colostate.edu
Graduate Center for Inclusive Mentoring
GCIM’s objective is to equip mentors with the expertise and resources needed to help mentees meet their goals and expectations. Faculty training is developed from Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) training curriculum.
Faculty receive formalized training and mentor development to mentor through a lens of equity and inclusion to best support the success of graduate student and postdoc mentees.
GCIM offers:
- Mentor and mentee trainings for CSU faculty, graduate students, and postdocs
- Graduate student centered socialization activities developed to encourage professional networks
- Recruitment and retention activities and programs with an emphasis on graduate students from underserved populations
- Consultative services to departments and colleges regarding graduate recruitment, retention, and professional development
- Grants for department level training are provided as funding is available
GCIM Mentor Well Faculty Certificate
Published evidence shows that mentoring impacts the outcomes of trainees across disciplines and career stages and that mentor education improves mentoring relationships. The Mentor Well training series is offered by GCIM and based on the Entering Mentoring curriculum developed by CIMER. It is intended for faculty mentors of graduate students, but will have useful information for mentors of all types. (In conjunction with working towards this certificate, the SMART Goals and Progression for Mentoring guide provides faculty with information, resources, and identifies levels of progression in the journey to reach the next level in their mentoring progression.) Participants who complete the full series of sessions listed below will receive a GCIM Mentor Well Certificate. Recommended sessions to begin your training are 1.) Maintaining Effective Communication 2.) Aligning Expectations.
- Aligning Expectations
- Maintaining Effective Communication
- Assessing Understanding
- Promoting Independence
- Addressing Equity and Inclusion
- Fostering Mental Health and Well-being
- Fostering Professional Development
- Mentoring Capstone: Building out your Mentoring Philosophy
"Because it's Mentor Well, it's about well-being of the student, not just academically, but also on the personal level."
CIMER TRAINED FACULTY
GCIM FACULTY
Workshops
Mentoring Resources and Helpful Links
Admission, Enrollment, and Student Success Reports
The Graduate School in collaboration with Institutional Research (IR) launched an initiative in Spring 2021 to identify and report equity gaps at various stages of the graduate student lifecycle. The initiative aims to give the Graduate School, academic programs, and mentors data to better target interventions to improve equity and inclusion, close gaps, and support overall graduate student success.
A campus level report, college level reports, and department level reports are available to download as PDFs on the Graduate School’s Admission, Enrollment, and Student Success Reports webpage.
Graduate Student Experience Survey
The Graduate School is committed to the success of all students. To this end, the Graduate School surveys graduate students every two to three years to assess student satisfaction related to campus climate, professional development, and mentoring support. The results of our latest survey are here.
Graduate Holistic Review Guide
Developed by Graduate Center for Inclusive Mentoring faculty, the Graduate Holistic Review Guide provides actionable tactics for admissions committees to “widen the lens” through which they assess graduate applicants. As a toolkit, it provides help to admissions committees as they seek to gather the fullest picture of what an applicant can bring to a program.
Student Task Force
The Graduate School commissioned task forces in 2016, one led by students and one by faculty, to develop white papers on mentoring. Links to the pdf documents are provided below:
Additional Resources
Downloadable resources and helpful links for the community are below.
Awards Spotlight
Advancing Education Scholarship – honoring the legacy and memory of Martin Luther King, Jr
- Annual application deadlines are announced in the Spring Semester
- Scholarship Announcement and criteria
- Cover sheet
- Contact: Allison DeWaele at Allison.DeWaele@colostate.edu.
Jack E. Cermak Advising Award
This award recognizes excellence in academic advising. Jack E. Cermak was a Professor in Civil Engineering who endowed this award because of his strong belief in the value of academic advising.
Graduate Ram Impact
Aaron Prairie
As appearing in AGSCI.source.colostate.edu| May, 2023 | by Stacy Nick New research shows practices from the past will be key to future soil carbon solutions Sometimes to go forward, you must go back. A new study from Colorado State University’s
Ross Atkinson
As appearing in CHHS.source.colostate.edu| Nov, 2022 | by Ben Leonard CSU Veterans Writing Workshop builds community among veterans, helps process their experience Since leaving the military and joining Colorado State University, veteran and Ph.D. student Ross Atkinson (‘18) is continuing the
Bri Risk
As appearing in CHHS.source.colostate.edu| March, 2023 | by Mark Gokavi Ph.D. candidate Bri Risk, a dietician, chef and business owner, lives nutrition, food science and athletics Runner. Cyclist. Outdoor adventure enthusiast. Bri Risk is all of these and is dependent
Principles of Community
The Principles of Community support the Colorado State University mission and vision of access, research, teaching, service, and engagement. A collaborative and vibrant community is a foundation for learning, critical inquiry, and discovery. Therefore, each member of the CSU community has a responsibility to uphold these principles when engaging with one another and acting on behalf of the University.
We create and nurture inclusive environments and welcome, value and affirm all members of our community, including their various identities, skills, ideas, talents and contributions.
We are accountable for our actions and will act ethically and honestly in all our interactions.
We honor the inherent dignity of all people within an environment where we are committed to freedom of expression, critical discourse, and the advancement of knowledge.
We are responsible, individually and collectively, to give of our time, talents, and resources to promote the well-being of each other and the development of our local, regional, and global communities.
We have the right to be treated and the responsibility to treat others with fairness and equity, the duty to challenge prejudice, and to uphold the laws, policies and procedures that promote justice in all respects.