| Abstract | The primary goal of the Diversity Initiatives at Colorado State University is to create an academic community that welcomes, respects and promotes diversity through its teaching, learning, research, scholarship, recruiting, outreach, and other university programs. Initiatives that specifically embrace women and minority students typically underrepresented in the disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) aim to create a classroom climate that is inclusive of this population. This is accomplished through various retention, recruitment, and outreach programs such as: the Louis Stokes Colorado Alliance for Minority Participation (LS CO-AMP); the Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP); two National Science Foundation Engineering Research Centers; Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, and Science Scholarships (CSEMS) for low-income women and minority undergraduate and graduate students; the Math Science Partnership (MSP) “No Child Left Behind” Program, as well as various other outreach programs in the College of Engineering and the College of Natural Science, such as the Women and Minorities in Engineering Program (WMEP), a program dedicated to maintaining a supportive and inclusive environment for all students in the college.
The objective of all of these programs is to promote excellence through diversity and to demonstrate an ongoing commitment to recruiting and retaining women and minority students, as they have been traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields. These programs provide students of these populations opportunities to develop their interests and prepare them for STEM fields. In technological fields, the best results are often obtained through the contributions and ideas of individuals from various societal groups. A strong community is being built within the university to embrace the creative ideas minority groups contribute to STEM research and projects. In doing so, the university is moving closer to finding better solutions to global challenges, as well as sensitivity and acceptance of diverse opinions. |
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