Colorado College
PA-7: Support for Underrepresented Groups

Colorado College is committed to providing an environment free from discrimination and harassment based on race, creed, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, disability, veteran status, age, marital status, genetic information, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression or perceived gender, pregnancy, or any other status protected under local, state or federal law; and sexual misconduct, including but not limited to, sexual violence, such as partner, dating and domestic violence, sexual assault, sexual exploitation, and stalking. The College prohibits and does not tolerate discrimination and harassment against students, faculty, staff, applicants for admission or employment, and visitors in its education programs and activities, employment practices or public accommodations. To further this commitment, the College prohibits retaliation against anyone participating in an investigation of alleged violations of this Policy or in any related proceeding, including a criminal proceeding or a proceeding with a government agency.

https://www.coloradocollege.edu/basics/welcome/leadership/policies/anti-discrimination-policy-and-procedures.html#Intro

The discrimination response protocol includes conducting investigations and adjudications of, or otherwise resolving, complaints of discrimination or harassment on the basis of any characteristic protected by institutional policy or state, local, or federal law. The College encourages all members of our community to participate in the process of creating a safe, welcoming, and respectful campus culture.

The Title lX Office responds to Title lX, Title VI, Title VII, ADAAA/Section 504, and Anti-Discrimination at Colorado College. The Title lX Office includes a Title lX Coordinator and Deputy Coordinators who are charged with leading CC’s Title lX compliance and programming initiatives through strategic oversight. The extended Title lX/Anti-Discrimination Team is charged with monitoring, evaluating, and advising on Title lX programming and anti-discrimination compliance.

As part of CC’s commitment to a supportive atmosphere for students, faculty, staff and community members of all backgrounds, the college provides resources tailored to a variety of groups on campus and off campus such as the Wellness Resource Center, Counseling Center, START, Butler Center, and local resource TESSA.

Support includes:
- Counseling Center: The Counseling Center is available to all enrolled students. There is no fee for the first 6 sessions of counseling. If there is a financial demonstrated need, arrangements can be made to have the fees subsidized the Office of Student Life.
- START: START stands for Student Title lX Assistance & Resource Team. This is a confidential peer-to-peer resource for students seeking Title lX –related support. START members are trained students to provide resources and information for fellow students and is under the supervision of the Sexual Assault Response Coordinator (SARC).
- Wellness Resource Center: This past spring of 2019, the SARC position moved to the WRC. The SARC provides confidential support, information, and referrals to survivors and other whose lives have been affected by sexual assault, intimate partner violence, stalking, and other forms of gender and sexuality bias-motivated acts. Resources through SARC includes obtaining medical attention, survivor-centered emotional support, safety planning options, and information regarding judicial options.
-Butler Center: The Butler Center invests in cultivating an inclusive campus community where they host several Excel@CC courses about diversity and inclusivity. They have many programs and initiatives centered around first generation students, women empowerment, international students, etc.
- Education & Prevention: CC also provides numerous education and prevention opportunities such as the Bystander Intervention and Excel@CC Courses, including but not limited to NSO Title lX Training, Annual Title lX Partners & Stakeholders Training, Resident Assistant Mandatory Reporting.
- Chaplin’s Office: Will provide confidential pastoral care.
- For Employees Only: There are specific support services for employees only such as the Ombuds Office and the Employee Assistance Program (EAP). The Ombuds Office is a confidential resource for faculty and staff to provide information about policies, procedures, services, and your rights and responsibilities. The EAP is a work-sponsored program that provides free, confidential short-term counseling, referral, and follow-up services at not cost.

If an individual is navigating a situation involving or having witnessed a bias incident, act of discrimination or a hate crime, the response protocol and support depends on the nature of the incident reported.
If a situation is related to Sexual Assault, there are many paths to for response and support. If they want to talk to someone and it is a medical emergency:
o Memorial Hospital ER for Sexual Assault Forensic Exam (SAFE)
o Call Campus Safety or the CO Springs 911

If they want to talk to someone internal to CC:
o SARC, the CC Counseling Center, the Chaplain to the College, a Gender & Identity Development Specialist in the Butler Center, or START

If they want to talk to someone external to CC:
o Local: TESSA
o National: RAINN or 1-800-656-HOPE

If they want to report:
o Associate Vice President of HR
o Senior Associate Dean of Students
o Assistant Director of HR – Deputy Title lX Coordinator
o Any CC Employee
o Campus Safety
o Criminal Process through the CO Springs Police Department

If they do not want to talk to someone:
o That individual can seek assistance at any point, regardless of how long ago the incident occurred.

If a situation is related to Title lX there are many paths to for response and support. It starts with a student or employee talking to someone (includes RA’s, FYE Mentors, CC Employees). From there interim steps may be taken during the investigation to ensure safety of students/employee/community – This may include counseling, academic or housing accommodations etc. Then an Inquiry will be conducted to determine the course of action whether there is an informal resolution or formal investigation.

Both scenarios described can be found on this flowchart that is available to all. In any of the above cases, CC works to support the individual in a prompt and equitable way through protocol and numerous avenues of support.

The Bridge Scholars program presents accepted students with multiple opportunities to engage with student and faculty mentors, attend personal and academic growth events, and create life-long friendship with their peers. The curriculum of the two week intensive course is designed specifically to motivate students with diverse interests and strengths, while assisting their transition from high school to college life. When recruiting students, the Bridge Scholars program takes in to account if the student is among the first in their family to attend college, if the student is a member of the QuestBridge program, other community programs, or the CC fly-in program, and the educational resources, enrichment opportunities, and mentoring resources available at the student's high school.

The Experience Colorado College (ECC) fly-in program, prospective students will have the opportunity to
- Observe the Block Plan in action
- Tour campus
- Explore Colorado’s beauty
- Stay on campus overnight with a student host
- Interview with an Admission Fellow
- Connect with faculty and staff
- Complete the CSS Profile
- Participate in essay writing workshops
- Engage in the Affinity Conversation to explore diversity, inclusion and equity at CC
Experience Colorado College is open to high school seniors, gap year students, or transfer students in the US who self-identify as a student of color, are eligible for a Pell Grant, qualitfy for free/reduced lunch, are a DACA or undocumented student, or identify as a first generation student.

The Short Term Research Experience for Underrepresented Persons is an internship that is federally funded by the Office of Minority Health Research Coordination (OMHRC) in the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney (NIDDK) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). STEP-UP is particularly interested in increasing the participation of students from backgrounds underrepresented in biomedical research on a national basis, including individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, and individuals with disabilities.

The Diversity and Equity Advisory Board serves as an advisory group to the President of the College and the Cabinet on all matters related to diversity and equity regarding staff and faculty. The board promotes and nurtures an inclusive campus culture that values different backgrounds, experiences, ideas, and opinions, recognizing the various intersections of identities that make up the CC community. Its work helps ensure that the College addresses on a continuing basis all of the possible implications of the protections as stated in our anti-discrimination policy statement. The Diversity and Equity Advisory Board promotes the development of a campus climate that values diversity and equity in hiring and retention across all departments and levels of the college. Thus, the Diversity and Equity Advisory Board works to ensure that diversity is a focus when hiring both academic and non-academic staff.

The Riley-Scholars program serves as the post-doctoral program to recruit and focus on scholars of underrepresented groups. The program provides opportunities for these scholars to experience working at a liberal arts institution. It works to mentor scholars from doctoral programs through the process of their dissertation and gives them the opportunity to teach at CC for a few blocks, with the goal of helping them ultimately pursue careers in academia. The Riley-Scholars program targets scholars to hire as staff that come from historically marginalized groups. This ensures that CC has a more diverse staff population, which enhances the college’s ability to tackle racialized issues of equity and inequality.

The Butler Center offers intentional holistic mentoring services to students of color, first generation, Pell-eligible students, and LGBTQIA+ students. Our formal initiatives include: Mentorship to the QuestBridge student organization, the First Generation Collegiate Program that offers first generation faculty/staff mentors to participating students, LGBTQIA+ community potlucks to connect students with faculty and staff, and intentional one-to-one mentoring outreach at 3 academic intervals throughout the year. The director of the Butler Center and assistant vice president of the college hosts an Annual Faculty and Staff of Color Luncheon at the start of the year, invites new faculty/staff of color to coffee chats, congratulates employees of color on promotions, publishing and awards, and offers resources for connection with other institutional colleagues and professional development initiatives. Dr. Buckley also hosts an Annual Pride Luncheon for the LGBTQIA+ community and allies, and supports community members with confidential resources and connections.

Colorado College offers 6 free counseling sessions a year to every Colorado College student and offers subsidized counseling sessions if a student attends more than 6.

The Riley Scholars-in-Residence Program reflects the conviction that a strong minority presence on the faculty of a liberal arts college benefits the entire community. Scholars of African, Asian, Hispanic, and Native American ethnic identity afford the College a diversity of experience and perspective otherwise difficult to attain. The Riley-Scholars program brings in scholars of underrepresented groups and works to mentor them through the process of their dissertation and in ultimately pursuing careers in academia. By their presence as well as their knowledge, not only do these scholars help to create diversity within the teaching staff on campus and help to enlarge the world of their students and colleagues but also support students of underrepresented groups as they too pursue future careers in academia.

Academic departments collaborate with the Dean and the President to recruit promising Riley Scholars-in-Residence candidates to provide minority scholars with dissertation and post-doctoral fellowships and to encourage them to pursue careers in undergraduate teaching. Riley Scholars teach two or three courses per year, receive funds to support research and interact regularly with the Colorado College community. Colorado College boasts one of the largest and most successful Riley Scholars program in the country. After completing this program many Riley Scholars continue on to be hired as tenure faculty either at Colorado College or other academic institutions across the country.

A talent acquisition manager serves in CC's Human Resources department to ensure that the institution does all it can to hire and retain a highly talented, diverse staff and faculty.