University of Denver
PA-7: Support for Underrepresented Groups

https://www.du.edu/equalopportunity/non-discrimination-statement

The University of Denver prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age (40 years and over in the employment context), religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, marital status, veterans status, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under federal, state, or local law, regulation, or ordinance in any of the University’s educational programs and activities, and in the employment (including application for employment) and admissions (including application for admission) context, as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended in 2008; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; and any other federal, state, and local laws, regulations, or ordinances that prohibit discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation.

The University prohibits unlawful harassment of students, employees, and third parties on the basis of any protected characteristic as identified above.

The University also prohibits retaliation against any individual for the purpose of interfering with any right or privilege secured by University policy or law, or because the individual makes a good faith report or formal complaint, testifies, assists, participates, or refuses to participate in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under the University’s Comprehensive Discrimination & Harassment Procedures or Title IX Sexual Harassment Procedures.

The University's Bias Incident Response Team (or "BIRT") is an internal working group tasked to coordinate campus response to bias incidents. BIRT does NOT investigate, adjudicate or otherwise participate in judicial/legal processes, but provides support to individuals and populations affected by such incidents. Additionally, BIRT gathers an advisory group of campus-wide representatives at least quarterly, to monitor and report on incident patterns impacting campus climate, and make recommendations for changes to resources, programs, etc.

The institution offers "Pio Prep" programs for prospective Black and Latinx students through the Admissions office in which they get to spend some time on campus over the summer to engage with various aspects of the university.
https://www.du.edu/admission-aid/undergraduate/pioneer-prep

Access and Transitions Programs both recruit and retain first-generation, minoritized, and other underrepresented students by creating community activities, offering mentorship, hosting academic success workshops, promoting leadership development, providing resource referrals, sharing potential scholarship support.
https://www.du.edu/studentlife/access-and-transitions/

For students, there are leadership programs for minoritized such as the Excelling Leaders Institute, Equity in STEM (E-STEM), and 1GenU for first-generation students.
https://www.du.edu/studentlife/access-and-transitions/

The Cultural Center also supports minoritized students with student organizations and resource support. https://www.du.edu/equity/across-campus/students

For faculty and staff, the institution has both a Staff of Color Association and Faculty of Color Association as well as groups for queer and trans faculty and staff. https://www.du.edu/equity/across-campus/faculty-staff-affinity-groups

The Interdisciplinary Research Institute for the Study of (In)Equality (IRISE) was established in 2013 by the University of Denver to serve as an incubator for faculty and students to engage in the development of cutting edge interdisciplinary research on issues of inequality, social justice, and inclusivity. Since then, IRISE has trained numerous postdoctoral fellows, sponsored impactful faculty and student research, scholarship, and professional development, and hosted numerous visiting scholars, lectures, symposia, and conferences examining multiple forms of discrimination and inequality in contemporary culture and life. IRISE also supports both undergraduate and graduate students from marginalized backgrounds in programs that help them to become engaged thinkers and critical scholars in their own right. IRISE has established itself as a prominent and essential institute within the DU community and beyond.

In 2020-2021, two of our four IRISE post-doc fellows have been offered tenure track positions at prestigious institutions of higher learning.