FOSTERING CULTURE CHANGE AT COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NEW STRATEGIC PLAN FOR DIVERSITY, INCLUSION, AND ACCESS

Colorado School of Mines (Mines) has a long reputation of excellence in faculty research, innovation, teaching, and supplying highly skilled graduates into the geoscience workforce. However, Mines is a Predominately White Institution (PWI); thus, faculty at Mines and graduates entering the profession have historically lacked representation from marginalized communities, which continues to perpetuate a relatively homogenous workforce.

In a concerted effort to make Mines more accessible, welcoming, and appealing to marginalized groups, Mines published the Strategic Plan for Diversity, Inclusion & Access (DI&A) in 2019 as part of a larger initiative for the 150^th anniversary of the institution in 2024. Developed through multiple town halls, councils, and with community consensus, the strategic plan outlines seven key priority focus areas (e.g. Recruitment, Retention, Culture of Inclusion, Shared Responsibility) and details 24 tangible and actionable recommendations to make the institution more inclusive and welcoming for all populations.

Three key examples of this work will be discussed: (1) Mines’ Hiring Excellence Program to recruit and retain a diverse workforce, (2) Mines’ first Annual Report for DI&A to ground institutional and programmatic decisions in data regarding accessibility and inclusion for the institution, and (3) the newly launched DI&A Ambassador Program to tackle issues of implicit bias and microaggressions that create an exclusionary culture on campus. These three examples serve as potential strategies to catalyze transformative change not only in Mines’ campus culture, but also broadly as graduates and faculty shape the 21^st Century geoscience workforce.