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These awards created in 2023 recognize the 50th year of CU Denver’s creation, as we strive to be the nation’s first equity-serving institution by 2030: one that provides a racially and culturally enhancing educational and work environment and a sense of belonging for all. The launch of these awards is part of a broader, long-term effort to recognize the work of faculty and staff in our DEI initiatives.
Faculty Inclusive Excellence Award
Staff Inclusive Excellence Award
This award honors a faculty member (IRC or Tenured/Tenure-Track) who demonstrates a long-standing commitment to advance diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging at CU Denver. Nominees will be selected based upon their record of success in any of these areas:
engaging our campus community to share responsibility for creating and sustaining a just, safe, and inclusive campus; or
improving our systems to actively support minoritized people and historically marginalized identities in order to reduce bias and create and sustain equity.
The award description, criteria and nomination form is available on the Faculty Affairs Website. Nominations are due by close of business on Friday, February 23, 2024.
This award honors a staff member (classified or university staff, must have a minimum of one year of University service at .50 FTE or greater) who demonstrates a long-standing commitment to advance diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging at CU Denver. The nomination will show that the staff member has demonstrated all of the following:
engaged our campus community to share responsibility for creating and sustaining a just, safe, and inclusive campus
improved our systems to actively support minoritized people and historically marginalized identities
worked to reduce bias and create and sustain equity
Please email StaffExcellenceAwards@ucdenver.edu for additional information about eligibility, procedures and award criteria. Complete nomination packets are due by close of business on Friday, February 23, 2024
Past Award Recipients
Maryam Darbeheshti
Intelligent, humble and heavily involved in equity, diversity and inclusion
efforts, Maryam represents this faculty award in the fullest. In her own words,
"As a Middle Eastern, hijab wearing, woman of color, there has been many
occurrences where (she) felt marginalized, excluded, and at a disadvantage
compared to her counterparts." However, throughout her career and life,
Maryam has made it a personal mission to gain not only personal equity and
inclusion, but pave the way and mentor marginalized group to have those same
opportunities.
Maryam is the chair of the Council of the status on women, she has strived to
help advance diversity and inclusion efforts on our campus to support
underrepresented and marginalized groups achieve and sustain equity, especially
with her involvement with the CU Denver chapter of the Society of Women
Engineers (SWE)as their faculty advisor, to help with opportunity in a
primarily male dominated field.
JáNet Hurt
As co-chair of the University of Colorado Staff Councill, JáNet has helped
improve university systems to reduce bias and create equity and supportive
environments for students, faculty and staff. She is intentional about using
women-owned and minority-owned vendors, and is constantly redefining her role
in helping CU Denver become the nation's first equity serving institution.
Outside campus, she is a member of the board of directors at Denver Public
School's downtown Denver Expeditionary School and supports community efforts of
diverse, caring and collaborative learning environments. In many cases, she has
been the first African American woman to serve in these leadership roles, and
proudly embodies what a DEI staff award recipient should be.
