CU System's 2021 Strategic Plan was released, Asian Americans aren't in CU Boulder's
Asian American students and faculty confused and upset by the lack of representation in the University’s diversity plan and on campus.
In the fall semester of 2021, the University of Colorado’s Strategic Plan was implemented. The plan, which has been in the works since summer 2019 and has four pillars; affordability and student success, discovery and impact, diversity, inclusion, equity and access and Fiscal strength. Each of CU’s four campuses is responsible for implementing the plan and meeting its goals.
But, Dr. Jennifer Ho, an Asian American professor in the Ethnic Studies department and director of Center for Humanities and the Arts at CU Boulder noticed Asian Americans weren’t included in the minority groups under the diversity, inclusion and equity pillar of the plan.
“I was upset, disappointed, angry, not surprised,” said Ho.
UCCS has included Asians as an underrepresented minority however there is not enough available information to know why CU Boulder did not.
Kimberly, an Asian American undergraduate student and a student leader from Unmask the Racism, an organization spreading awareness about racism against Asian Americans during the pandemic, spoke about how she sees this complex issue.
“We are so many different pieces of the world. Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, those aren’t really represented compared to the other larger populations like India, China,” she said. “And, of course, we also have the Middle East which is also part of the Asian umbrella, so that makes it really complex.”
Ho, like Kimberly, knows the value Asian Americans bring to the CU Boulder community. Both argue that the Asian American population is much more diverse than the data the University provides.
“I wish that they would disaggregate the data because then you would see Southeast Asian Americans in particular have some of the lowest by percent of population high school graduate rates, lowest college matriculation rates, lowest English language literacy rates,” said Ho.
As a faculty member, Ho recognizes the importance of making students of color feel welcome. So, she took it into her own hands. Writing a three page letter to CU’s President Todd Saliman, she outlined her concerns regarding the plan. President Saliman responded to her letter and set up a Zoom call where they discussed her concerns.
She says that President Saliman was “gracious and generous” and that they want to amend the plan. This took her by surprise, she said.
“He could’ve easily said to me, ‘I didn’t create that report. I wasn’t president at the time,’” said Ho.
Instead, he was apologetic and took accountability. In one of her Tweets, Dr. Ho emphasizes how unusual she finds that.
“I haven’t had a leader say that to me,” said Ho. “That actually shows true leadership to say I see a mistake that’s been made. I want to correct that and so I have a huge amount of respect for him to be able to do that.”
“CU System President Todd Saliman and members of his team met with Dr Jennifer Ho recently to discuss her concerns. Dr. Ho provided important feedback to the strategic plan that will help make it stronger,” said Michael Sandler, a CU spokesperson. “They agreed that the plan would benefit from revisions and those are being discussed now”.
Asian Americans make up 9 percent of the fall 2021 student population but Kimberly feels like there that Asian Americans don’t take up space.
Editor’s Note : *the headline of this article was changed to reflect that the 2021 Strategic Plan is for all four CU campuses and each University is required to implement it.
We’re more than a diversity box that you’re checking off, we have a vast number of cultures and experiences that a lot of our classmates have not experienced. We have a lot of values that we can share and bring into the classrooms.”
she said. Justin Won, an undergraduate student and the President of Asian Unity at CU, spoke about the importance of representation and the significance of having professors, like Dr. Ho, to shed light on a complex issue that Asian Americans face on campus.
“Having that support knowing that there are people in CU Boulder staff and faculty that are making efforts to make sure me as an Asian student feels supported and included is really important to me,” said Won.
Asian Unity is the largest Asian-American student organization on campus. Their vision, “ is to make a difference for Asian-American students on CU Boulder’s campus, as well as to educate and improve relations in their own communities. Asian Unity hopes to not only educate those on the CU campus, but also provide academic and social support, through meetings.”
Asian Unity aims to create a sense of community for Asian students, from all backgrounds on CU’s campus. Won feels like people can broaden their understanding of Asian ethnic groups and the students who identify with those communities.
“Asia is very diverse. There are so many countries involved and so many different ethnic groups. I hope people can understand that Asia is more than just China, India [and] Korea. There are a lot more countries within Asia and we’re not all the same,” Won said.
This issue has not only brought to light the importance of understanding the diversity and complexity of Asian identity, but also the importance of representation. Students feel supported and included when they see representation in faculty, staff, and in other leadership positions.
Editor’s Note: Kimberly asked to remove her last name from the article for privacy concerns.
Editor’s Note: The headline of this article was updated to reflect that the 2021 Strategic Plan is for all four CU campuses and each University is expected to implement their own version of the plan
