Skip to content
University of Colorado Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus CU Denver | CU Anschutz
  • Webmail
  • UCD Access
  • Canvas
  • Quick Links
 
 

Tools & Resources

  • Campus Directory
  • A-Z Index
  • Human Resources
  • University Policies
  • Auraria Library
  • Strauss Health Sciences Library

Schools & Colleges

CU Denver

  • College of Architecture and Planning
  • College of Arts & Media
  • Business School
  • School of Education & Human Development
  • College of Engineering, Design and Computing
  • College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
  • School of Public Affairs

CU Anschutz Medical Campus

  • School of Dental Medicine
  • Graduate School
  • School of Medicine
  • College of Nursing
  • Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
  • Colorado School of Public Health

CU Campuses

  • CU Anschutz Medical Campus
  • CU Boulder
  • CU Colorado Springs
  • CU Denver
  • CU Online
  • CU System

Announcement: CU Denver is Celebrating 50 Years

Whether you’re an alumnus, current student, member of the faculty and staff, donor, or neighbor, you’re a valuable part of the CU Denver community. Help us celebrate the last 50 years and a future that works for all.

Learn More

International Newsroom

Office of International Affairs

Explore International

  • Home
  • Study Here
  • Work Here
  • Go Abroad
    • Travel Guidance & Policy
    • Travel Alerts, Notices, & Advisories
  • Resources
    • Help & Support Desk
    • International Newsroom
    • Publications & Media
    • Fulbright Program
    • International Alumni
  • Partners
    • International College Beijing
    • Memorandums of Understanding
  • About OIA
    • Contact & Address Information
    • Appointments
    • Staff
University Quick Links

    Donate to the International Student Emergency Fund

    CU Denver Day of Giving is April 6!

    CU Denver is committed to making education work for all; this includes international students who are abruptly faced with a financial crisis. Unexpected disasters at home – massive flooding, earthquakes, medical emergencies, losses in family incomes -- have affected more than one of the university’s international students.

    Donate Today
    .j-allow-row-background', .j-apply-a-backgrounde596f16e-3fc0-48d1-9ed4-5b033eccbd55, j-t-bg-widget-CU_text-gold-bg-none, "background-image", "url('')

    View All News & Stories

    More Recent News & Stories

    Diversity & Inclusion Highlighted at NAFSA 2016

    Preparing Tomorrow’s Globally Competent Citizens & Professionals

    Jun 15, 2016
    Presenters John Sunnygard, Brenda J. Allen and Milton Bennett

    Ten thousand international educators from around the world recently converged at the Colorado Convention Center for the spring NAFSA 2016 Association of International Educators conference, the largest annual event of its kind. The goal? To sharpen focus on best practices, emerging trends, and new programs designed to prepare tomorrow’s generation of globally competent citizens and professionals. At the top of the list was an interest in how to maximize educational approaches in increasingly diverse classrooms of first-generation college students, minority populations, and international students.

    CU Denver hosted more than 500 conference guests to its campus for colloquia, workshop sessions, campus tours, and receptions. A special session hosted by the University of Colorado Denver’s Office of International Affairs and Office of Diversity and Inclusion explored “Inclusion and Impact: Collaboration Between U.S. Diversity and International Offices”. Presenters John Sunnygard, Executive Director, Office of International Affairs, University of Colorado Denver, Brenda J. Allen, Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion, University of Colorado Denver, and Milton Bennett, Board of Directors, Intercultural Development Research Institute, Milan, Italy, spotlighted the theme of how diversity and international offices having shared goals of respect, inclusion, and student growth can collaborate to create a more positive campus learning and social environment. The presenters shared experiences and ideas for collaboration, and session participants engaged in roundtable discussions surrounding their respective institutions’ issues, concerns, challenges, and approaches.

    Participants from universities throughout the U.S. and the world alike expressed a strong desire to see continued collaboration within their institutions’ offices of diversity and their international affairs offices. Although international news services are filled with stories about conflicts between people from different cultures and racial and ethnic groups, many session participants had examples of cooperation among these groups within their institutions. Several participants thought the concept of “diversity and inclusion” needed to include more awareness of not only underrepresented American students on campuses, but also of international students.

    In the Office of International Affairs at the University of Colorado Denver, international student and scholar services, international admissions, global education: study abroad and the ESL Academy work closely on a daily and weekly basis with many other university departments, including the Office of Diversion and Inclusion. Together, they strive to provide a successful academic and cultural experience for students through:

    • developing curricular programs and relationships
    • incorporating High Impact Practices for Diversity and Global Learning into teaching
    • collaborating with EOP (Educational Opportunity Programs) and TRIO Student Support Services
    • interacting with student organizations

    Three times per week, an OIA Global Education: Study Abroad advisor is available in the EOP office to talk to students and provide information about scholarships and study-travel opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds. An example is the OIA/TRiO/EOP collaboration for the CU Denver Maymester program, “Leadership Through a Third Eye: Costa Rica”, which is an Ethnic Studies Course that introduces students to both traditional and non-traditional leadership models. They are able to measure the impact these different models have on the citizens, resources, and the dissemination of services within Costa Rica. The course offers a multi-layered lens of leadership through the experience of American and Costa Rican leaders by exploring what factors influenced their leadership styles and decision-making process.

    “Sending American students abroad for study programs provides unique opportunities for expanding a student’s world view,” explained John Sunnygard, Executive Director, Office of International Affairs, University of Colorado Denver,. “To accomplish this, university offices of global education: study abroad work with multiple offices across their campuses.”

    During her presentation, Brenda Allen, Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion, University of Colorado Denver, noted, “While it’s helpful to say as an institution, ‘we’re diverse’, then the next thing to consider is ‘so what—now what’? It’s key to have early interactions, engagement, and planning among different groups committed to diversity and inclusion issues.” This applies not only to student groups, but also to other members of the university, including faculty and post-doc’s.

    Speaker Milton Bennett, Intercultural Development Research Institute, presented updated statistics about the “myth of national assimilation and global convergence, known as ‘the melting pot’”. “According to an IBM study, globalization and social diversity actually mean more cross-cultural contact and increased emphasis on cultural differences,” he said. “Marshall McLuhan’s prediction has become true, that ‘ In the global village, our neighbors will be profoundly different from ourselves’”.

    Bennett said there are four “wrong” approaches to diversity and inclusion:

    • cultural “profiles” do not have personality
    • premature focus on contextual information
    • too much reliance on language alone creates a “fluent fool”
    • too much focus on behavior in terms of simple prejudice reduction

    “All of these incorrect approaches are unsustainable,” he said.

    There are, however, three sound principles that form constructive foundations for intercultural interactions:

    • subjective culture
    • interaction analysis
    • adaptation strategies

    “Value enters an organization when people from different cultures strive to adapt into the organizational context.” he explained. In doing so, they can also maintain their own rich, unique cultural identities.

    Following the presentations, session participants broke into smaller table discussions about the ways that their institutions’ international and diversity offices currently collaborated. “We have a large group of mentors now for underrepresented American students as well as for international students,” said a staff member from the University of Rochester. There had been a rash of negative social media about several minority groups and the university launched an educational campaign around the theme, “We’re better than that.”

    “Retention is an issue with some of our undergraduate students from different cultural groups,” said Arelis Palacios, from the international office/study abroad, University of Texas, Austin.

    “The university is looking at ways to increase initiatives for international students, and deepen the understandings of American students; it’s a never-ending discussion.”

    Another session participant said, “It’s also important to find ways to help students overcome their first sense of awkwardness when they’re new to campus, are a minority, first-gen, or international student.”

    Cheri Chan, from Concordia University in Irvine, California, commented, “I was very inspired and moved by today’s session. The session in itself was a demonstration of the close working relationship between the three presenters. It made me see how key that is for sustaining deep cross-cultural inclusion and reconciliation on the university campus. What it takes is a dynamic of sincere and committed conversation rooted in relationship.”

    READ MORE

    Learn more about the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, University of Colorado Denver.

    Discover more about the Office of International Affairs.

    Read about CU Denver’s international student from Thailand who received the Rosa Parks Diversity Award. 

    Categories: Global Education | Study Abroad International Admissions International Student & Scholar Services Office of International Affairs |

    View All News & Stories

    Media

    Discover CU Denver (Undergraduates)

    Discover CU Denver (Undergraduate)

    Colorado's Urban Public Research University

    View & Download

    International College Beijing

    See Description
    Published Jul 26, 2012
    ICB is a joint education program between the University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) in Denver, Colorado, USA, and China Agricultural University (CAU) in Beijing, People's Republic of China. This partnership, formed in 1994, was one of the first of its kind approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education. ICB is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools in the U.S. and maintains a reputation as a challenging, robust academic program.

    Study Abroad

    See Description
    Published Oct 19, 2016
    The CU Denver Office of Global Education is committed to providing every University of Colorado Denver student a wide range of engaging and affordable international study, research and clinical opportunities to help you globalize your academic and professional future.

    Discover More


    downtown
     

    Study Here

    masks-two-female-students
     

    Work Here

    goabroad-student-asia-mobile
     

    Go Abroad

    resources
     

    Resources

    icb-partners
     

    Partners

    campus-sunburst
     

    About OIA

    Office of International Affairs

    CU Denver

    Lawrence Street Center

    1380 Lawrence Street

    Denver, CO 80204


    CU Anschutz

    Fitzsimons Building

    13001 East 17th Place

    Ground Floor: STE. EG305, EG305A, and EG306

    Aurora, CO 80045


    • Contact Us
    • Website Feedback
    • CU System
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Accessibility
    • Accreditation
    • Employment
    • Give Now
     

    © 2023 The Regents of the University of Colorado, a body corporate. All rights reserved.

    Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. All trademarks are registered property of the University. Used by permission only.

    CMS Login

    Webmail

    UCD Access

    Canvas

    Opens in a new window Opens document in a new window