Inclusive Excellence Awards
These awards created in 2023 recognize the 50th year of CU Denver’s creation. The launch of these awards is part of a broader, long-term effort to recognize the work of faculty and staff.
Faculty Inclusive Excellence Award
This award honors a faculty member (IRC or Tenured/Tenure-Track) who demonstrates a long-standing commitment to advance 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
- the use of inclusive practices to ensure all voices are represented and heard on our campus
- prioritizing our mission of making education work for all by guaranteeing that our students and employees can show up as their true selves, see themselves reflected in the work of the institution and feel a sense of belonging at CU Denver
Staff Inclusive Excellence Award
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 CU Denver. The nomination will show that the staff member has demonstrated all of the following:
- engaging our campus community to share responsibility for creating and sustaining a just, safe, and inclusive campus
- the use of inclusive practices to ensure all voices are represented and heard on our campus
- prioritizing our mission of making education work for all by guaranteeing that our students and employees can show up as their true selves, see themselves reflected in the work of the institution and feel a sense of belonging at CU Denver
Past Award Recipients
Faculty Inclusive Excellence Awardees
Brisa Peña
Inclusive excellence is central to Brisa’s identity and practice as an educator, mentor, and faculty member at CU Denver. She believes that academic excellence and inclusion are inseparable to research and teaching and students do their best work when they feel safe, respected, and valued.
In both her laboratory and classroom, she intentionally fosters environments grounded in respect, transparency, and empowerment. Her mentoring philosophy prioritizes relationship-building and individualized support, recognizing that students arrive with diverse identities, lived experiences, strengths, and challenges.
She views the creation of a just, safe, and inclusive campus as a shared responsibility, one that requires continual reflection, collaboration, and action across all levels of the institution. By prioritizing belonging, representation, and equity in both formal and informal academic spaces, she contributes to a university culture in which all students and colleagues can thrive.
David Mays
David joined Teach for America 30 years ago and since then he has believed that technical education provides an opportunity to bring people together, to work creatively, and to earn a living all while answering a higher calling to serve the public health, safety, and welfare.
His mission to bring people together is evident in the many college-level and a campus-level initiatives he has been engaged with, including serving as the lead on the Engineering HSI grand challenge team.
His goal and vision of student-centered teaching for active learning is two pronged: He meets students where they are, offering them what they need. And he helps students feel at home, creating a welcoming environment with the mindset that a public university is a shared home.
David's' contribution to CU Denver is significant, impactful, and innovative.
Faye Caronan
Throughout Faye's career at CU Denver her commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in teaching, research, and service has been steadfast, she has been committed to doing her part to make CU Denver an equity serving institution where everyone can feel a sense of belonging. She has dedicated much time and energy to engaging faculty, staff, and students to forward CU Denver’s goal of becoming an equity serving institution.
Faye has worked to make CU Denver’s curriculum, student programming and services, and workplace cultures more inclusive. To create a more inclusive campus and a sense of belonging for our diverse student population, Faye has collaborated with the Center for Identity and Inclusion (CII) to offer culturally relevant programming for our Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students, incorporated inclusive pedagogical practices in her teaching to help students succeed and has created multiple interdisciplinary certificates to diversify our curriculum. She also serves as the primary investigator on the $1.8 million AANAPISI Grant.
Throughout Faye's career at CU Denver her commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in teaching, research, and service has been steadfast, she has been committed to doing her part to make CU Denver an equity serving institution where everyone can feel a sense of belonging. She has dedicated much time and energy to engaging faculty, staff, and students to forward CU Denver’s goal of becoming an equity serving institution.
Faye has worked to make CU Denver’s curriculum, student programming and services, and workplace cultures more inclusive. To create a more inclusive campus and a sense of belonging for our diverse student population, Faye has collaborated with the Center for Identity and Inclusion (CII) to offer culturally relevant programming for our Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students, incorporated inclusive pedagogical practices in her teaching to help students succeed and has created multiple interdisciplinary certificates to diversify our curriculum. She also serves as the primary investigator on the $1.8 million AANAPISI Grant.
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.
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.
Staff Inclusive Excellence Awardees
Kristen Salsbury
Kristen serves as the CLAS program director for Program Innovation and Support. Kristen distinguishes her work not only by the scale of her contributions, but also by the consistency of her values. Kristen is creating a more equitable and people-centered CU Denver by creating spaces where all are welcomed.
CU Denver honors the extraordinary effort Kristen has invested in building more structures for staff across the university, including her ability to listen to colleagues, take meaningful action backed by data and add valued to the CLAS Staff Shout Out Program.
Rosanna Miiller Salas
Rosanna exemplifies the qualities of an Inclusive Excellence Staff award recipient. Her unwavering commitment to digital accessibility, her inclusive practices, and her dedication to fostering a sense of belonging at CU Denver make her a deserving candidate. Her professional interests are building inclusive online courses, eLearning innovations, improving online accessibility, OER, educational communities around the word, bringing relevant technology into schools, and designing and developing multilingual educational resources.
Her genuine dedication to this work inspires others to move beyond minimum requirements and truly embrace inclusive excellence as a core value.
Erick Chavez-Navarrete
Erick has consistently demonstrated outstanding service and support to students since joining CU Denver and the CLAS Academic Advising team. Erick’s contributions and leadership have been critical to support several initiatives, processes, and transitions at the college including the International College Beijing (ICB) program. Erick understands the impact all practices – big and small – can have in cultivating a positive, safe, and inclusive experience.Beyond his service to students, innovation in student support, and contributions to CLAS, Erick has also remained involved at the college and campus level as a member of the CLAS Council for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, former member of CLAS Staff Council, the Colorado Coalition for the Educational Advancement of Latinxs, and current co-lead of the Latinx Faculty Staff Association. His service beyond his work with students and our team demonstrates Erick’s commitment to our college and institution in support of advancing CU Denver.
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.
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.
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