Diversity
CSU-Pueblo plans strategies to meet the needs of a multicultural society; its core values celebrate diversity; and its policies work to provide access and opportunity to higher education. To that end, the university has improved the quality of its own programs and addressed the needs of the diverse communities it serves, including the following innovations:

• Completion of a new Diversity Plan for 2005-2009. Aligned with the university’s 2002-2007 Strategic Plan, the Diversity Plan was developed by a planning group that included broad representation of both internal and external members.¹⁰⁸
  
  
• Incorporation of stronger goals and measurable objectives in the 2006 Strategic Plan concerning diversity, including emphasis on enhancing the HSI status of the institution.
  
  
• Changes in the Department of Human Resources based on recommendations from the Human Resources Task Force Report to develop a separate Office of Affirmative Action and hiring a new AA/EEO director (this position was formerly a combined position).
  
  
• Opening of the Multicultural Center and funding for it.
  
  
• Implementation of a new Recruitment and Selection Procedure in spring 2006 that addresses new recruitment opportunities, produced more efficient processing, and reduces time-to-hire. By utilizing electronic recruitment options, which include increased exposure to diverse candidates, CSU-Pueblo expects to increase the diversity of its applicant pools and its hires.
  
  
• Implementation of new efforts to recruit international students, including changes in programming for international students on campus.
  
  
• Enhancements to academic programs of interest to the Hispanic community, including increased resources for the Spanish program and implementation of a new Linguistically Diverse Learners endorsement program in Teacher Education.
  
  
• Enhancement of campus-based resources to directly impact first-generation and minority students, including improvements to advising and enhanced support services.
  
  
• Enhancement of cultural activities for the campus and community that focus attention on issues related to diversity (e.g., campus-based lecture series focusing on immigration).
  
  
• Professional development activities on campus that provide faculty and staff with skills to work with diverse populations (e.g., convocation workshops).
  
  
• Numerous efforts to strengthen collaboration with the external community to meet the economic and social challenges in the region. These include leadership in forming the Pueblo Educational Consortium (one of whose sub-goals is to focus on minority issues and low-income students’ needs), a collaborative initiative with Pueblo Community College to improve transfer and retention of minority and community students, and collaboration through 2005-2006 with two local school districts in a federal GEAR-UP program to prepare low income students for college after high school graduation.
  
  
• Formation of formal advisory boards by the president and other campus units to provide input and support to new program development.