Sherri Slate, senior director of inclusive strategy at Cisco Systems, worked to motivate students to take their place as part of the “we” generation by emphasizing the value of collaborative techniques in business at DU’s Tenth Annual Diversity Summit.

The event, which took place at the Daniels College of Business on Friday, May 13 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., had the largest turnout in history, with over 650 participants.  

Slate emphasized the value of adding inclusion and collaborative techniques to     business operations.

She defined the “we” generation as a group of workers who are comfortable and open to natural diversity in the workplace, and thus innovation and new ideas.

Slate urged students to ask, “Who should be in this conversation? Who adds values? What technology can bridge opportunity gaps to add values? How do we get most out of participation?”  

    The speeches at the summit cemented the university’s commitment. Joel Portman, a graduate student at DU who also attended the university as an undergraduate, opened the ceremony by narrating the event’s ten year history.

Next, the Interim Associate Provost of Inclusive Excellence gave a speech introducing the efforts that the university is making to promote diversity. He spoke about the image that we, as Americans, must send to other parts of the world about being open to other cultures.

He followed by pointing to projects like a “diversity promotion database” and a climate survey that the Center for Multicultural Excellence is providing to move inclusive excellence forward in the campus and community.

Chancellor Robert Coombe then encouraged students to spend the day initiating relationships with new people and inviting International students into their everyday lives.

“We have advanced a great deal in campus diversity, including our more than 1, 000 international students,” Coombe said. “But with inclusion, we have a long way to go. All of us run into different people here at DU. But do we get to know them? Are we open to letting them into our lives?”

All three speakers agreed that “being you,” getting out of your comfort zone and being open were the best ways to practice inclusive thinking.

The event was themed Inclusive Excellence in Practice.

Inclusive Excellence is defined in the university’s mission statement as ” the recognition that a community or institution’s success is dependant on how well it values, engages and includes the rich diversity of students, staff, faculty, administrators, and alumni constituents, and all the valuable social dimensions that they bring to the campus.”  

According to Stewart Portman, an organizer for the event, inclusive excellence is a step beyond supporting a diverse community through numbers and quotas.

“Inclusive excellence means having a student body built on inclusive values and diverse backgrounds,” Portman said.  “By having more than just composition, more than just race and ethnicity, you truly learn, you can’t learn if everyone thinks the same way. Students need to build up an arsenal of skills in a way that they engage in inclusive excellence and grow in and out of the classroom. “

Sponsors of the summit included the Center for Multicultural Excellence and the Undergraduate Student Government Diversity Committee.

The planning committee consisted of 24 members, ranging from faculty in different academic departments such as religious studies, admissions, the Women’s College, study abroad, student life and the Knoebel School of Hospitality Management.

Portman and Katrina Yoshida represented USG’s Diversity Committee, providing a student perspective in the planning process.  Preparation took 4 months, exemplifying DU’s commitment to inclusiveness.

“I liked the committee because everyone is so willing to contribute to be involved to see inclusive excellence progress,” Yoshida said. “They were all determined to see DU become what the mission statement really says. In this global society, students need to be able to contribute value to everything they are involved with, in part by respecting different identities.”

“While the summit has grown from humble beginnings, we still have a long way to go,” Portman suggested.