We in the Office of International Programs acknowledge the deep hurt and pain inflicted on Black, Brown, and/or Indigenous people, and immigrants by systemic racism, xenophobia, and discrimination in the United States and throughout the world. We strive to improve our world today to reach a better tomorrow for all global citizens.

Xenophobia, or prejudice against people from other countries, affects our international students and scholars greatly. Also, discrimination hurts our Black students, Indigenous students, and students of color while they study abroad in different ways than they experience that discrimination in the United States.

With that lens, we have committed to making the following actions in our office to learn about and combat systemic racism, xenophobia, and discrimination of all forms:

  • Continue our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion working group for the office to maintain accountability and a pipeline of actions to be taken moving forward.
  • Host monthly Diversity Dialogues with staff to discuss and learn from one another.
  • Improve position descriptions, requirements, postings, and questions asked during interviews in accordance with more inclusive hiring practices.
  • Co-locate the International Student and Scholar Services and Education Abroad advising in the same space to provide more possibilities for contact between international and domestic students.
  • Create virtual and in-person programming to bring global issues and stories to campus.
  • Hold regular diversity and inclusion trainings at OIP staff meetings throughout the year.
  • Ensure our new website met accessibility targets set by the university and continue to make sure our online content is accessible to those who use screen readers and similar devices.
  • Add and edit closed captioning on our video content to increase readability and access.

We will update the above list regularly so this page becomes a living document of actions we have committed to take. If you have questions or concerns about any of these actions, please feel free to reach out to us. We’re here to support you!

If you or someone you know is feeling overwhelmed or anxious about recent events, please remember we are here for you. You can always reach out to counseling services through the CSU Health Network. If you are involved in a bias-related event, please fill out a bias incident report. 

Our Education Abroad unit has excellent diversity resources to help students make the most of their education abroad experiences. Additionally, the unit works closely with organizations on campus to increase access to study abroad experiences and offers scholarships and the Global Access Award.

If you’d like to learn more about Education Abroad’s statistics surrounding diversity and inclusion, you can view them here.

The International Students & Scholar Services (ISSS) unit organizes weekly events and regular programming for international students, scholars, and their families as well as the local CSU and Northern Colorado community to bridge the gaps between different groups.

For more than 66 years, we have organized the World Unity Fair to showcase the international cultures on campus to the local community. We’ve worked with the nonprofit organization, the Fort Collins International Center, to provide a welcoming, inclusive environment for our international students, scholars, and families. ISSS regularly works with CSU international student organizations on programming.