College of Southern Nevada

CSN published its "2023 Affirmative Action Program (AAP) July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023."

The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusions offers training on "diversity awareness and cultural sensitivity among faculty and staff with a focus on providing practical tools to enhance student success."

CSN's Office of Institutional Equity Compliance Trainings include "Discrimination in a Diverse Workplace," and "Cultural Awareness: Interacting with an Open Mind" for faculty and staff.

The purpose of the "Conference Opportunities for Underrepresented Students in STEM" project at CSN is to "introduce underrepresented students to research opportunities through conferences and their associated organizations in 2021, with the hopes they are inspired to continue their interest and graduate CSN and transfer to pursue their research."

The "Full 'STEM' Ahead in Year One: Getting Black and African American Students on the Right Track" program focuses on "creating a paid opportunity for new, first-year, Black and African American students at CSN" and will be "created in both Student Affairs and Academic Affairs supporting student retention and intentional connection to the STEM fields."

"The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is part of the President's Office and works closely with all levels of the administration, staff, and faculty to achieve its mission, vision, and goals.

"The Anti-Black Racism Taskforce was launched with the support of college leadership and is committed to addressing inequities on campus through programming and service."

In 2019, CSN contracted The Sawgrass Group for a "Strategic Plan Report" on DEI. The consulting firm found "low cultural competence on DEI," "Marginalized minority staff, students, and teachers," and "Unclear commitment, transparency, fairness and consistency about recruiting and hiring qualified and diverse faculty and staff." The report recommended hiring a Chief Diversity Officer, establishing "clear and consistent DEI culture and values," a program to further the values, and required DEI training for all new and existing employees.

CSN Library promotes the book "Just Mercy," by Bryan Stevenson. This book calls for ending "mass incarceration in America." It "tells the story of the Equal Justice Initiative from the early days...to revolutionary projects designed to confront Americans with our history of racial injustice."

CSN Libraries features a book titled "Between the World and Me" which is summarized as follows: "Between the World and Me is a letter that Coates writes to his son, Samori, about their lives in a world that continues to be full of prejudice. Coates writes this letter to his son in 2015 after learning that the killer of Michael Brown would go free. The announcement causes Samori to break down in tears. This is not a message of comfort; it is a factual and honest look at racism experienced by a black family."

The NSHE Southern Nevada Diversity Summit took place on October 6, 2023, at CSN and "exists to support and promote diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education and our community."

President Federico Zaragoza issued a statement after the Derek Chauvin verdict. He wrote, "This disturbing case — and far too many others like it — has brought to light serious inequities in our nation, sparking a yearlong series of protests and giving energy to the Black Lives Matter movement that seeks to end racially motivated violence against Black people."