Welcome to the Center for Immigration Policy & Research
The DU Center for Immigration Policy & Research (CIPR) emerged from a 2018 initiative designed to transform the University of Denver via cross-school and interdisciplinary collaborations or “knowledge bridges.” Our vision is to bring together faculty with expertise in migration, train students through interdisciplinary and engaged learning opportunities, and create links to community partners working locally, regionally, nationally, and transnationally. We strive to provide a more robust picture of migration dynamics and establish the University of Denver as a leader on one of the most pressing topics of our time.
Our Mission
To be renowned for research, creative work, clinical training, and community-engaged work that is transformative, transdisciplinary, and transnationally focused.
Our Values
We acknowledge the original inhabitants of the land we now occupy, the Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Ute and are committed to creating a learning community that addresses the legacy of colonialism, slavery, exploitation, and global inequalities that shape migratory flows and immigrant exclusion. As scholar-teacher-advocates, the values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice are at the center of CIPR's work.
Faculty Projects & Opportunities
DU CIPR cultivates, highlights, and supports research and creative work related to migration by providing opportunities to students, building bridges across campus, offering insights to policymakers, and collaborating with community partners.
Our Goals
Generate Collaborative Research
Generate cutting-edge research and creative work across campus, the community, and throughout the region to inform policy-relevant discussions and initiatives.
Serve the Public Good
Build on existing ties and develop new ones to immigrant-serving organizations, advocates, and legal professionals in support of migrant communities.
Engage Students
Work with undergraduate and graduate students interested in learning about migration through research, clinics, internships, and other applied work.
Student Projects and Opportunities
As part of our mission to support undergraduate, graduate, and law students, in 2022, we launched the Student Summer Research and Internship (SSRI) grants for students participating in migration-related research, applied work, and internships.
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Our Curriculum
Faculty teach a range of immigration courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Many of these courses include experiential or service-learning components. In the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, faculty teach courses with community partner, Casa de Paz, a local nonprofit that supports people in detention. At the Korbel School of International Studies, students routinely partner with Centro Humanitario, a Denver-based day-labor center. And law students at Sturm College of Law represent clients in deportation proceedings as part of the Immigration Law & Policy Clinic. Students also receive ample training and education in courses offered through the professional schools, including the Graduate School of Professional Psychology, the Graduate School of Social Work, and Morgridge College of Education.
Community
DU CIPR aims to be a hub connecting members of the DU community to immigrant-serving organizations in an effort to stimulate transformative change and create more socially just communities.
Our community partnerships take diverse forms with non-profit, government, and grassroots and member-based organizations. We co-host trainings and workshops, advocacy sessions, co-sponsor events, connect DU students with internship and volunteer opportunities, and pursue research and policy collaboration, service-learning courses, and clinical training.
Our Events
CIPR hosts a variety of events to bring together faculty, students, alumni, community partners, and immigration experts including: our biannual research symposium; an annual showcase featuring student work; community partner breakfasts to foster connections between them and DU faculty; book talks; and film screenings, panels, and dialogues. Through this program of events, we endeavor to bring attention to immigration and to inform campus and community members about ongoing issues and initiatives.
To view the keynote speech delivered by Dr. Whitney L. Duncan, a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Northern Colorado, during our 2024 Spring Symposium, click here.