University of Colorado at Boulder attorney Christine Arg眉ello will receive a newly created award for her trailblazing efforts to promote diversity and inclusiveness in Colorado's legal profession and in higher education.
Arg眉ello will receive the inaugural Qwest Diversity Trailblazer: Individual of the Year Award during a private reception on Thursday, Sept. 20, at Invesco Field at Mile High following the Rocky Mountain Legal Diversity Summit in Denver. Sponsors include Qwest Communications, the Colorado, Denver and Hispanic bar associations, the Colorado Pledge to Diversity Legal Group and the Deans' Diversity Council, which is led by the University of Colorado and University of Denver law school deans.
The groups will recognize Arg眉ello, who is managing senior associate counsel for CU-Boulder, for her commitment to and work on behalf of inclusiveness in the legal profession, including her mentoring of students and fellow lawyers.
"This award means so much to me because it is tangible proof that our community leaders recognize the importance of ensuring that the membership of our legal profession reflects the community it serves," Arg眉ello said.
"I will accept this honor with pride and with the hope that everyone will come to understand that creating an inclusive workplace that represents a community is more than just increasing numbers of under-represented groups," she said. "It's about generating a more creative, innovative and economically successful work environment that will assist an organization's efforts to compete effectively in today's global society."
In a nomination letter to the award committee, Assistant U.S. Attorney Terry Fox noted that Arg眉ello had made "meaningful and significant efforts to advance diversity within each organization she has graced."
Leading by example, Arg眉ello has blazed many trails for the next generation of scholars and attorneys. Among the lists of "firsts" for her are the following:
o In 1977, Arg眉ello graduated from CU-Boulder with special honors. She was the top graduate in her class and was selected as Outstanding Senior of her CU School of Education class.
o Also in 1977, Arg眉ello became the first Colorado Latina to be admitted into Harvard University Law School.
o In 1988, when she was voted a partner at the law firm of Holland & Hart, Arg眉ello became the first Hispanic - male or female - to be promoted to partner at one of the "big four" Colorado law firms.
o In 2000, she became the first Hispanic chief deputy attorney general for the state of Colorado under Ken Salazar, now a U.S. senator.
"There are many other lawyers, young and experienced, who will tell you that Ms. Arg眉ello mentored and challenged them. I am sure they will confirm, as I do here, that they are better lawyers and better public citizens because of Christine Arg眉ello," Fox wrote in her nomination letter.
The Deans' Diversity Council unites the managing partners of Denver's major law firms, general counsels of large corporations and government attorneys and judges to develop and share strategies for enhancing diversity in the legal profession. Council leaders include David Getches, dean of the CU law school, and Jos茅 Roberto Ju谩rez Jr., the first Hispanic dean of DU's law school.
University of Colorado Law School Dean David Getches said, "Christine Arguello has brought her ingenuity and commitment to the work of the Deans' Diversity Council and deserves enormous credit for shaping this pioneering effort of Colorado's Bar, judiciary and two law schools."
To learn more about the Deans' Diversity Council, go to lawweb.colorado.edu/news/showArticle.jsp?id=341.