The University of Michigan (U-M) has become known and highly regarded as a national leader in strategic, evidence-informed approaches to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and institutional change. This includes a history of welcoming and opening doors to many different communities that have been historically marginalized or excluded. A hallmark of the U-M approach is its grounding in the conviction that the pursuit of academic excellence is inseparable from a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. What has made U-M a leader is not that we’ve always gotten it right - in fact, our history demonstrates that we’ve had stumbling points where we have fallen short of our espoused ideals. U-M is a leader because of its commitment to on-going learning and improvement through evidence. The long-time work of and push from U-M’s community of expert faculty, staff, and students have made us better, leading to a partnership with the President’s Office to develop the university’s first campus-wide DEI strategic plan, now known as DEI 1.0, a five-year strategic initiative aimed at creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment for our entire campus community.
DEI 1.0: The Impetus for Institution-Wide Transformation
Incorporating ideas, aspirations, needs, goals and priorities garnered from all university sectors and community members, DEI 1.0 represented a major step in advancing the ideals of diversity, equity and inclusion. Throughout a five-year period, with strong guidance and encouragement from campus leaders, the university implemented fundamental, far-reaching changes at every level—every school, college, and unit—and in ways that have impacted every individual on campus.
During that same five-year span, these broad-based, collaborative efforts enabled Michigan to be agile and effective in navigating an array of challenges and crises. The unifying and strengthening effect of DEI 1.0 has enabled Michigan to withstand growing, highly vocal opposition to DEI programs and principles from national and campus critics. We persist in our DEI commitment in the face of nationwide political division and unrest and continue steadfast amidst these myriad challenges.
DEI 2.0: Moving Forward in a Bold and Strategic Way
Officially launched in 2023, our DEI 2.0 plan builds on the work already underway while also expanding the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion into new domains. Equally important, this new plan continues to reflect a determined effort by the university to acknowledge, analyze, and understand its complex relationship with the community it serves, and to use those understandings as the foundation for a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive present and future.
The DEI 2.0 five-year plan functions in accordance with the following principles:
- We will strive for organizational change in the service of greater diversity, equity, and inclusion in every school, college, and unit.
- Organizational change will be achieved through a dynamic process of year-over-year planning, implementation, and assessment of the unit-level and campuswide DEI plans.
- Tracking metrics will indicate whether specific shifts up or down, or a lack of activity, represent positive outcomes relative to our goal of creating a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive campus.
- Self-evaluation will be used to identify which “institutionalization” components (policy, practices, structures, culture, and climate) or dimensions (constituents, campus, community) are progressing and which need more attention.
- Communicating self-evaluation results to key audiences will be integral to accountability, continuous improvement, and future planning.
- The progress of organizational change will be measured through indicators of change in policy, practices, structures, culture, and climate.
Year One of DEI 2.0: Building on Momentum, Growing Current Programs, Moving in New Directions
During Year One, support continued for an array of innovative and highly effective programs. In addition, university units implemented a wide range of ambitious new projects. The Campuswide Action Items and Unit Spotlights, highlighted throughout this report, have emerged from ongoing community engagement efforts and themes that address gaps and provide equitable and inclusive resources. The following is a sampling of work that is underway in this new phase of the DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan:
- Fostering academic success among students – DEI 2.0 initiatives are increasing support with new leadership as Angela D. Dillard was recently appointed as the inaugural Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education. She will oversee new equity-based programs that are being established through efforts like the Early Momentum program which helps first-year students design effective course schedules to stay on track and graduate on time. By addressing disparities early on, the Early Momentum program ensures that all students, regardless of background, have an equitable chance to thrive and earn their degrees.
- Enhancing physical and digital accessibility – Improvements to accessibility signage campuswide make it more possible for community members to identify the best access points for buildings on campus, while the new Digital Accessibility Network provides more disability-supportive resources to all units through training modules on the Canvas Digital Accessibility Basic Training Hub. Additionally, an annual conference is convened on campus focused on dismantling ableism in higher education, among many other efforts. We’ve also developed processes to ensure that disability and accessibility are key priorities in our university’s Vision 2034 and Campus 2050 planning.
- Launching the Secular, Spiritual, Religious, and Interfaith (SSR&I) Initiative – Designed to foster religious inclusion across campus through partnerships, outreach activities, and educational programs. SSRI will also continue to foster an inclusive campus climate by advancing efforts to address Islamophobia, anti-Arab bigotry and Antisemitism, and will also leverage the work of the recently established Raoul Wallenberg Institute which will develop strategies to combat antisemitism, divisiveness, and discrimination through teaching, research and public engagement.
- Strengthening efforts led by Procurement Services and the Treasurer’s Office – With the addition of 860 new diverse suppliers registered on the MConnect platform and a Community Impact Banking pilot program, DEI 2.0 projects will focus on enhancing infrastructure, strengthening community partnerships, and supporting sustainable, community-oriented procurement.
- Launching the Michigan Program for Advancing Cultural Transformation (M-PACT) in the biomedical and health sciences – This DEI 2.0 initiative is focused on fostering an inclusive academic community by recruiting outstanding early career faculty in health sciences fields and supporting their success through high-quality mentoring and career development supports and through working with schools, departments, and programs to improve climate and eliminate any cultural and structural barriers to faculty success.
Looking Ahead and Forging Forward
Our commitment to the vision of a truly diverse, equitable, and inclusive university is unshakeable, and is equaled only by our determination to bring about lasting change and by our dedication to the principles of collaboration, innovation, and accountability. Despite opposition on numerous fronts, we will forge ahead. Only by so doing can we hope to achieve a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive University of Michigan for all, a place where every community member can flourish and thrive, both academically and personally, and a place that truly serves the public good.