UMich prepares to launch DEI 2.0
DEI officials at the University of Michigan recently presented a summary of the year-long evaluation of its first DEI strategic plan in preparation of launching DEI 2.0 during the fall 2023 semester.
As U-M transitions from one five-year plan to the next, the DEI website suggests, the university will continue to devote resources to DEI efforts, strategic planning, and evaluation.
Results are in from DEI 1.0, the five-year implementation of the University of Michigan’s (U-M) efforts in diversity, equity, and inclusion. DEI officials at U-M recently presented a summary of DEI 1.0’s year-long evaluation in preparation of launching DEI 2.0 during the fall 2023 semester.
As U-M transitions from one five-year plan to the next, the DEI website suggests, the university will continue to devote resources to DEI efforts, strategic planning, and evaluation.
“Just as we continue to support the functions of student life, budget & finance, and research, we will continue to support the work needed to create and sustain a more diverse, equitable and inclusive campus across all functions and for everyone in our community,” the website reads.
“This support will continue to include leadership roles and budget allocations to fund initiatives, programs and events that align with achieving DEI goals.”
[RELATED: ‘DeSantis admin requires public universities to report DEI, CRT-related expenditures’]
Tabbye Chavous, U-M’s Vice Provost of Equity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer, presented results from the evaluation during a live streamed event and Q&A session. Mark J. Perry, an emeritus professor and American Enterprise Institute scholar, recently identified Chavous as the highest-paid “diversicrat” at U-M, according to data on 142 DEI employees.
The evaluation consisted of an approximately 146-page report, which outlined DEI efforts in U-M’s campus climate, hiring, student recruitment, admissions, curriculum, and programming.
Kim Broekhuizen, U-M’s Director of Public Affairs, spoke to Campus Reform about these efforts. “Ultimately, our goal was to create a process that was in alignment and reflected with what our community was seeking–to be as diverse, equitable and inclusive as possible,” Broekhuizen wrote.
Broekhuizen said that U-M took a “bottom-up approach” to DEI, meaning that its efforts “were not developed and directed by the University’s top administration, but from an inclusive community approach through engagement and involvement.”
In its engagement, U-M provided “DEI skill-building opportunities” to students, faculty, and staff. Programming from DEI 1.0 included “modules on inclusive teaching” for undergraduate and graduate student instructors and instructional aides, according to The University Record, the U-M faculty and staff news service.
DEI 1.0 also recruited faculty through the Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) Collegiate Fellows program, which hired 47 early-career scholars since its inception in 2016. These scholars, Chavous noted in her presentation, express commitment to DEI in their research, teaching, or service. Of those who completed their fellowships, 98 percent are in tenure-track positions.
Broekhuizen’s description of U-M’s transition from DEI 1.0 to 2.0 suggests a continuous commitment to DEI.
“The most significant difference between DEI 1.0 and DEI 2.0 is after five years of work and data, we are now better positioned to examine what has worked and where we can do better,” Broekhuizen told Campus Reform.
“We now have the infrastructure in place to be more efficient and successful in this work, especially if we are to meet the needs of current and future faculty, staff and students at U-M.”
Campus Reform contacted Chavous, U-M’s Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, and the LSA Collegiate Fellows Program for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
Follow John Parker on Twitter.
