University of Washington spends $5 million on ‘diversity initiative’ for faculty members

The University of Washington has announced that they will funnel $5 million to further push for diversity, equity, and inclusion overthe next two years, which also includes hiring a more diverse faculty.

A press release states that the university will designate $3 million in bridge funding for 2021, and another $2 million for 2022, to support the recruitment of faculty whowill push for the university’s mission for equity and inclusion. The university will also redirect existing funding for the recruitment and retention of faculty to focus specifically upon faculty who will advance the university’s goal of diversity.

The university will also now require that “all faculty searches” include statements from individual candidates describing “their past and planned contributions to diversity, equity and inclusion.”

In addition, the university will ask department deans to “examine whether hiring, reappointment and promotion criteria for faculty can be enhanced to support diversity, equity and inclusion within their units.”

[RELATED: Berkeley student newspaper creates ‘Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion’ blog] 

“We know that the UW must better reflect the communities we serve, which requires short- and long-term changes to make our University a place where faculty from diverse backgrounds feel they belong,” UW Provost Mark Richards said. “The University’s academic leadership, including the Board of Deans and Chancellors, are determined to change this status quo for this generation of students, and for those to come.”

Since 2015, the University of Washington Race and Equity Initiative has focused on fundamentally changing the institution’s practices and policies.

[RELATED: UMaine charges hefty fee for online diversity training] 

When asked by if the funding for this initiative is public, Senior Director of Media Relations for the University of Washington, Victor Balta, told Campus Reform “the funding for this initiative comes from a variety of sources that are made public and is being used consistent with the laws of the state of Washington and the federal government.”

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @tannermrichards