Spotlights

In 2016, as part of its DEI 1.0 strategic plan, LSA created the Collegiate Postdoctoral Fellowship Program to recruit 50 extraordinarily promising scholars whose research, teaching and service supported diversity and equal opportunity in higher education. Administered in collaboration with the National Center for Institutional Diversity (NCID), the program offered community-building activities, professional development and mentoring, and support for teaching and research to prepare the fellows for possible tenure-track faculty appointments in LSA. By year-end 2023, the highly successful program had 50 total hires. Building on the success of this initiative, LSA will continue the Collegiate Fellows faculty hiring initiative as part of its second DEI Strategic Plan. In continued collaboration with NCID, the DEI 2.0 LSA Collegiate Fellows program aims to hire 32 exceptional scholars who are committed to building a diverse intellectual community. This will include scholars recruited through a newly launched LSA Senior Collegiate Fellows program which seeks to hire outstanding early-in-rank associate professors with demonstrated commitments to DEI in higher education for tenured positions in the college. In their first year, successful candidates will participate in a cohort-based professional development program designed to support DEI leadership in their service and administrative roles. The LSA Senior Collegiate Fellows program especially aims to recruit from a broad range of institutions that stretch beyond the top 25. Across the two hiring mechanisms, this program intends to increase the number of faculty engaged in DEI work across the college.

The Youth Summit is a day-long community outreach event focused on engaging broadly diverse middle and high school students from across southeast Michigan with Michigan Medicine healthcare teams through interactive simulations, curated resources, personal connections and panel discussions. The Youth Summit fosters self-belief in students, inspiring them to dream big and consider pursuing careers in the health sciences, which, in turn, could lead to a healthier future for their communities. The inaugural Youth Summit, held in 2022, hosted 250 students. In May of 2023, a total of 450 middle and high school students had an opportunity to interact with 29 Michigan Medicine departments, exposing them to a wide array of medical specialties. The event concluded with an enthusiastic message from U-M President Santa J. Ono and Michigan Medicine CEO Marschall Runge as well as a keynote address by Dr. Feranmi Okanlami, UM’s director of Student Accessibility and Accommodation Services.

CEO supports the state of Michigan through school-based service, public engagement activities, professional networks and infrastructure framework. Through federally-funded initiatives, the Center currently assists 16 high schools by placing recent U-M graduates as full-time college advisers, including high schools in Detroit and Southfield to promote a college-going culture. CEO’s public engagement services also include DEI-focused campus visits and free consultations for communities and schools. During DEI 2.0, the Center will prioritize four MCAC partner high schools in Detroit and Southfield for additional programming to support college applications to U-M, increase campus exposure, and work with the university network to encourage more students to attend UM-Ann Arbor. The goal is to equip and inspire students from all socio-economic backgrounds to pursue a U-M degree and succeed in their academic and professional journeys. By increasing college access and fostering a college-going culture, CEO aims to create a brighter and more equitable future for all students.

Belonging is a fundamental human need that, when experienced authentically and deeply, can positively impact working, teaching and learning, particularly as it relates to DEI. Connection, collaboration and care not only support the sense of belonging but are also fundamental to the field of Public Health, so centering them creates synergy with the broader field and strengthens training of the next generation of Public Health professionals. As a key action in service to this work, SPH will establish a Well-Being Working Group to identify best practices for incorporating the Okanagan Charter and other resources that support student, faculty, staff, and fellows’ well-being. The Okanagan Charter will be a critical resource in the School’s work as it is an international pact among health-promoting universities and colleges that calls on post-secondary schools to embed health into all aspects of campus culture and to lead health promotion action and collaboration locally and globally.

Initially launched in collaboration with the Ford School’s Youth Policy Lab during DEI 1.0, ASPIRE was designed as a summer bridge program that offered research fellowships to four Spelman College students. In its pilot year, ASPIRE empowered fellows with hands-on policy analysis training to examine the complexities of real-world issues impacting our youth. Looking ahead, the Ford School is excited to build on the accomplishments of the pilot year and will be expanding the initiative's reach by partnering with additional outstanding schools, ensuring that more students will have the opportunity to benefit from this transformative experience.

OGC is committed to fostering a culture that celebrates differences, promotes equity, embraces inclusion and facilitates accessibility. That commitment is reflected in the fact that employees have an average of 11 years of service within the Office. It is also evident in the 2021 U-M All-Staff Climate Survey, in which more than 70 percent of OGC respondents indicated that they felt valued as an individual, felt that they belonged in the Office, and believed that the Office has a strong commitment to DEI. In the spirit of continued improvement, OCG will devote the first year of DEI 2.0 to further exploration of why staff feel welcome and respected in the Office. Through "stay interviews" conducted during existing 1:1s and annual self-assessments/evaluations, the Office hopes to learn more about its strengths and weaknesses and discover new ways to promote staff retention and satisfaction.

During the DEI 2.0 planning process, Student Life (SL) invested in deep engagement with staff members in order to explore new interventions for complex challenges. Based on these efforts, the unit has launched a broad-based retention and development action plan. Over the next year, Student Life will develop and roll out a Compensation 101 educational series aimed at enhancing transparency and growing knowledge. Initiatives to enhance staff knowledge, skills and behaviors that advance DEI will include the evaluation and incorporation of on-boarding best practices, the development of sustainable supervisor coaching options, and the option of attending an SL Fundamentals of DEI Staff Class. Student Life will also add two staff positions, one dedicated to building a stronger foundation of DEI work in HR processes and the other focused on increasing access to coaching and professional development.

Sponsored by the Office of the Provost—and jointly administered by the U-M National Center for Institutional Diversity (NCID) and the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI)—the UDSTP builds upon the university’s legacy of achievement in DEI. This professorship was established to honor senior faculty who, during their distinguished careers, have lived out the ideals of DEI through scholarship, teaching and/or service and engagement at the U-M and beyond. It also recruits senior faculty from other institutions who have made significant contributions to DEI. As with other university professorships such as the Thurnau, Collegiate, and Distinguished University Professorships, the UDSTP is reserved for the very highest levels of achievement.

During DEI 2.0, NCID will host lectures, panel discussions and social events to recognize the research and accomplishments of the 31 faculty who were named UDSTPs between 2019 and 2023.