Leadership

A Plan and Pledge: Our Continuing Journey 

To All Members of the University Community:

At the University of Michigan, we have always aspired to achieve the highest levels of academic excellence for the public good. Now more than ever, we recognize and affirm that this goal is inseparable from our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

A Strong Start

Beginning in 2016, we launched our most ambitious DEI effort, a 5-year, community-informed and community-led strategic plan now known as DEI 1.0. This institution-wide Presidential initiative built on the knowledge and efforts of campus leaders and community members - both past and present - and was an important step on our path to cultural transformation. DEI 1.0 resulted in real progress, including successful and promising models of programs, practices, and policies that have enhanced diversity, equity and inclusion at our University.

The rigorous evaluation process that took place at the conclusion of DEI 1.0 in 2022 highlighted our campus community’s many achievements and measurable progress on numerous fronts. In January 2023, we were proud to be able to present to our campus community - publicly and transparently - specific ways that we have incorporated diversity, equity and inclusion into our mission and daily operations, spanning all that we do—from student, faculty, and staff recruitment and retention; to teaching and curricular development; to research and scholarship; to service and engagement; to patient care; to budgeting and infrastructure; among other areas.

Beyond these significant successes, another signal of our progress and growth was that the DEI plan process required us to honestly and unapologetically name continued systemic and cultural challenges that we still struggle with and that we need to address with even greater intensity and strategy. We welcomed and embraced lessons learned on what it means to truly be diverse, equitable and inclusive and what we still need to do and change to be so. Our progress and knowledge gained from DEI 1.0 has laid a strong foundation for the next step in our journey launching in fall 2023, DEI 2.0.

Building on Our Momentum, Moving Forward

The work we did together during the initial five years of DEI 1.0 was an important first step, but much remains to be done. The work of advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion is tough, but the benefits make it worthwhile. We aspire to be “the leaders and best,” and being a leader in DEI does not mean that we have addressed all of our challenges and achieved all of our ideals. It means that we understand the journey ahead of us and have demonstrated a commitment to the deep, strategic, and ongoing work necessary for cultural transformation.

During the summer of 2022, the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI) began laying the groundwork for DEI 2.0 by hosting retreats for all 51 DEI planning units - composed of schools, colleges, and major administrative and service units - and also supported numerous townhalls and community input sessions. These events provided opportunities for members of our U-M community to share their perspectives and ideas; to think and plan strategically and collectively; and to bring attention and focus to specific challenges and needs that were important to them.

In this next phase of our DEI strategic plan, we are prepared to build on our institutional commitment to ensuring a diverse, equitable and inclusive community with even more sharply defined goals, new innovations and investments, and enhanced measures of accountability - shaped and informed by our own University community. We will continue to test new ideas, assess our progress, and have difficult conversations about tough issues. We will continue to listen, and we will learn as we move forward—together.

Our DEI 2.0 strategic plan will reflect the closely-held values you shared with us during our community touchpoints: your passion for making a great institution even better, your unwavering dedication to higher education access and inclusion, and your belief that all individuals on our campus deserve an equal opportunity to thrive and succeed.

While our university’s comprehensive DEI strategic plan efforts are more recent, our community’s commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion are not new, spanning generations of campus leaders, students, faculty, staff, alumni, and local community and national partners. We would not be at this point without their inspiring activism, strategy and resolve in the face of monumental legal and cultural challenges, groundbreaking research and scholarship, dedication to community engagement and uplift, and refusal to give up.

This complex history of challenge, progress, resistance, and victories both humbles us and buoys our commitment and resolve to work in collaboration with our community to truly meet our ideal of being the leaders and best.

Thank you for engaging in this important work and for your continued dedication. The many voices that have contributed to our diversity, equity and inclusion strategic plan process are and will be essential to the quality, effectiveness, and sustained impacts of our efforts.

Sincerely,

Santa J. Ono — President
Laurie McCauley — Provost
Tabbye Chavous — Vice Provost for Equity & Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer