President Schlissel's Charge to the U-M Community for a Strategic

President Schlissel’s Charge to the U-M Community

for a Strategic Planning Process on Diversity, Equity and

Inclusion

Mission

At the University of Michigan, our dedication to academic excellence for the public

good is inseparable from our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. It is

central to our mission as an educational institution to ensure that each member of

our community has full opportunity to thrive in our environment, for we believe that

diversity is key to individual flourishing, educational excellence and the

advancement of knowledge.

Background

From being one of the first universities to admit women in 1870 to our historic

defense of race conscious admission policies at the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003,

the University of Michigan has had a fierce and longstanding commitment to

diversity, equity and inclusion. This commitment rests upon our recognition of the

history in the United States of racial, ethnic, and gender discrimination as well as

our understanding that our progress as an institution of higher learning will be

enhanced with a vibrant community of people from many backgrounds.

Plan Goals

Diversity: We commit to increasing diversity, which is expressed in myriad forms,

including race and ethnicity, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-

economic status, language, culture, national origin, religious commitments, age,

(dis)ability status, and political perspective.

Equity: We commit to working actively to challenge and respond to bias,

harassment, and discrimination. We are committed to a policy of equal opportunity

for all persons and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin,

age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression,

disability, religion, height, weight, or veteran status.

Inclusion: We commit to pursuing deliberate efforts to ensure that our campus is a

place where differences are welcomed, different perspectives are respectfully

heard and where every individual feels a sense of belonging and inclusion. We

know that by building a critical mass of diverse groups on campus and creating a

vibrant climate of inclusiveness, we can more effectively leverage the resources of

diversity to advance our collective capabilities.

Page 2

Specific Charge

To further promote our mission and values regarding diversity, equity and

inclusion, the University will engage in strategic planning.

Each school, college or unit is responsible for overseeing a high-quality engaging

planning process that results in a five-year plan for diversity, equity and inclusion

covering all of the key constituents (e.g. students, staff, faculty, alumni, patients) in

their school, college or unit.

These plans should be:

(1) highly aspirational and consistent with the leading role U-M has played in

matters of diversity throughout its history;

(2) concrete and supported by a series of specific measurable goals;

and

(3) consistent with the wide variety of research, educational, and public

engagement activities that occur throughout the University.

Planning Domains

In addition to covering all of the key constituents in a school, college or unit, each

plan should describe activities in the following domains:

 Recruitment, Retention and Development

 Education and Scholarship

 Promoting an Equitable, Inclusive Environment

 Service (as applicable to service units)

Values

 We must act with deliberateness and humility as we seek to respect and

leverage diversity, ensure equity, and promote inclusion.

 We must examine and learn from the outcomes of our past efforts and work to

improve them.

 We must act on our commitment, in accordance with the law, to contribute to a

just society and to affirm the humanity of all persons.

Planning Process Objectives

The objectives of the School/College/Unit (S/C/U) Strategic Planning Process are

the following:

1. Develop an engaged process that generates a collective commitment from

the constituents of their school, college or unit.

Page 3

2. Conduct and provide a comprehensive evaluation of where they are as a

unit with respect to:

(a) how diverse they are as a community;

(b) the degree to which individuals experience the University as inclusive; and

3. Within the constraints of the law, propose specific, achievable and

sustainable short- medium- and long-term goals and actions to enhance

diversity, equity and inclusion with specific timetables for execution.

4. Identify resources and points of accountability for achieving the designated

goals.

5. Identify steps to ensure that the plan they develop is regularly reviewed and

updated to reflect both progress towards their goals and any newly identified

opportunities and challenges.

2015-2016 Planning Timeline

May- Early Sept – Planning Readiness & Launch

 Sept 9

launch luncheon “Continuing the Dialogue on Diversity”

Sept- December – Data Collection, Review, Synthesis, Reporting

 Widely engaging data collection and assessment

 Past, current and future state; qualitative and quantitative

 Climate assessment and results review

 U-Wide Diversity Summit: November 10, 2015

Jan-March– S/C/U Diversity Action Planning - Produce “Version 1.0”

March-April: Review and Iteration of Plans

 S/C/U plans submitted for leadership and OGC review

May- June – Final Submission and “Quality Review”

 Version 1.1 submitted to Diversity Executive Leadership Team and

delegates to review clarity, engagement, representation of constituents,

chosen metrics

July-August - Synthesis of Unit Plans into Comprehensive U-M plan

September, 2016 – Final Diversity Plan Announced and Implemented

 FY17 S/C/Unit action plan implementation begins

 Campus-wide and local communication

 U-Wide Climate assessment implemented as baseline of multi-year

measurement (may be moved up to Spring, 2016)

Page 4

2016-2021 Planning Timeline

July- September, 2017 –Assess and Report on Progress on Year One, Clarify

FY18 Goals

 Begin Year Two implementation

July- September, 2018 – Assess and Report on Progress, Clarify FY19 Goals

 Begin Year Three implementation

March- May, 2019 – “Mid-term Campus-wide Progress Review”

 Assess and report on progress against plans

 Create Mid-term U-M Report

July- September, 2019 – Assess and Report on Progress, Clarify FY20 Goals

 Begin Year Four implementation

July- September, 2020 – Assess and Report on Progress, Clarify FY21 Goals

 Begin Year Five implementation

March- May, 2021 – Evaluate Progress against Five Year Plan

 Assess progress against plans at School/College/unit Level,

 Roll up to Summary U-M Report on Progress