Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Year Four Progress Report
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Goals

In 2015, when President Mark Schlissel called on the campus community to create a five-year diversity, equity and inclusion strategic plan, he also laid out three fundamental goals. These are the principles that guided the yearlong development process and now serve as benchmarks as we implement the plan, year by year.

Diversity

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.

Equity

We commit to increasing diversity, which is expressed in myriad forms including race and ethnicity, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, language, culture, national origins, religious commitments, age, disability status and political perspective.

Inclusion

We commit to pursuing deliberate efforts to ensure that our campus is a place where differences are welcomed, where 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.

Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (ODEI)

ODEI provides campuswide leadership for implementing the strategic plan. This includes:

  • Facilitating and supporting progress in all of the university’s schools, colleges and campus units, among them Student Life, Athletics and Michigan Medicine, throughout the plan’s five-year timeline (2016-2021).
  • Tracking and reporting in accordance with metrics that were established in the original plan and are being further developed as implementation progresses.
  • Conducting the university’s climate survey on diversity, equity and inclusion.
  • Serving as a key curator of other institutional data and information on diversity, equity and inclusion. Reporting to and communicating with university leadership and the community at large on progress under the strategic plan.
  • Reporting to and communicating with university leadership and the community at large
  • Addressing emergent issues and providing leadership on issues and concerns.on progress under the strategic plan.

The U-M DEI Strategic Plan in Action

A circular graphic showing the relationship between the overall U-M strategic plan and the 50 unit strategic plans. The graphic shows that each plan is made up of three strategies: climate, diverse community and scholarship and teaching. Foundational programs, infrastructure and metrics and reporting are all pieces of each strategy.