Campuswide Action Items

During the past year, Wolverine Pathways laid a strong foundation for advancing its DEI 2.0 goals by hiring key staff to grow core programs aimed at increasing the number of transfer students, and by launching the Algebra I Jump Start Program to improve overall college admission prospects for WP students.

In Year 1 of DEI 2.0, Rackham Graduate School presented its draft ad hoc committee report to various stakeholders, including Rackham’s Executive Board and Board of Governors, and used feedback from these groups to finalize the report and its recommendations.

U-M ADVANCE leadership continues to enhance and update the Faculty Recruitment Workshop based on recommendations by the Committee on Strategies and Tactics for Recruiting to Improve Diversity and Excellence (STRIDE). The committee incorporated feedback from workshop attendees as well as integrated new research relevant to equitable faculty hiring practices.

In the spirit of “nothing about us, without us,” the perspectives of all stakeholders were considered during the past year, which focused on engaging community support in order to: show respect for the Native American community; facilitate the success of Native students, staff and faculty; build stronger partnerships with Native tribal communities; and improve educational experiences and prospects for Michiganʻs Native peoples, now and for at least the next seven generations.

Reflecting its comprehensive approach to programmatic success and development, M-PACT can point to significant Year 1 accomplishments across its Administrative, Faculty Development and Evaluation Cores that range from recruiting key personnel and establishing policies for the hiring of scholars to organizing a major conference and developing a toolkit for faculty mentors.

Rackham made significant progress towards several key DEI 2.0 goals by developing a process for doctoral programs to participate in the RMF program and receive an allocation; creating new fellowship opportunities for advanced graduate students and implementing the Rackham PACE Achievement Award; and realigning both the criteria and selection process to better reflect RMF’s goals.

Launched in 2023 with the goal of expanding access to career development opportunities and creating more equitable investments in career support, the Staff Career Development Fund saw applications increase by more than 50 percent from the prior year to a total of 1,090, with UM’s four campuses represented as follows: Ann Arbor (56.5%), Michigan Medicine (38%), Flint (3%) and Dearborn (2.5%).

In response to the More Than Four: 4 Point Platform developed by the Black Student Union, President Ono and other U-M leaders engaged with the student body to address pressing issues related to the Black student experience, and collaborative workgroups comprised of students, staff and faculty developed broadly applicable strategies for increasing Black student enrollment, in particular; addressing anti-Blackness; enhancing DEI practices; and fostering K-12 education initiatives.

This was a productive year for Staff Talent Acquisition Services, highlighted by a series of collaborative initiatives that included Bi-annual Talent Acquisition (TA) Knowledge Network Events; a TA Bootcamp/Foundations of Leadership Hiring the Best training program that offered deep-dive courses to 460 individuals; and a DEI Leads Special Session focused on inclusive recruiting, bias mitigation and exemplary practices.