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Unit Spotlights

This goal reflects our plans to promote an ever-more diverse student, faculty and staff community on campus, and to equip individuals with the support and opportunities necessary for their success.

People presenting in front of a screen that says Dinners for Democracy with the Turn Up Turnout logo

Goal: People

The following gallery features a number of campus spotlights sharing stories of progress in our efforts to improve recruitment, retention and development of a diverse community at U-M.

  • A person speaking at a Center for Academic Innovation presentation

    Center for Academic Innovation (CAI)

    Creation of a CAI Career Pathways Resources Guide

    CAI has developed a comprehensive Career Pathways Progression Guide that provides a clear roadmap for employees at all levels: highlighting career trajectories within the organization, outlining skills and competencies required for advancement, and offering actionable steps for professional development.

  • Students having a conversation at a table in the LSA Opportunity Hub

    College of Literature, Science & Arts

    LSA Undergraduate Student Transfer Efforts

    In January 2024, the LSA Transfer Team was awarded the U-M Distinguished Diversity Team Award in recognition of Transfer Bridges program, a robust effort to increase the number of transfer students who apply, enroll and graduate, with a focus on making LSA more accessible to community college transfer students.

  • Two people laughing together in front of a colorful Many Voices Our Michigan banner

    Center for the Education of Women (CEW+)

    Career Grants and Graduation Grant Pilot

    In response to unmet needs among its constituents, CEW+ has introduced two new grant programs: one aimed at helping to fund professional development opportunities for career-minded students, and the other intended to eliminate barriers to education by providing emergency funds during a student’s final semester prior to graduation.

  • Medical staff having a conversation at the outdoor wheelchair storage

    Duderstadt Center (DMC)

    Inclusive Onboarding and Peer Mentoring

    The Duderstadt Center has developed and deployed an employee onboarding process to ensure that all new full-time staff are welcomed into the organization and given the tools and resources they need to succeed, and that onboarding experiences are consistent and equitable across all teams and supervisors. This new process has been institutionalized into the standard operating procedure of the DMC.

  • Dentistry students wearing white coats and reading handouts

    School of Dentistry

    Profiles for Success Program - 30th Anniversary Celebration Symposium

    Throughout 2024, the University of Michigan School of Dentistry is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its Profile For Success Program (PFS), a nationally renowned initiative focused on diversifying the dental profession by supporting students from disadvantaged backgrounds, many of whom may be historically underrepresented minorities (HURMs), and those who are first-generation college graduates.

  • People standing during an event in an auditiorium

    Institute for Social Research (ISR)

    CONNECT to Shift the Demography of the Social Sciences

    As part of its commitment to shifting the demography of researchers by expanding and broadly diversifying the cadre of social scientists “who get to say what we know,” ISR developed a multi-faceted program that links interdisciplinary training for pre- and post-doctoral scholars whose goal is to study health through a social science lens.

  • A young student wearing surgical gear and playing the game Operation

    Michigan Medicine

    Impacting Learning Through Math Coaching and Interactive Health Science Learning Sessions

    Based on the increasing need for early academic and career support to address inequities among students who matriculate into the health sciences, the Office for Health, Equity and Inclusion (OHEI) launched a pilot program for middle school students who were either partially proficient or not proficient in mathematics.

  • People crouching while doing an activity in front of a Marsal Family School of Education banner

    Marsal School of Education

    Marsal Students and Detroit Youth Learning Together at Marygrove

    The Marygrove Learning Community (MLC): A Detroit P-20 Partnership is pioneering a new approach to transformative education and economic development in neighborhoods, serving as a national model for investing in children and teachers as a way to use education in support of healthy, community-driven development.

  • Students sitting a table holding up yellow Michigan t-shirts

    Center for Educational Outreach (CEO)

    Launch of the Raise Scholars Program

    The Raise Scholars program, a prestigious pre-college initiative, aims to empower prospective University of Michigan students from partner high schools. Currently, it supports Chandler Park Academy High School, Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, Southfield High School for the Arts & Technology, and University High School Academy, with plans to expand to Detroit Public School Community District schools, including Renaissance High School and the School @Marygrove, in the 2024-25 school year. Highlighting the importance of cross-campus collaborations, the program provides impactful experiences to guide students through the Michigan application process.

  • People posing on the stairs inside of the Trotter Multicultural Center

    Office of University Development (OUD)

    Creating a New Recruiting Normal

    Recent data confirms that the redesign of its hiring and recruiting process during DEI 1.0 has enabled OUD to attract deep and broadly diverse applicant pools and to mitigate bias throughout each step of the hiring process, resulting in a more diverse workforce.

  • People standing with their arms around each other outside of North Quad

    School of Information (UMSI)

    DEI Educational Outreach at UMSI

    DEI Educational Outreach expanded to include K-14 students, broadening its impact across various educational levels. The recent launch of Day@UMSI provided community college students an immersive on-campus experience where they connect with alumni, attend live classes, and explore the admissions process in depth.

  • A grid of portraits of the LSA Collegiate Fellows

    College of Literature, Science & Arts (LSA)

    LSA Collegiate Fellows 2.0 Hiring Programs

    In partnership with NCID, the College launched two hiring initiatives to recruit scholars with significant DEI competencies to LSA over the course of DEI 2.0.

  • A display on a wall about a research project called Building Africa

    Taubman College of Architecture & Urban Planning (TC)

    Taubman Africa Alliance

    The Africa Alliance is a collaborative platform that brings together urban scholars, practitioners, and educators with a focus on the African continent, both as a geographical and epistemic location. By studying buildings, cities, and landscapes in Africa, the Alliance explores the continent’s unique urbanization processes and their connections to global urban challenges. Africa serves as a critical lens to address pressing issues of social, economic, and environmental transformation in today’s cities.

Note: The spotlights from various unit plans featured throughout this section are broadly representative and were chosen to showcase diverse areas of focus. These summaries are intended merely as examples of DEI-related work taking place at the unit level and by no means represent all of the exciting unit-based initiatives currently underway. A comprehensive overview of school, college and unit plans is available here.