Campuswide Action Items

Based on two years of stakeholder feedback, Rackham is realigning the goals and practices of its Merit Fellowship in order to build an even stronger partnership with graduate programs.

Over the next five years, Wolverine Pathways will strive to amplify its contributions to undergraduate diversity by advancing strategic initiatives that: (1) increase the admissibility and college preparedness of scholars from partner schools; and (2) converting more WP graduates into transfer students.

In Year One of DEI 2.0, Rackham will finalize the report and recommendations advanced by a graduate faculty ad hoc committee aimed at increasing equity, diversity, access and opportunity for international graduate student applicants.

Building on the recommendations of the Native American Student Task Committee (NASTC) and the Indigenous Initiatives Leadership Group (IILG), along with evaluation outcomes of our collective learning in DEI 1.0, the university will pursue a comprehensive strategy focused on activities that support the visibility, vitality and wellbeing of Native American, First Nations and other Indigenous communities on campus and beyond.

During DEI 2.0, the human resources departments of both U-M and Michigan Medicine will continue to consult with and advise units on fair, equitable processes and resources that reflect our DEI values while meeting the expectations of prospective employees.

As an evolution of the Voices Career Development Fund, which was launched during the university’s bicentennial and funded entirely by employees, the Staff Career Development Fund provides grants to support professional growth for both individuals and teams.

Launched with a five-year, $15.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health and $63.7 million in university funding, M-PACT aims to enhance diversity, equity and inclusion in biomedical and health sciences by recruiting 30 new tenure-track assistant professors across 11 schools, colleges and units.

Thanks to ADVANCE’S STRIDE Faculty Recruitment Workshop and the Office for Health Equity and Inclusion’s (OHEI) new Faculty Development Unconscious Bias in Hiring training program, all Ann Arbor campus faculty—including those within Michigan Medicine— have access to relevant content that underscores our shared commitment to diversity, equity and excellence in recruitment and hiring.

By building on the past and current history of Black student activism, evaluation outcomes and our collective learning in DEI 1.0, and recent recommendations leading from working groups co-developed and co-led by the Black Student Union with university leaders and community members, the university will develop, implement and sustain a connected infrastructure that ensures institutional progress in identifying and dismantling any anti-blackness throughout its policies, systems and structures.