Executive Summary
Since its inception, the Office for Equity and Diversity has elevated efforts to make good on our shared commitment to equity and diversity as core values of our institution. Our work includes ensuring that faculty, staff, and students at all levels reflect the diversity of fast-growing but underrepresented racial and ethnic groups in Minnesota — and the diversity of the country and world. It includes strong support for global engagement and exchange in research and teaching and in the broader range of experiences we provide students. It also includes integrative efforts to create and to sustain a welcoming and inclusive campus environment across every unit of the University. More broadly, it includes institutional efforts to address critical issues of educational opportunity and access as integral to our public mission.
The office is guided by three strategic priorities:
- recruit and retain diverse talent,
- cultivate a welcoming and inclusive campus climate, and
- advance understanding and nurture enduring partnerships.
These priorities advance a holistic approach to systemic change that aims to create more diverse, welcoming, inclusive, and just campus communities. In addition to the OED strategic priorities, our work is also informed by the external review conducted by Cambridge Hill Partners (CHP) in 2021. The review produced a Systemwide Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Report that provides critical information on the breadth and impacts of the University of Minnesota’s DEI work. It highlights that there is a tremendous commitment of DEI focus, effort, and initiative across the system.
Headcounts: Fall 2023
Unit-Specific Measures & Data
Examples:
- Number of participants participating in the OED education program workshops and completing the OED ECHO Certificate
- Number of faculty, staff, and students served, cases/reports handled in OCR and EOT
- Dollars spent with women, minority and disabled- owned businesses through OSD
- Number of applicants, postdocs, and faculty recruited via the President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (PPFP)
Organizational Structure/Design
The Office of Equity and Diversity (OED) is comprised of 10 units and six major initiatives that provide critical services and support to students, faculty, and staff.
Units and Programs
- Circle of Indigenous Nations (COIN)
- Disability Resource Center (DRC)
- The OED Education Program
- Equal Opportunity & Title IX (EOT)
- Gender and Sexuality Center for Queer and Trans Life (GSC) - Multicultural Center for Academic Excellence (MCAE) - Office for Conflict Resolution (OCR)
- Office for Supplier Diversity (OSD)
- The Sexual Misconduct Prevention Program (SMPP) - Women’s Center
Initiatives
- College MADE (Multicultural Access, Diversity, and Equity) - Community Outreach, Retention, and Engagement (CORE) - Diversity Community of Practice (DCoP)
- Institute for Diversity, Equity, and Advocacy (IDEA) - LSAMP North Star STEM Alliance
- President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (PPFP)
Key Areas of Strength & Strategic Opportunities
Strength: Systemwide DEI Campus Climate Survey
In 2023, we administered the University of Minnesota’s first Systemwide DEI Campus Climate survey to all students, faculty, and staff on all five campuses. It is exciting that our University is striving to understand the experiences of our entire campus community by committing to administering this systemwide survey every other year. The data collected from this survey can be used to inform targeted interventions and improvements. It can also inspire innovation in how the University approaches DEI issues.
Strategic Opportunity: Reorganizing the Office for Equity and Diversity
OED is recognized for its dedication and commitment to support DEI efforts throughout the UMN system. A key theme from the CHP report is a desire for OED to play a stronger strategic leadership role across the UMN system. This includes assisting campuses, colleges, and academic/administrative units in increasing their DEI capacity, developing trategic plans, advising on implementation, and defining measures for assessing DEI progress and outcomes. The significant number of staff transitions in OED in recent years provided an opportunity to reconsider structural changes with respect to the various existing positions and roles/responsibilities across the unit.