The IDEA Plan has provided a foundation for articulating key areas of need on our campus, and reflecting on the plan to name a refined set of campus goals and priority areas is a next step toward organizing ourselves for action.

To establish a common set of guiding principles, a collaborative group met in February 2022 and identified five diversity, equity and inclusion goals inspired by the IDEA Plan to help our community focus its energies and resources. The group, which included the senior vice chancellor for DEI and members of the IDEA Council, agreed upon the following priorities to advance diversity, equity and inclusion on our campus:

  • Employee skills and development
  • Student achievement outcomes
  • Community building
  • Employee recruitment outcomes
  • Preparing students to participate in a diverse democracy

It is important to recognize that many campus units, groups and colleges have been working to advance diversity, equity and inclusion for years. As we move forward with this work, it will be critical to understand the impact of this ongoing work and new initiatives in relation to the university’s new goals and priority areas.

This approach will provide us with clarity on what is or is not working well and where we might coordinate efforts to achieve our goals more efficiently and powerfully.