Chancellor Black has identified seven diversity and inclusion action steps focused on making lasting and significant change at UMD. These action items serve as campus priorities.
The summary table below outlines the actions UMD has committed to in this area. The table identifies the responsible office(s) for implementation and provides updates on the progress of each initiative.
Diversity and Inclusion Action Items
| Action | Responsible Individual(s) | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1. UMD is committing to bringing in third-party expertise to advise us regarding any policy adaptations that could help the UMD Police Department to build upon the department’s focus on campus public safety and the uniqueness of law enforcement within our university community. We will encourage other local law enforcement agencies to join us in combating racist and bias behaviors. | Chancellor Lynn Black, Interim Vice Chancellor Sue Bosell (Finance and Operations) | The Police Department has begun to implement recommendations from Dr. Cedric Alexander’s report. The department has taken significant steps in broadening officer skill sets in de-escalation, mental health and cultural sensitivity. All officers are certified in crisis intervention and receive ongoing training in mental health crisis awareness and response. Body worn cameras have been implemented systemwide to enhance officer transparency. UMDPD is also working to strengthen community relationships to better serve our campus through various events held on campus and increased social media/web presence. |
| 2. Expand our ongoing commitment to training by implementing a requirement for all faculty and staff to complete the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Managing Bias online modules. We will layer additional anti-racism training for the campus to these baseline modules beginning with supervisors. Spring 2021 will identify additional anti-racism training for supervisors and will be ongoing. | Susana Pelayo-Woodward (Office of Diversity and Inclusion), Assoc Vice Chancellor Mark Yuran (Human Resources) | The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Managing Bias online modules have launched. As of June 30, 2021, 90% of faculty and staff have completed the training. This fall, new employees will be invited to complete the modules. Additionally, first-year students enrolled in UST 1000 completed the diversity, inclusion, and belonging module. |
| 3. We will expand and broaden our current bystander intervention training and approach for students, faculty, and staff. | Vice Chancellor Lisa Erwin (Student Life), Susana Pelayo-Woodward (Office of Diversity and Inclusion) | The following steps were completed after feedback was received from students, faculty, and staff. 1. Bystander intervention components were confirmed to be part of the curriculum available to UMD seminar instructors and that content will be reviewed and refreshed in summer 2022. 2. UMD will schedule another "train the trainer" session with Step Up!, the vendor with which the University worked to establish the "Got Your Back! UMD" bystander intervention training. 3. Components of bystander intervention were confirmed to be part of RA training and RAs and Housing and Residence Life Staff will be invited to participate in the aforementioned "train the trainer" program. 4. Work continues to embed bystander intervention concepts in faculty and staff onboarding. 5. Additional suggestions from the UMD Student Association (UMDSA), UMD Faculty Senate, and UMD Staff Senate will be explored in summer 2022. For example, UMDSA suggested that components of bystander intervention be incorporated in student organization training. |
| 4. In collaboration with the Faculty Senate, we will review the Cultural Diversity in the U.S. requirement that is part of the UMD Liberal Education curriculum, and challenge academic majors to create an equity/diversity/inclusion upper-division course or equivalent. | Interim Executive Vice Chancellor Amy Hietapelto (Academic Affairs) | After substantial consultation with various governance groups, including Faculty Senate, the Employees of Color and American Indian (EOCAI) group, the anti-racism committee (ARC), and the Curriculum and Liberal Education Sub-Committees, room has now been created for a placeholder category in the Liberal Education Program, and the category name and associated learning outcomes are being developed. |
| 5. We will implement additional aggressive strategies for hiring and retaining more diverse administrators, faculty, and staff at UMD. | Chancellor Lynn Black, Vice Chancellors, Deans, AVC Mark Yuran (Human Resources) | A university-wide task force, chaired by Dean Wendy Reed, has begun its work to assess how UMD as a whole can recruit and retain diverse faculty, including deploying a cluster hire approach for recruiting and hiring faculty. Recommendations will made to the EVCAA in 2021-2022. |
| 6. We will leverage current co-curricular programs that include diversity, equity, and inclusion to build a more comprehensive and cohesive set of student options and experiences that complement the academic curriculum. | Vice Chancellor Lisa Erwin (Student Life) | Complete: Beginning with the start of the fall 2021 semester, Kirby Student Center has created a diversity, equity, and inclusion "tag" for student organization events that are posted in Bulldog Connect. Student organizations are actively choosing the tag and then submitting additional information that provides a rationale for why it relates to diversity, equity, and inclusion. In addition, Kirby staff review all event submissions and can add the tag where appropriate. At the end of the year, Kirby will be able to produce a report that provides information about the number of events for the 21-22 school year. These data establish a benchmark so that Kirby can identify opportunities for growth. To view the list of events in Bulldog Connect with the tag, visit this link and click on "Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)" under "Tags." |
| 7. Marketing and communication efforts across campus will accurately represent the diversity of our campus community. | Lynne Williams (University Marketing and Public Relations), Susana Pelayo-Woodward (Office of Diversity and Inclusion) | After consultation with communicators across campus, we have a shared a new image use protocol and launched a new photo storage solution. |