Action Item (as stated with DEI strategic plan launch in 2016)
The university will continue to develop central DEI education and training resources designed to enhance our campus climate. We will expand the diversity, equity and inclusion training program topics and our volunteer network of facilitators, the Facilitator Engagement Program (FEP). We will provide train-the-trainer development opportunities for all FEP members on existing and new training programs. We will continue to enhance the web presence for our programs and resources.
In Year Five, Organizational Learning (OL) responded to current events related to racial and social injustice that impacted the sense of psychological and physical safety for faculty and staff.
Progress Update
In Year Five, Organizational Learning (OL) responded to current events related to racial and social injustice that impacted the sense of psychological and physical safety for faculty and staff. Using its DEI Lifelong Learning Model, OL designed educational and supportive resources for numerous stakeholder groups on the Ann Arbor campus and at Michigan Medicine. These resources included just-in-time programming focused on anti-racism and on the national election, a tumultuous event that pointed up the nation’s deep political divide.
With input from the expanded Facilitator Engagement Program (FEP), OL designed several programs in response to world events. Due to the ongoing need for virtual training, we did not add new instructor-led courses but did continue to provide foundational DEI programming. Offerings included:
- Creating Common Ground for a Kinder, Better Future: Growing the Capacity to Connect in Politically Charged Times (two sessions, 249 participants)
- White Fragility: A Book Discussion (two sessions, 67 participants)
- How to be an Anti-Racist: A Book Discussion (one session, 21 participants)
- Anti-Racism Primer: What Can I Do? (a four-week primer that reached more than 500 additional participants)
To support remote and hybrid work, OL developed Digital Accessibility Bootcamp 1.0 and a Digital Accessibility Starter Kit. For units, OL partnered with the Office for Institutional Equity (OIE) and Information Technology Services (ITS) to create sessions on creating accessible Google documents and moderating virtual meetings for accessibility and inclusion. A disability awareness course will be published in Canvas by the end of the fiscal year.
OL also partnered with ODEI and the Office for Health Equity and Inclusion to provide an opportunity for the U-M community to come together following the murder of George Floyd. Processing the Derek Chauvin Trial Verdict: U-M Community Listening Circles reached 166 participants over three sessions.
In Year Five, OL dedicated time to support the Facilitator Engagement Program (FEP) community of 62 volunteer facilitators, who met regularly to discuss and plan anti-racism efforts despite the stress and exhaustion of this work. Together, these dedicated volunteers extended the reach of OL’s impact by leading five unit-specific programs for 172 attendees and facilitating one session with 21 attendees for their local departments.
In addition, OL partnered with the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT) to develop a hybrid version of a daylong workshop originally created in Year Four for university leaders and focused on cultivating climates resistant to sexual harassment. In all, 170 participants completed the asynchronous course and 191 attended three synchronous sessions.
One of OL’s newer offerings is Stepping In: Responding to Disrespectful and Biased Behaviors in Healthcare. In the past year, this workshop developed by University of Virginia Health has reached 665 people. Additionally, OL created a program to help all U-M leaders cultivate a safe, harassment-free environment. Beginning in June of 2021, Stepping In For Respect: Gender Bias for Leaders has been offered on a monthly basis.
In Year Five, establishing university values became a new central action item in response to the Wilmer-Hale report on sexual misconduct. In response, OL has integrated sexual harassment and misconduct with DEI education via micro-consulting services to assist schools, colleges and units in developing values. OL also offers a session for DEI Leads, Creating Your Desired Culture.
By the end of the fiscal year in July 2021, OL and the Office of Health Equity and Inclusion (OHEI) in Michigan Medicine had presented more than 174 sessions to over 7,323 faculty and staff. Since the DEI launch in October 2016, OL and OHEI have also engaged all units that submitted a DEI plan and, together, offered 1,242 instructor-led courses that reached 36,891 participants.
Responsibility: Organizational Learning