Action Item (as stated with DEI strategic plan launch in 2016)
The university will expand Rackham’s Faculty Allies for Diversity program, in which designated faculty allies work within their respective units to serve as graduate student support contacts on DEI issues. In December 2017, there were 89 faculty allies, representing 81 Rackham departments and programs. The future goal is for every Rackham program to designate a faculty ally and include that ally in its DEI efforts around graduate education.
DEI 1.0 Evaluation Update
Faculty Allies (FA) serve as key contacts for DEI issues in graduate education within their respective departments—participating in DEI workshops, mentoring graduate students, and playing a vital role in raising awareness and marshaling resources to address issues of inclusion and climate within their programs. Since the launch of DEI 1.0, Rackham has continued to expand the Faculty Allies for Diversity program. Currently, there are 139 faculty allies, representing 107 departments and graduate programs, which is more than a 50% increase in the number of faculty allies since 2017.
Rackham offers support to graduate programs in multiple ways, including the opportunity to apply for a Rackham Faculty Allies Diversity Grant of up to $12,000 per year and Student Allies (SA) for Diversity Grants of up to $5,000 per year. During the final three years of DEI 1.0, Rackham provided a total of $992,043 for FA grants and $306,650 for SA grants to 113 Rackham and non-Rackham graduate programs.
Responsibility: Rackham Graduate School