This initiative—now completed—was active in the first three years of DEI 1.0.
DEI 1.0 Evaluation Update
In Year One of the strategic plan, the university established Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Innovation Grants as a dedicated DEI activity fund to encourage innovative ideas that promote, enhance and celebrate diversity, equity and inclusion campuswide. Under the terms of this three-year program, all students, faculty and staff were encouraged to submit proposals for individual grants of up to $10K. The proposals were then reviewed by teams of faculty, staff, students and DEI central office staff, with the objective of funding DEI-related ideas and projects with scalability potential for broader use.
The inaugural Request for Proposals took place in April of 2017. During the first two cycles, 149 applications were submitted for one-time grants. In the third and final year of the DEI Innovation Grant Program, teams of faculty, students and staff reviewed 134 applications—with 80 of those submitted by students. Ultimately, sixty-three proposals were selected for full or partial funding for a total of $282,000.
Responsibility: Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion