The Michigan Ross DEI Plan of Action.

Our Vision

The Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in all that we do. The values of DEI enrich the learning process, lead to greater innovation, and help achieve our mission to build a better world through business. We are committed to fighting discrimination, racism, bias, prejudice, and all forms of oppression. Together as faculty, staff, students, alumni, and business partners, we can work collaboratively to promote equity and justice and continue to create an inclusive community.

Our Plan of Action

We maintain an unwavering commitment to act on our vision for a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive community. 

In June 2020, Michigan Ross established a plan in response to the Black Business Student Association’s Statement on Racist Violence in America and a Call to Action

We have continued to carry out and expand upon this important work, and today organize our efforts around our current Michigan Ross DEI Plan of Action. 

Our DEI Plan of Action is grounded in the constructs of equity and justice to enhance the experiences of our students, staff, and faculty and their impact on our greater community. By focusing on equity and justice, we commit to cultivating a culture of belongingness that ensures every member of the Michigan Ross community can thrive. We aim to continuously improve our DEI efforts to integrate equity and inclusion into the fabric of our school. The outcome of these efforts will be transparently reported to our community on an annual basis.

Strategic Objectives

We seek to scale our efforts by focusing on three strategic objectives. 

 

1. Cultivating Authentic Belongingness

We will promote practices and build a culture that allows for individuals and groups to feel a sense of belonging. This is accomplished by centering and valuing the voices and lived experiences of all those in our community, especially individuals with minoritized identities.  

 

2. Promoting Excellence in DEI Scholarship and Education

We will promote initiatives and make investments that build knowledge capacity in DEI with a focus on excellence in scholarship and education.

 

3. Increasing Representation of Historically Minoritized Faculty, Staff, and Students

We will introduce and support programs and procedures aimed at recruiting, retaining, and supporting a diverse community.

Action Items

We continue to support and advance our strategic objectives through our policies and procedures, organizational structure, and curriculum and research. 

 

1. Cultivating Authentic Belongingness

Policies and Procedures
  • Develop processes for bias incidents
  • Create a space that fosters connection among affinity groups at Ross
  • Collect and analyze DEI metrics to track progress
  • Review and refine recruitment and retention practices/policies
  • Expand links and partnerships with underrepresented groups- and women-owned  businesses
  • Develop inclusive recruiting guidelines for student organizations, clubs, funds, and more
Organizational Structure
  • Provide ongoing support to our student, faculty, and staff DEI committees
  • Develop formal connections to support student organizations and their equity-based practices 
  • Further training and development to promote inclusion and belongingness
Curriculum and Research
  • Revise and embed DEI courses/content in programs
  • Align curriculum and DEI initiatives/programming

 

2. Promoting Excellence in DEI Scholarship and Education

Policies and Procedures
  • Develop processes for bias incidents
  • Collect and analyze DEI metrics to track progress
Organizational Structure
  • Build greater connections between affinity groups and school administration
  • Provide training and support for inclusive and equity-focused teaching
  • Develop a learning community model
Curriculum and Research
  • Develop metrics to assess progress on inclusive and equity-focused teaching
  • Revise and embed DEI courses/content in programs
  • Align curriculum and DEI initiatives/programming
  • Develop a DEI curricular and co-curricular framework
    • Promote DEI research and formalize incentives for DEI-based research

 

3. Increasing Representation of
Historically-Minoritized Faculty, Staff, and Students

Policies and Procedures
  • Review and refine recruitment and retention practices/policies
  • Expand links and partnerships with URG- and women-owned businesses
  • Develop inclusive recruiting guidelines for student organizations, clubs, funds, and more
Organizational Structure
  • Provide ongoing support to our student, faculty, and staff DEI committees
  • Build greater connections between affinity groups and school administration
  • Develop formal connections to support student organizations and their equity-based practices
  • Further training and development to promote inclusion and belongingness