University of Michigan Announces Initiatives to Combat Racism
The initiatives include hiring 20 new full-time faculty members with expertise in racial inequality and structural racism.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — On Tuesday, the University of Michigan released its plan to implement new anti-racism initiatives throughout the university.
Some of the initiatives include hiring 20 new full-time faculty members in the next three years with scholarly expertise in racial inequality and structural racism, expanding resources and infrastructure to support new and current UM scholars working in the area of anti-racism, strengthening faculty and staff professional development opportunities related to anti-racism, and re-evaluating race and ethnicity curriculum requirements across the university’s 19 schools and colleges, reports MLive.
“At (UM), we have a long history of offering programs and activities designed to advance our core values of diversity, equity and inclusion,” Provost Susan M. Collins wrote in a statement. “The initiatives we are adding will build on the extensive and ongoing work all across our campus.”
The school is also establishing the George Floyd Memorial Scholarship, which will give preference to middle school and high school students who have participated in Wolverine Pathways, a college-preparedness program that serves students who have shown commitment to improving their communities.
“This scholarship is one way we can enhance our university’s commitment to investing in student leaders,” said University President Mark Schlissel.
The university is also establishing a task force on policing and public safety on its Ann Arbor campus. According to a news release, the group will work to identify existing problems, determine areas of need and generate actionable recommendations. The group will examine the Division of Public Safety and Security to make recommendations on improving their operations, according to Michigan Daily.
“To be effective, this work must leverage and reflect perspectives from all stakeholders — undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, staff, parents, the Ann Arbor community and DPSS,” said Collins, who will choose members of the task force. “It must pay particular attention to the experiences and perspectives of our communities of color and others who are disproportionately impacted by challenging national policing policies and practices.”
An additional task force will be created to increase community input for the naming of campus buildings and spaces. Although the final naming decisions are made by the board of regents, the task force will be in charge of piloting a process that more effectively creates a diverse pool of possible names.
Furthermore, the University of Michigan Museum of Art has pledged to make their museum more inclusive to Black artists, the School for Environment and Sustainability has created teachings to acknowledge their anti-Black history, and the College of Engineering has proposed a new center for diversity, equity and inclusion within their own college.
“The passion and enthusiasm we’ve seen throughout the UM community as we move the university toward a brighter, more inclusive future is exciting,” Collins said. “There is more to be done but we know the impact of our work will contribute to a more equitable and just world.”
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About the Author
Amy Rock, Executive Editor
Amy is Campus Safety’s Executive Editor. Prior to joining the editorial team in 2017, she worked in both events and digital marketing.
Amy has many close relatives and friends who are teachers, motivating her to learn and share as much as she can about campus security. She has a minor in education and has worked with children in several capacities, further deepening her passion for keeping students safe.
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While I certainly appreciate education, I am concerned about the university’s language of hiring “scholarly experts”! I would prefer the university to hire “practical experts”. I believe that would be closer to reality.