11-Step Anti-Racism Action Plan: Update and Plans

Originally published Aug. 4, 2021

It has been one year since the 11-step anti-racism action plan was advanced by members of the President’s Council. As promised initially, and reinforced in the November 2020 status report, expectations are high for accountability and progress on each of the 11 items. This update for each item provides a concise summary of work during the past year and plans for progress in the coming year. As expressed in November 2020, any UD community member interested in contributing to a particular area is encouraged to reach out to the named convener to discuss possible inclusion on the core team or in support of the overall effort. Comments and constructive criticism should also be provided directly to the convener. 

1. Faculty/staff learning and the role we each must play to advance diversity, equity, & inclusion at UD

Assistant Vice President Taylor Smith (convener); Vice Presidents Burnley, Fitz, & Washington; Provost Benson; University Inclusive Excellence Council

The path to becoming an anti-racist university requires faculty, staff, and administration who recognize that diversity is inextricably linked with the University’s excellence, and that inclusion and equity are cornerstones of our Catholic and Marianist values. We set the expectation of a purposeful, thoughtful, and appropriate engagement in professional development for all members of the UD community in the areas of intercultural competence and equity-mindedness. Work during the past year includes:

• Development of content highlighting the relationship between UD’s Catholic, Marianist identity and mission and our commitments to inclusive excellence and becoming an anti-racist institution.
• Identification of the following themes to be included in professional development modules:
  1. Catholic, Marianist identity and mission in relation to inclusive excellence and anti-racism.
  2. What is culture? What is intercultural competence? How does it relate to justice? Why is this important to UD?
  3. What is anti-racism?
  4. What is inclusive excellence?
  5. The connection among our Catholic & Marianist identity, inclusive excellence, and the goal of becoming an anti-racist institution.

Next steps:

• Online education modules will be developed and pilot-tested with select groups of UD employees by Dec. 31, 2021.
• Launch the education modules for all new employees by February 2022 and make them accessible to all employees by June 2022.
• Introduce a professional development and education expectation as part of annual goal setting and performance reviews, with much of this defined by, and integral to, the unit-based diversity strategic plans currently in development.
• Develop a method of tracking engagement and set expectations for annual reporting by department/unit/division leadership.
• Achieve 100% participation of new employees hired between January and July 2022.
• Complete all background work, including policy and shared governance consultation, so that all employees will participate in professional development and education in the following year (2022-23). 

2. Student learning through curricular and co-curricular vehicles 

While separated below, the curricular and co-curricular vehicles to advance learning on diversity, equity, and inclusion are ultimately part of an integrated approach driven by faculty and professional staff that can best prepare our students and graduates to succeed in a diverse world that increasingly requires intercultural knowledge and competencies. 

2a: Curricular

Academic Senate President Dorf (convener), College of Arts & Sciences Dean Pierce, Assistant Provost for Common Academic Program Pautz 

Student learning is at the heart of the university, and significant progress was made in 2020-21 on advancing anti-racism and inclusive excellence in the curriculum, including: 

• Approval by the Academic Senate (Resolution 2020-02) of “Commitment to Working Toward Anti-Racism.” Throughout the year, anti-racism and inclusive excellence informed the priorities and work of the senate, including the passage of DOC 2021-05 “Revisions to the University Promotion and Tenure Policy,” which will be voted on by the full-time faculty this fall.
• Creation of a one-page resource guide for faculty, “Ten Things Faculty Can Do to Advance Inclusive Excellence and Anti-Racism in the Classroom.” 
• Organized and hosted the Inclusive Pedagogy Workshops; more than 120 faculty participated this spring and 50 faculty and staff presented strategies for advancing inclusive excellence in the classroom.
• Engaged the Common Academic Program (CAP) Coordinators to provide greater synergy and scaffolding across CAP courses, including ways to better support faculty and students.

Next steps:

• Launch a Universitywide book read, Promoting Inclusive Classroom Dynamics in Higher Education: A Research-based Pedagogical Guide for Faculty (by Kathryn Oleson).
• The five-year academic senate review of CAP through the lens of inclusive excellence focusing a deep assessment on the Diversity & Social Justice, Capstone, and Humanities Commons components. 
• While curricular and hiring initiatives are occurring in each school, because all students take multiple courses in the College of Arts & Sciences, special note is made of the following planned developments:
  • As further described in Item #5 below, the College is piloting a faculty cluster hiring initiative among English, Global Languages and Cultures, History, Philosophy and Religious Studies to strengthen curricula in Race and Ethnic Studies, Africana Studies, Latinx Studies, and Middle Eastern Studies.
  • Workshops are being conducted during summer 2021 on hiring strategies to attract a diverse candidate pool.
  • Workshops are being conducted during summer 2021 on mentoring and retention strategies for faculty hired as part of this cluster initiative.
• Efforts will continue to provide greater synergy with partners across campus who seek to advance anti-racism in the classroom (e.g., Senate, CAP, Learning Teaching Center, Diversity Institutional Learning Goal, University Inclusive Excellence Council and its Curricular & Co-Curricular Education subcommittee).

As the faculty are responsible for the curriculum, meaningful systematic changes take time, resources, consultation, introspection, and collaboration, but as reflected in the work done during the past year and planned for the coming year, progress is indeed occurring. 

2b: Co-Curricular

Dean of Students Schramm (convener), Associate Dean of Students and MEC Executive Director Allen, Associate Provost for Global and Intercultural Affairs Anderson, Vice President Fitz, and Campus Ministry Executive Director Sullivan 

Since the establishment of the UDiversity Community Education Module in 2017, more than 10,000 UD students and campus stakeholders have completed the module, allowing for ongoing co-curricular engagement through evaluation, programming, and peer education.   

Next steps:

Updates to the module and related programming in the coming year will include a new learning cycle to help develop consistency and assist students in knowledge retention. The goal is to align with the dimensions of the Diversity and Social Justice Institutional Learning Goal continuum. The impact of UDiversity is evident in the successful completion of its participants, the involvement of undergraduate students in voluntary continuing education such as UDiversity chats, and student-demonstrated retention of module terms and concepts.

3. Continue building capacity for leadership in diversity, equity, & inclusion

College of Arts & Sciences Dean Pierce (convener), Associate Provost for Global and Intercultural Affairs Anderson, Vice Presidents Burnley & Fitz, Campus Ministry Executive Director Sullivan, Provost Benson 

This action step focuses on building dialogic capacity within the academic community, especially through two initiatives: Courageous Conversations and the Dialogue Zone.  

Members of the president’s cabinet continued to participate in capacity-building Courageous Conversations meetings during the 2020-21 academic year, which included guided readings, case studies drawn from current campus events, and the sharing of personal narratives on race and other forms of social difference. Expanding to a larger leadership group, the 34-member president’s council participated in introductory Courageous Conversations workshops in March and June, in preparation for the formal launch of Courageous Conversations small group meetings among President’s Council members starting in Summer 2021 and continuing through the 21-22 academic year. 

The early success of the Dialogue Zone (DZ) was tested by the pandemic, but programming took place virtually during the 2020-21 academic year. Eight programs were held specifically on race and antiracism with participants from across the UD campus community. The DZ wrapped up the year with an event on May 14, 2021, entitled, “A Year of Anti-Racist Efforts: Becoming a University Committed to ‘Good Trouble’." The DZ also launched its first mini-course, a step towards building a cadre of student facilitators. 

Next steps:

The DZ coordination group is currently working on antiracism programming for the 21-22 academic year. The Dialogue Zone Steering Committee prepared a staffing and budgeting proposal to support the growth and long-term sustainability of the DZ, in addition to an intermediate funding plan for the 21-22 academic year. This intermediate plan provides additional resources for DZ staff and faculty time, support for a graduate assistant and undergraduate student staff, and funding for expanded programming. With university-wide DEI strategic planning underway, further consideration will be given to ways in which dialogue and DZ programming might align across DEI efforts. Attention also will be paid next academic year to longer-term solutions to DZ staffing, resourcing, and organizational questions.

4. Strengthen efforts to diversify the student body

The University is carefully reviewing the June 2023 SCOTUS decision on affirmative action and how this might impact this section of our anti-racist plan. Updates will be provided as necessary.

4a: Undergraduate Student Body

Vice President Reinoehl (convener) 

The Division of Enrollment Management (EM) is central to the achievement of a more socioeconomically and racially diverse undergraduate student body. A cornerstone of this effort is to ensure that the division maintains an organizational culture of inclusive excellence that each staff member embraces and demonstrates. A range of individual and group initiatives are regularly employed to best prepare the staff to identify, recruit, and support the enrollment of a diverse student body, including regular diversity, equity, and inclusion education, anti-bias and anti-racist education, and regular discussion forums for active reflection on progress toward meeting our strategic diversity and inclusion objectives. Key performance indicators for diversity and equity are tracked in each department, including at each point along the admissions process and for each of the division’s operational and service functions. 

In 2020-21, the division achieved each of its goals related to DE&I, including important advancements in divisionwide and individual training and education and achieving its targeted key performance indicators related to recruitment, admission, and enrollment. As of this writing, the fall 2021 entering class is projected to include approximately 20% Pell-eligible students and 19% students of color. 

Next steps:

• Execute the first-year of enrollment management’s unit-level strategic plan for diversity, equity, and inclusion, advancing practices to support strategic pillars, including 1) building analytic infrastructure to assess and monitor key measures of equity from recruitment to graduation, and adapting staff development processes as they relate to 2) hiring and onboarding, 3) career advancement, and 4) professional development. 
• Achieve at least 24% of our fall 2022 admitted first-year, first-time undergraduate student pool from underrepresented racial/ethnic populations.
• Establish and meet the fall 2022 racial/ethnic and socioeconomic diversity targets within the first-year class, including enrolling our sixth cohort of at least 40 new Flyer Promise Scholars.
• Advance our new channel strategies, further developing transfer credit review practices and engagement platforms, growing the UD Sinclair Academy, and publicly launching a new partnership with Columbus State Community College. EM will also embark on its veterans and military-affiliated recruitment strategy, which will further enhance the socioeconomic and racial diversity of the student body. 

4b: Graduate Student Body

Associate Provost for Graduate Academic Affairs Phil Anloague (convener) and School/College Deans 

During the past year, Graduate Academic Affairs (GAA) has conducted a visioning and strategic planning session with the focused goal of advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in graduate studies at UD. Education of GAA staff has also been initiated with attendance and participation in seminars related to DEI, Unconscious Bias, and Understanding and Reducing Implicit Bias in Higher Education. Efforts with academic units and key graduate programs have led to revisiting and in many cases eliminating standardized exams, such as the GRE that have been shown to be both biased and poor predictors of success. An ongoing collaboration between GAA, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and the deans council is a diversity recruitment and pipeline development strategy that supports the participation of graduate students from underrepresented and underserved populations in the Institute on Teaching and Mentoring. Other practices, policies, and procedures that can impact DEI are currently being reviewed and studied including: application processes, marketing, website content, etc. In coordination with the SRERS Committee (Student Recruitment, Enrollment, Retention, and Success), a survey has been conducted to identify special programs that can help UD achieve greater racial/ethnic and socioeconomic diversity. Likewise, a survey of articulation, MOU, and bridge programs is underway. 

The associate provost also led an effort to understand and strategize the development of additional accessible pathways to graduate study for students from diverse populations. This began with a series of consultations with national experts. One early effort is centered on micro credentials, which have been identified as a valid and valuable offering that can lead to increased accessibility to academic and professional education for diverse populations. GAA is sponsoring a research project with the Institute of Applied Creativity for Transformation (IACT) and funding from the Lumina Foundation entitled, “Evaluation of 21st Century Digital Badges and Micro-credentials,” which aims to 1) study the value and utility of mobility skills digital credentials, and 2) study employer awareness and acceptance of mobility skills digital credentials, particularly for underserved learners. Another effort is focused on working with the schools and College of Arts and Sciences to develop alternative paths to some traditional graduate degree programs. One example is an initiative aimed at recruiting graduates of the Emerging Leader Program into the MBA program. Finally, because the online graduate programs powered by 2U have continued to recruit a graduate student population that is more diverse than residential programs, additional program opportunities continue to be explored including nursing, physical therapy, and counselor education.    

Next steps:

During the 2021-22 year, these pipeline-building efforts will continue, and the associate provost will work with the deans to identify specific diversity metrics that will enable the tracking of progress across UD’s graduate programs, just as is done at the undergraduate level.

5. Faculty, staff, administrator diversification

Vice Presidents Washington (convener) & Burnley, Associate Provost Roecker Phelps

The key deliverable for this action item during the 2020-21 academic year was the development and filling of a new staff position that will enable the University to be proactive and successful in building more diverse pools for faculty, staff, and administrative searches and to help support key hiring initiatives that will diversify our academic and non-academic units. In May 2021, Angeline Washington joined the University and the Office of Human Resources as the associate director of workforce development, a new position chiefly responsible for the development and implementation of strategies designed to increase diversity and equity among faculty, staff, and administrators, positioning the university as an employer of choice. While located within Human Resources, the associate director’s efforts will be strengthened through coordination with and support from both the vice president for diversity and inclusion and the associate provost for faculty and administrative affairs.  

Next steps:

While becoming acclimated with the university’s recently updated hiring and advancement policies, protocols, and practices, Associate Director Washington has quickly become a contributing participant in both faculty and staff pre-search meetings and is actively working to support the development and implementation of strategies to aggressively increase diversity and equity among faculty, staff, and administrators. A new “cluster hiring” initiative to bring greater diversity to the faculty is being piloted in the coming year. The College of Arts and Sciences will be conducting a number of hires clustered around expertise in three areas -- Africana, Latinx, and Middle Eastern studies. Utilizing nine faculty positions across the Humanities division that have been vacated by retirement or resignation, three hires will be pursued in each of the three areas. Applicant pools for positions that focus on the study of underrepresented groups are more likely to be diverse. We anticipate that, in addition to strengthening our curriculum in these areas, we will bring more diversity to our humanities faculty.  

The key performance indicator for 2021-22 and beyond will be the diversity among new staff and faculty hires, and this will be reported routinely in the future. 

6. Continue to build a climate of safety

Vice President Fischer (convener), Chief Kidd, Vice President Recker

Public Safety engaged in planful, intentional training and initiatives both to continue development as an unbiased, impartial police force and to build meaningful, supportive relationships with the campus community, understanding that special efforts are necessary with under-represented students. Progress continued in three specific areas as outlined below.

6.1 Continue best practices training for public safety officers to ensure fair and impartial policing

a) Achieve Ohio Collaborative—Law Enforcement Certification

• In June 2021, Public Safety was certified to have met the Ohio Collaborative Agency Certification Group 1 Standard: “Practices and policies are evaluated to ensure that all members of the University feel welcomed, valued, and safe.”

Next steps:

• Public Safety will work toward achieving Group Standards 2, 3, and 4 by June 2022, focused on community engagement, body-worn cameras, and telecommunication; bias-free policing and investigating employee misconduct; and law enforcement vehicular pursuit.
• Certification will be maintained, with review and recertification every four years.

b) Certification of individual Public Safety Officers

• Train officers in the Certified Campus Protection Officer Course offered by the National Association of Campus Safety Administrators, including sessions on mindset in policing, tactical communication, policing the bridge between cultures, and diversity. All Public Safety employees will complete online training via UD Human Resources to develop intercultural competence and contribute to a welcoming and safe work environment.
• 22 Public Safety officers completed all 13 sections of the Certified Campus Protection Officer Course and achieved certification by December 2020.

Next steps:

• All Public Safety officers will complete this training by spring 2022.

6.2 Talk openly with communities of color at UD, including Black and Latinx, about their experiences with police.

• Five engagement meetings with student leaders were facilitated via Zoom during 2020-21 by Community Engagement officers and MEC staff to discuss community concerns and experiences with police. 
• 24 meetings and events were held between MEC and Public Safety during 2020-21, including leadership and joint staff meetings, MEC/PS partnership planning meetings, student leadership engagement, cultural heritage programs, and MEC community events.

Next steps:

During 2021-22, Public Safety will continue working with MEC to facilitate training, open discussions, and educational opportunities to strengthen relationships between Public Safety and under-represented populations. Specific initiatives in the coming year will include:

• Workshops on diversity and inclusion for Public Safety officers
• Ongoing joint programming hosted by MEC and Public Safety to educate students and strengthen relationships with underrepresented populations
• Bi-weekly meetings between the executive directors of Public Safety and MEC
• Monthly meetings among Community Engagement officers, MEC staff, and student leaders to discuss community concerns that arise regarding experiences with police
• Participation by Public Safety in MEC organized events (cultural heritage programs, community events, student recognition programs)

6.3 Build productive and respectful relationships with the campus community.

• Public Safety will continue to interact with the campus community to create an intentional environment for all to share identity-based experiences and affirm one another in an effort to help ensure that Public Safety officers are seen as a resource for the University community.
• Public Safety received positive feedback during 2020-21 on intentional efforts to build relationships with the campus community, such as welcoming students and families to campus, virtual presentations for New Student Orientation, “Get to Know Public Safety” and “Chats with Chief” opportunities, and more. These efforts will continue through 2021-22.

In addition to these Public Safety efforts, the Institutional Bias Response Advisory Committee (IBRAC) was formed in fall 2020. IBRAC is charged with monitoring bias-related incidents and trends that occur on campus or in society and making recommendations on any institution-level response or initiative, especially regarding broader implications. 

7. Deploy marketing & communication assets to support diversity, equity, & inclusion

Vice President Wilson (convener) 

The Division of Marketing & Communications (MarComm) made the elevation of voices from underrepresented populations a central part of its just-completed Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion strategic plan, and execution on this priority began in earnest in 2020-21. Top accomplishments include:

• Creation of the DEI dashboard. The dashboard shows resources, specific stories, and the impact our promotion of those stories had on our external audiences. Within the dashboard, there are links that go into deeper detail on the different initiatives and stories. There is also a specific progress report within the dashboard on the status of work toward this anti-racist plan goal. 
• Numerous DEI stories and activities were promoted as seen on the dashboard.
• Creation and promotion of a four-part anti-racist video series. These videos were created as educational tools to address the questions we received when we launched the anti-racist action plan. Development of best practices resources as noted on the dashboard and located on the University Marketing and Communications website. 
• The third-party diversity audit findings and recommendations from 2019-20, as well as best practices, have been shared with the MarComm Collaborative, a group of all communication employees across campus. 

Next steps: 

Continue to build on all the initiatives above with new stories that will be reflected on the dashboard. As things progress back to a more normal campus life, we anticipate this year to have more opportunities to be able to promote and will continue to build video and photographic assets for community use. 

8. Strengthen connections with Black and other alumni of color

Vice President Howe (convener) and President Spina 

The central objective of this action item continues to be the enhanced connectivity of Black and other alumni of color to UD for shared benefit among current students, the University, and the alumni themselves. The focus during the past year has been to ensure that Black alumni, Black parents, and Black friends of UD are a stronger presence in the larger engagement (volunteer leadership), participation (consistent support, attendance at key events, sharing of one’s story, engagement with students), and philanthropy activities that UD pursues. The same is true for other alumni, parents, and friends of color. While there is a long way to go, there has been some notable progress during the past year that will extend into the 2021-22 academic year:

• Hosting of Black Alumni Affinity Group (BAAG) “town hall meetings” in fall 2020 and spring 2021 to expand our outreach among the UD black alumni community.

• Partnering with BAAG to plan and begin marketing Black Alumni Weekend for fall 2021.

• Working with colleagues in MEC to identify Black alumni volunteers who will engage with current students and participate in programming.

• Coordinating with UD Marketing & Communications to bring additional Black alumni stories to the forefront. 

• Elevating the recruitment of Black and other alumni of color for key volunteer leadership structures including the alumni association board, alumni communities, advisory councils, parents’ leadership council, Flyer Champions (student recruitment partners), the board of trustees, and more. In particular, Advancement is focusing its research assets on the identification of a much richer pipeline of future volunteer leaders and supporters and engaging the board’s committee on trustees to help recruit the most promising prospects.

Next steps:

One of the key performance indicators for this action item is the percentage of individuals of color on our three cornerstone volunteer leadership groups: the board of trustees (currently 22%), the alumni association board (36%), and the combined set of academic advisory councils (12%). While there has been growth in each recently, there are clear gaps that need to be addressed in the coming years.  Success in enhancing the connectivity of Black alumni and other graduates of color also is intended to impact a number of additional objectives in the overall action plan:  

• strengthening outreach efforts to diversify the student body; 
• identifying and attracting more individuals of color for future UD employment opportunities; 
• competing for and promoting new UD business opportunities that can expand our supplier diversity; 
• serving in an advisory capacity as we develop key messaging intended to advance the University; and
• supporting the mutually beneficial relationship between UD and the Dayton Black community.

The active participation of Black and other alumni of color in the life of the University also will ensure that we do not become too insular in how we move forward with our larger DEI related work. 

9. Make marginalized histories visible

Vice Presidents Wilson (convener), Krysiak, & Burnley; Dean Webb 

Although COVID-19 has prevented the University from proceeding with campus construction projects, progress was still made on a number of key projects that had been in the pipeline including the following:

• Naming of the new computer science building as Jessie H. Hathcock Hall in honor of the first Black woman graduate from the University of Dayton and a renowned local educator and civic leader. A formal dedication with the Hathcock family is planned for the fall. Artists of color from the community have been commissioned to provide some of the artwork for the building.
• Groundbreaking for the monuments that recognize the National Pan-Hellenic Council Greek organizations is occurring this summer. The formal dedication ceremony will take place in conjunction with Black Alumni Weekend in September. 
• A draft of the indigenous land acknowledgment has been developed, and consultation with key governing bodies has begun.
• The official University timeline that celebrates all aspects of University history was designed for display on the second floor of St. Mary Hall. While the implementation of the project has been on hold due to the budget constraints of COVID-19, the information was used to create an online interactive timeline and a reputation digital campaign was launched. As the budget permits, the plan is to proceed with the branding of this space.

Next steps:

Now that construction projects will begin again, the accountable leaders will work to finalize a working body to explore future opportunities. Upcoming projects for consideration include areas in Chaminade Hall and areas in the Performing Arts Center, if and when these projects receive board approval. 

10. Work with the Dayton Black community

Vice President Burnley (convener), Provost Benson, Executive Director of Campus Ministry Sullivan, Director of the Crotty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership Lewis, Interim Executive Director of the Fitz Center for Leadership in Community Pair, Manager of the Greater West Dayton Incubator Karlos Marshall

Beyond the many faculty- and staff-driven engagements with the Dayton Black community, UD leadership just completed the fourth year of an ongoing, quarterly dialogue with community leaders from Greater West Dayton, the UD-Greater West Dayton Conversation (UD-GWDC). The primary focus of the group this year was the development of a trusted “structural governance” model that would enable the identification and advancement of mutually beneficial projects. The UD-GWDC Steering Committee met monthly through the pandemic, with membership consisting of community members (Janice Allen, Branford Brown, KeAnna Daniels, Erica Fields, David Greer, Tasha Millerton, Fr. Benjamin Spear-Hardy, and Adrian Taylor) and UD leaders (Larry Burnley, Prof. Martha Hurley, and Sara Harrison). 

Next steps:

The steering committee developed a specific proposal that outlines a framework and protocol that will generate future collaborations between UD and Greater West Dayton. The proposal was presented to the full UD-GWDC group, which provided helpful feedback, and the revised proposal is expected to be approved in late August. The specific next project to be lifted up in the UD-GWD Conversation is likely to be related to workforce development and employment at UD. 

The first “launched” UD-GWDC project, the Greater West Dayton Incubator (GWDI) is now one-year old, and is making excellent progress in developing strategic partnerships and building infrastructure that will position it for sustainability and measurable impact within the Greater West Dayton ecosystem. Updates on the GWDI’s progress can be accessed in this GWDI Executive Summary Update.

11. Expand UD's utilization of local minority and women-owned businesses

Executive Director Harrison (convener), Associate VP Madden, Executive VP Horner, VP Burnley

Work in this area during the past year focused on creating a sustainable foundation to maximize the long-term success of our supplier diversity program. The effort started with understanding our current utilization of local, minority, and women-owned businesses; identifying opportunities for growth; and educating campus partners about the value of supplier diversity. Creating an informed campus culture began with senior leaders supporting the integration of supplier diversity into sourcing decisions and prioritizing advanced planning for sourcing. With the support of senior leaders who are members of our newly established procurement advisory council, a small, minority, and women-owned business enterprise (SMWBE) commitment was established to grow our spend to 20% for minority and/or woman-owned business enterprises (MWBE) and a minimum of 25% for small business enterprises (SBE) over five years. There will continue to be an emphasis on local supplier partners. 

In March 2021, Procurement & Payable Services offered a newly developed course through the Inclusive Excellence Academy named, “The Case for Supplier Diversity: Revamping Opportunity in America.” In a collaborative effort with supplier diversity experts across the state of Ohio, the University created this training course specifically designed for non-procurement professionals based on a university campus, benchmarked our results and new goals, renewed our scorecard, and developed our first “Procurement for the Common Good Year in Review” showcase to be posted on our website in August 2021.  

Next steps:

In the coming academic year, the procurement advisory council will review all major University sourcing opportunities that could boost supplier diversity, and executive sponsors will be assigned to each project. The partnership will continue with the Inclusive Excellence Academy to offer training opportunities for campus buyers. Finally, in August 2022, we look forward to showcasing progress toward the SMWBE goals in the "Procurement for the Common Good Year in Review."