UMS Community Members,
Over the last several weeks, unspeakable violence and hate crimes against Asian Americans have shook our conscience, leaving us once again struggling with feelings of shock and revulsion that are, sadly, all too familiar. At present, news of the ongoing criminal trial of the police officer responsible for George Floyd’s nonsensical death last year fills our media on a daily basis. It seems our society too often struggles to overcome the vestiges of ignorance, injustice and inequity based not only on race, but also other unique and intersecting areas of diversity, including other marginalized groups. We must work tirelessly every day to change this. We should not and cannot accept anything that interferes with our work together to improve the personal experiences of every unique member of our community every day and highlight the benefits of diversity, equity and inclusion for us all.
In my Imperative for Change message to you last June, I made crystal clear the University of Maine System’s condemnation of all acts of such ill character. I committed that UMS would examine, confront, and end inequities wherever we find them in our communities. I asked for reviews of our practices within Academic Affairs and Human Resources to ensure that our employment, instruction, assessment, and student support practices are free from any implicit or structural bias. That work is ongoing, both System-wide and within our universities.
We should take pride in the engagement and leadership of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion councils reporting to the presidents of our universities. I am pleased to see important momentum occurring through their collective focus. Examples of their work and work coordinated at the System level include:
- Changes to our student admissions applications and testing requirements to address cultural inequities
- Enhancements to our employee search and onboarding processes
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System-wide implementation of the Great Colleges to Work ForTM employee survey with a broadened focus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). Planned further implementation of a student and employee DEI Climate Survey (with a pilot this year and plans for a broader rollout next year)
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A commitment that DEI principles will be embedded in all of the work undertaken as part of the $240 million Harold Alfond Foundation-funded initiatives that make up the UMS TRANSFORMS project. A DEI summit is planned later this month for this purpose
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A Maine Law webinar just last week titled Racial Injustice: Using Racial Impact Statements to Inform Change
In a large and complex organization like the University of Maine System, where responsibility and accountability for our DEI efforts lies at both the university and System level, the right working model for change is as important as our imperative for change. DEI practitioners from across UMS highlighted this in their collaborative presentation to the UMS Board of Trustees on January 25, 2021. Emphasizing the meaningful work already underway, the presenting group of presidents, provosts, students, faculty, staff and university DEI Council members highlighted that a central Steering Committee can help to make sure that resources and best practices are not only shared but leveraged for the greatest possible impact at each university and across the System as a whole. With that in mind, at their March 22 meeting, the Board of Trustees unanimously charged me to establish the University of Maine System DEI Steering Committee. It’s a charge I welcome whole-heartedly.
The UMS DEI Steering Committee will be an interdisciplinary team of university and System-based leaders charged with mapping out UMS’s path to inclusive excellence, opportunity, and justice. The Committee will provide a structure for change that rises to the imperative and is accountable for real progress. The Committee will build on and broaden the work that we must do as public educators to address injustice, build stronger, more welcoming communities, and provide equity and opportunity to those who face obstacles because of their diversity and marginalization.
The work of the Committee begins immediately. Before the end of this academic year, we will adopt a charter and membership for the Steering Committee that includes students, faculty, and staff from each of our universities. The Committee will also include leaders from our shared service functions to ensure that Finance, HR, IT, and the many other operations that support our work share the same commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusive excellence that we expect in our teaching, research, and public service. The Steering Committee will establish objectives and key results, outline resource needs, and develop a timeline for deliverables along our Imperative for Change journey to bring new hope, understanding, and opportunity to our communities.
In our daily work, we count every student enrolled and every credit hour taken. We track every dollar earned and spent. Through the pandemic, we’ve reported daily updates on every asymptomatic COVID-19 test taken, calculating positivity rates and prevalence rates to inform our decision-making. There’s no disputing that the data we glean from all of this work is crucial to successfully managing our universities and best serving our students and the State.
We should strive to measure and track the diversity, equity, inclusiveness, anti-oppression, and social justice of our university communities with the same detail. I’m therefore calling on our DEI Steering Committee to develop appropriate metrics and objectives to track the progress of our DEI work. Maintaining the status quo is not enough. Nothing less than measurable, meaningful progress must be our goal, and the goal to which we will all hold ourselves accountable.
Let’s lean into this work together to ensure inclusion and opportunity for all. We have no more urgent task.
Sincerely,
