Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council, 2018 Annual Report
The Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council (DIAC) was created in 2017 and is comprised
of 18 members
appointed by the Provost representing various campus constituencies. For more information
about the Council
and associated documents, visit https://www.montana.edu/provost/diversity_inclusion_advisory_council.html.
The Council met monthly throughout the year to identify and address priorities outlined
in the Diversity and
Inclusion Framework. Primary areas of progress include:
− Creating an executive administrator position with university-wide influence to provide
leadership
around diversity and inclusion at MSU
In May 2018, President Waded Cruzado and Executive Vice President and Provost Robert
Mokwa
announced the launch of a national search for MSU’s first Senior Diversity and Inclusion
Officer. Greenwood/Asher and Associates, a higher education search consulting company,
is
assisting with the search. The vacancy announcement has been posted at
https://www.montana.edu/provost/senior-diversity-officer-vacancy.html. Finalists for
this position
will be invited to visit MSU after the start of fall term, and we anticipate the new
Senior Diversity
and Inclusion Officer will start no later than Jan. 1, 2019.
− Conducting a campus climate survey
The Council selected the Diverse Learning Environments tool by the Higher Education
Research
Institute (HERI) at UCLA for our campus climate survey. The survey was sent electronically
to a
random sample of MSU students and staff on March 28th. The faculty survey was sent
electronically
on April 4th. All surveys closed on April 25th, 2018 with a 20.9% response rate (n=1,043).
Response
rates by group were: staff 41.0% (n=199), faculty 34.5% (n=167), students 17.5% (n=677).
We will
receive reports and raw data from HERI by the end of summer 2018 and the Council will
then begin
disseminating results and findings to constituents.
− Communicating MSU’s commitment to and services supporting the diversity mission
to students,
faculty, staff, and external community
The Council established a communications work group that has been focused on creating
a
“diversity and inclusion landing page” for university-wide efforts and messaging and
developing a
communications plan for diversity and inclusion. We hope to have a live landing page
by October
2018 that can be used as a resource for on- and off-campus constituents.
− Providing input into the university strategic planning process
Tami Eitle is a member of the DIAC and the Strategic Planning Committee and she has
acted as a
liaison between the two efforts, leading discussion at DIAC meetings and communicating
the
Council’s perspectives to the SPC regarding diversity and inclusion goals in MSU’s
next strategic plan.
− AY 18-19 Activities
Building on the work completed this year, priorities for AY 18-19 include analyzing
and
disseminating results of the 2018 campus climate survey and identifying subsequent
priorities based
on the findings from the survey.