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.