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A group of students, faculty and staff members who will lead the implementation of the Inclusion, Diversity and Excellence in Academics Plan recently met with university leaders to discuss the next steps they will take to help build a more diverse, equitable and inclusive campus community.

I want all of our communities on campus, and our BIPOC communities in particular, to feel shared ownership over our progress.

Now that the semester is officially underway, it’s a good time to recap what the campus has done to date and provide the campus with another update.

A strategic advisory group of student leaders, faculty and staff representing all university units will convene for the first time to begin the historic work of implementing the IDEA Plan, a campus blueprint for building a more diverse and inclusive ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ.

As ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ faculty adapt to the ongoing challenges of teaching in the COVID-19 era, they can take heart that they are not alone. ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ Center for Teaching & Learning is taking center stage as a teaching partner, offering an array of resources.

Since the chancellor issued his charge earlier this summer, ODECE and its many campus partners have been collaborating on multiple fronts. I’d like to share an update on our progress to achieve the eight immediate actions for change.

Chancellor DiStefano has asked Vice Chancellor Bob Boswell to lead the implementation of the eight immediate actions announced on June 18 to improve anti-racism, diversity, inclusion and equity efforts on campus.

Chancellor Philip DiStefano announced the immediate actions for change he and his administration will take to transform the ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ experience for Black students, faculty and staff; for all students, faculty and staff of color; and for other marginalized individuals and groups.

Physicist Patricia Rankin was an advisor on a new report from the National Academy of Sciences that lays out why women leave science fields—and what institutions can do to reverse that loss.

The campus is continuing to engage in year three of Academic Futures—implementing the strategic initiatives’ themes and projects and transforming them into the campus’s work priorities.