A Timeline of DEI @ UMSI
While DEI work at UMSI and the broader university have been ongoing long before the DEI 1.0 Strategic Plan, this timeline highlights the DEI 1.0 plan implementation by academic years.
Text Description of timeline
Timeline Overview: 2015 Planning Year, Planning for DEI 1.0; 2016 Year 1, UMSI DEI Strategic Plan Launched; 2017 Year 2, Translating Structure to Impact; 2018 Year 3, Cultivating an Inclusive Climate; 2019 Year 4, The Global Pandemic and Anti-racism Movement; 2020 Year 5, DEI Office Established; 2022 Planning Year, Planning for DEI 2.0; 2023 Year 1, Launching DEI 2.0
DEI 1.0 Planning Year | 2015 - 2016
A DEI strategic planning task force of faculty, students, and staff dedicates themselves to listening and talking with the UMSI Community, evaluating climate survey data and identifying needs and priorities. This intensive process lays the foundation for our first 5-year DEI Strategic Plan (DEI 1.0).
Year 1 | 2016 - 2017
UMSI DEI strategic plan launched - The plan started with over 20 action items across three focus areas: recruitment and retention, education and scholarship and cultivating an equitable and inclusive community. The overarching goal was to weave DEI into the fabric of everything we do.
Year 1 Highlights Click to expand
The plan is distributed through bulletin boards, emails, newsletters, and presentations. Meetings are held to ensure those with responsibility for each action item have a plan for moving forward.
The BSI undergraduate program begins accepting external transfer students, and the Community College Summer Institute is launched to increase awareness of and access to UMSI and the field of information science.
Year 2 | 2017 - 2018
Translating structure to impact - In Year 2, we focused on translating DEI goals into impactful DEI policies, initiatives, procedures, and practices.
Year 2 Highlights Click to expand
The GRE is removed from admissions criteria in the MSI (and later, is removed from the MHI and the PhD).
The crucial role of student leadership in furthering DEI strategy at UMSI is recognized with the creation of a .5 DEI graduate student staff position.
Community gatherings continue to provide forums for discussion, learning and support.
Year 3 | 2018 - 2019
Cultivating an inclusive climate - In Year 3, We engaged more deeply in understanding the social climate at UMSI, demonstrating our ongoing commitment to assess and understand our climate and the needs of all community members.
Year 3 Highlights Click to expand
A school climate survey is conducted, continuing a four-year schedule begun in 2011.
Focus groups explore the needs and concerns of Latinx and Hispanic students and international students.
Faculty, staff, and students engage in the first school-wide DEI strategic planning retreat, using design thinking methods to generate priorities and action plans.
Year 4 | 2019 - 2020
The pandemic and anti-racism - In Year 4, amidst a pandemic that started during winter term 2020, and global reckoning with racism, UMSI Black students and alumni invited UMSI leadership to sharpen our focus and set anti-racism as an institutional goal.
Year 4 Highlights Click to expand
Multiple meetings and discussions, prompted by student and alumni members of Black@SI, result in an expansion of the action items in the DEI Strategic plan with a focus on antiracism.
The Race & Tech Reading group launches, supported by faculty and students.
Student financial support is increased including need based aid, conference funding and access to emergency funding.
UMSI Faculty set up a fund for staff setting up home offices for remote work as the pandemic unfolded.
Online interest groups are created to foster faculty, staff and student connections.
Year 5 | 2020 - 2021
DEI office established - In Year 5, The DEI office was established and the DEI committee expanded to work towards embedding anti-racism in the UMSI curriculum. Significant strides were made in faculty diversity recruitment. Educational workshops to support our renewed anti-racism focus were organized.
Year 5 Highlights Click to expand
Dr. Whitney Peoples conducts a 3-part workshop on Developing an Anti-Racist Pedagogy.
UMSI receives the Rhetaugh G. Dumas Progress in Diversifying Faculty Award.
DEI 1.0 Evaluation Year | 2021 - 2022
While continuing our DEI efforts, we focused on gathering and reviewing data and reports to evaluate the progress we made in DEI 1.0. This involved reviewing climate survey reports, past DEI progress reports, focus group reports and demographic data. This website shares key results of our evaluation, including our collective progress and reflections as we prepare to build on DEI 1.0 with a new strategic plan, DEI 2.0.
DEI 2.0 Planning Year | 2022 - 2023
The UMSI DEI Committee, in collaboration with the DEI Office, is leading the development of UMSI’s DEI 2.0 strategic plan, holding listening sessions with faculty, staff, and students to gather input on strategic priorities and ideas for continuing and new actions.
DEI 2.0 Launch Year | 2023
The DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan will launch in Fall 2023.