Diversity Strategic Plan

Representation | Repetition | Reputation

The Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion has launched the first-ever diversity strategic planning process for the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB).

UMB’s first launched in November 2023. Development of the plan included engagement of our UMB community around Theme 3 of the UMB Strategic Plan, University Culture, Engagement, and Belonging, to “create a sustainable, equitable, and inclusive culture of care that collaboratively engages and embraces all members of the University community, and the broader community, with respect and in a manner that fosters belonging, understanding, trust, and equity.”

Recruitment and Retention | Experience and Climate | Professional Development and Career Advancement | Scholarship, Education, and Service

Executive Summary

The purpose of the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s (UMB) inaugural diversity strategic plan, “Weaving University REPS: Diversity Action and Accountability Plan,” is to create a structure to advance equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), and to guide the University as we take collective action to grow together in greater alignment with UMB’s mission “to improve the human condition and serve the public good of Maryland and society at-large through education, research, clinical care, and service” and in the advancement of our core values.

Letter from the President

President Bruce E. Jarrell

Letter From the Chief EDI Officer

Diane Forbes-Berthoud

Recruitment and Retention

Colored straw weave

Goal: UMB actively recruits, retains, supports, and advances diverse students, faculty, and staff, demonstrating a commitment to our core values set of Equity and Justice.

Diverse recruitment and retention are a priority at UMB, ensuring that we attract, recruit, and retain talented and diverse students, faculty, staff, students and trainees. The success of UMB’s recruitment and retention efforts can be measured by the increased representation of diverse groups at all levels, employees’ and students’ feelings of belonging, and increased opportunities for engagement, development, and success.

Experience and Culture

Colored cotton weaving

Goal: UMB promotes and advances a welcoming and inclusive culture of care.

Climate refers to people’s perception or feeling about the organizational culture — norms, values, practices, and processes. Climate and experience can be affected by many factors and can be improved by consistent and transparent efforts.

Professional Development and Career Advancement

Swirled colored cloth

Goal: UMB supports and advances diverse students, faculty, and staff by promoting and providing professional and educational programs and initiatives that build capacity, equity, and respect.

Investing in the people of UMB is the core of the “Weaving University REPS: Diversity Action and Accountability Plan,” and this aligns with Theme 3’s commitment to develop our people, build capacity, and ensure success for our employees and students.

 

Scholarship, Service,and Education

Colored woven rope

Goal: UMB promotes and integrates equity, diversity, and inclusion in teaching, learning, scholarship, and service.

Moving forward, UMB will be an institution known for the full integration of equity, diversity, and inclusion throughout the research, scholarship, teaching, and service its members provide.

 

We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value.”

― Maya Angelou, Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now (1993): 124.

Process

boxes of colored wool

The foundation for “Weaving University REPS: Diversity Action and Accountability Plan” was laid with the formation of the Diversity Strategic Plan Committee in fall 2022. The committee was charged with informing the development of UMB’s first diversity strategic plan, which will serve as a road map and framework to activate and advance diversity, equity, and inclusion at UMB.

Existing EDI Work

Vice President Forbes Berthoud speaking to an audience

The warp and the weft of this plan are composed of the critical work of the central UMB Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (OEDI), that of the diversity leads and offices in each school and the major units of Student Affairs and Administration & Finance, and the work of the Diversity Advisory Council.

Key Themes - REPS

Group of all the woven materials

The key themes that have been developed through an intensive process of transparent consultation and reflection are to increase Recruitment and Retention, improve Experience and Climate, support Professional Development and Career Advancement, and increase alignment of Scholarship, Service, and Education toward the fulfillment of UMB’s mission.

Key Terms and Concepts

It is imperative to create a shared understanding of the key terms and concepts around issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion. We must be attentive to the need to deepen our understanding through the development of these important words and phrases.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.”

―  Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. “A Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Ebony (August 1963): 23–32.