Attract, Retain, and Advance A Diverse Community of Faculty and Staff
Diversity, equity and inclusion plan for 2020-2023
Enhance prospects of attracting, retaining, and advancing faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds throughout the university community as a manifestation of the university’s commitment to human dignity, equity, and inclusion. Address the compositional diversity of the university community through continuous review and assessment of programs, policies, and administrative decisions to broaden representation of diverse populations. Address obstacles to greater inclusion by gender, race, and other dimensions of diversity in positions of leadership.
Strategic Priorities
Adopt campus-wide search and hiring protocol for all vacant faculty and staff positions that integrates inclusive hiring strategies and practices.
Expand faculty/staff workshops on inclusive excellence to focus on hiring, cultural awareness and implicit bias, and sustaining a welcoming environment across race, gender, gender identity, religious and spiritual beliefs, and other social and cultural identities.
Since 2018, the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion has offered implicit bias training to supervisors through HR’s Leadership Development Program and workshops to search committees, especially for departments hiring through the REIS faculty cluster hiring initiative. Work around hiring and retention of underrepresented employees will progress through the ADVANCE grant.
Create department-specific hiring plans to broaden racial and gender diversity, monitor faculty demographics by discipline, and ensure equitable hiring practices.
Academic departments that have hired faculty through the cluster hiring process since 2018, along with other faculty searches, increased the diversity of their candidate pools through equity-minded hiring plans.
Reinforce accountability in the use of the faculty search and hiring protocol for all faculty hiring committees.
All searches are now strongly encouraged by the Provost and Deans to apply the protocol and communicate with the Vice President for Inclusive Excellence, resulting in full compliance in fall 2020.
Develop an online repository of resources for diversity-conscious and equity-minded hiring practices for search committees.
Create pathways for preparing and advancing women and people of color who are underrepresented in campus leadership at all levels.
Support the campus wide launch of the NSF-funded ADVANCE program at Marquette in its efforts to address equity at the intersections of gender and race/ethnicity among faculty, particularly in STEM disciplines.
The VP for Inclusive Excellence is a co-PI on the ADVANCE grant, which supports programs that utilize intersectional approaches, recognizing how gender, race, ethnicity, and other social identities interact to affect the experience of individuals in the workplace.
Utilize the resources of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) in hiring.
The ERG website has been built out as a resource that hiring committees can point applicants to for additional information. ERGs are positioned to serve as a resource for hiring as called upon by applicants and hiring committees.
Continue cluster hiring initiatives of faculty with emphasis on diversity and inclusion.
In progress:
Between 2018-2020, 21 tenure track faculty members have been hired through the Race, Ethnic, and Indigenous Studies (REIS) cluster hiring effort. The majority of faculty hired through this process are persons of color.
Intentionally engage faculty from populations that are underrepresented by race, gender, gender identity and other dimensions of diversity in the “FELOS” leadership development program.
Managed by the Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, the FELOS leadership development program began in AY2017-18. To date, 74 faculty and staff have participated in the program of which more than 60 percent are women (45/74), and 23 percent (17/74) are either underrepresented minority (16 percent) or international (7 percent).
Cultivate relationships with local Milwaukee organizations that promote an inclusive workforce.
Marquette has a strong relationship with several local diverse professional organizations, such as the Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee (HPGM), and is seeking to expand its networks.
Routinely audit university leadership to determine opportunities and strategies for increasing gender and racial diversity and implement programs for women and people of color to position them for career advancement and leadership roles at the university.
In 2021-22, the interim Vice President for Inclusive Excellence reconvened the Culture of Inclusion strategic plan group to discuss strategies for diversifying Marquette’s leadership and promoting the advancement of women and people of color.
Implement programs and employ resources that support retaining and advancing a diverse faculty and staff.
Review formal and informal bias incident reporting processes for faculty and staff.
Foster community through Employee Resource Groups, which promote intragroup and intergroup dialogue around commonly shared identities and experiences.
Sponsored by the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, as of 2023, there are eight active Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), including the Black Faculty and Staff Network, the Hispanic/Latinx Faculty and Staff Association, the LGBTQ Employee Resource Group, the Marquette Moms, Marquette Social Professionals, Sustainable Marquette, Womxn of Color ERG, and Women of Marquette.
Bolster support of underrepresented faculty through formal mentoring programs.