Dear Colleagues,

Last fall, I charged a Faculty Committee on Diversity, Inclusion and Development to advise me on how we can best promote a diverse, inclusive and supportive community and I am writing to share our ongoing efforts to advance this goal.

While this committee has helped to elevate our commitment to diversity in our faculty, upholding diversity and inclusion as core values of this institution requires sustained investment and vigilant attention across our entire university. Meaningful change will take time, but we are committed to holding ourselves accountable to our strategic plan and continuing to embrace diverse identities, experiences and perspectives.

Over the past year, the committee has been working closely with the deans, department heads, senior leaders and faculty to spread awareness of implicit bias and the importance of circumventing such bias in faculty searches. As a result of the committee’s efforts, we have expanded the availability of implicit bias training to students, administrative units and colleges across the institution. Additionally, the committee has collaborated with the deans to appoint Diversity Liaisons in each school and college and has published university-wide best practices and a step-by-step guide to undertaking a diverse faculty search.

Carnegie Mellon also has begun to use a new faculty search software, ByCommittee, which will help us monitor the faculty search pool and attract a diverse field of candidates. We will continue to make diversity and inclusion a priority in our recruitment.

Aided by the advice of this committee, we have promoted inclusion and development through the following initiatives:

• A Dual Career Program to improve our ability to recruit and retain outstanding and diverse faculty;
• A university-wide new faculty orientation program, with a focus on inclusiveness and well-being;
• An equity study of tenure track faculty salaries, with an examination of other faculty tracks to be released in the near future;
• A small group mentoring program to promote mutual support among junior faculty;
• A Faculty Experience Study to help us gain insights into the current climate; we hope you will each take the time to complete it (the deadline has been extended to Monday, Dec. 12);
• National collaborations with organizations focused on diverse exchanges, including IDEAL-N and Scholars at Risk;
• A scholarship program for women faculty with strong leadership potential to attend the CMU Leadership and Negotiation Academy at Tepper, sponsored by the Provost’s Office and the deans; and
• A series of faculty development programs and lunch seminars.

I want to extend my appreciation to the faculty who are participating in the work of the committee, including the current membership for the 2016-17 academic year. I also am incredibly grateful to Kathryn Roeder, vice provost for faculty, for her leadership to make this progress possible.

While I am heartened by our positive steps this past year, I know we must do much more to ensure our community reflects the values of inclusion and respect that define this university. I will continue to work closely with the Faculty Senate as we refine our strategy.

I invite you to share with me your ideas, concerns, and experiences on these issues so that we can maintain an honest, open and meaningful dialogue. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,