Diversity Strategic Plan

Thank you for your participation in the Diversity Strategic Planning (DSP) process. Please review the current draft of the DSP and provide feedback by emailing CUAI@nau.edu.

Current Timeline

At the end of the initial DSP implementation process, each department and college will have prepared a uniquely relevant and meaningful DSP that aligns with its VP area’s DSP, and the university DSP. The anticipated implementation timetable is as follows:

Work closely with the President’s Diversity Fellow to define structure and roles for successful DSP completion and implementation
Continued review and comments on proposed objectives, strategies, metrics and accountability by summer DSP task force members
Determine which strategies are cost neutral and which strategies will need financial support
- Determine the amount of financial support necessary to achieve objectives
- Prioritize asks
Make website improvements
Send initial guidance and feedback form to VPs, Deans, Chairs, Directors and department heads

The draft DSP will be widely disseminated for forums and comment period
University DSP implementation assistance groups (IAG) will be established through the Center for University Access and Inclusion to assist VP areas and their departments with creating and implementing their DSPs
- IAGs will consist of members from the DSP drafting group and task forces, diversity commissions, experts in diversity from across campus, and university leadership to provide initial and ongoing guidance and expertise to the campus community
Each VP area will establish DSP implementation working groups (IWG) which will meet with IAG representatives for guidance in formulating DSPs and timetables
- Each VP area and its colleges or divisions and departments will work collaboratively to determine the number and structure of their IWGs to best meet their needs
- IWGs should consist of representatives from each VP area department and high ranking members of area leadership
- IWGs will meet periodically with the IWG’s of other VP areas to share information and for training and workshops
Final approvals and DSP roll-out
Guidance documents available for review
VP’s create DSP containing VP priorities
Determine structure and membership of the DSP Committee

Continued IAG assistance and workshops
Department DSP development
A DSP Committee will provide ongoing planning, implementation, and support consistent with the then established diversity leadership structure

Task Forces

In order to expedite the final phases of the drafting of the Diversity Strategic Plan, three task forces have been established. Faculty, staff, and students are welcome to join any of the task forces. Please send an email expressing your interest and the task force you are interested in serving on (it can be more than one) to CUAI@nau.edu or call 928-523-3312. Meetings will begin at the beginning of November. The task force descriptions are below. Please feel free to share the task force schedule with anyone who may be interested (current meeting times, dates, and locations are listed below for each task force).

This group will evaluate the strategies that have been identified through the planning process and determine the priority level for each strategy and the timelines for implementation (short term/long term).

Previous meeting notes:

11/14/2018

11/26/2018

01/14/2019

1/28/2019 – no notes, meeting was adjourned early

Next Meeting:

TBD summer task force work

This group will investigate and provide recommendations for meaningful measurement tools and strategies, including baselines, which can be used to determine if the DSP goals are being met through the implemented strategies.

Previous meeting notes:

Next Meeting:

TBD summer task force work

This group will look at ways to recruit, train as needed, and reward a pool of diversity representatives in each college to serve on search committees, help find discipline-specific avenues of diversity recruitment, and engage in currently untapped recruiting opportunities (the SREB Institute for Teaching and Mentoring and HACU for example, where both students and faculty could be recruited). The goal is to ensure that meaningful attention to diversity is embedded in the search and hiring process without continuing to overtax our faculty based on gender or race and ethnicity. This group will also make recommendations for amendments to COFS.

Previous meeting notes:

Next Meeting:

TBD