Our journey
Michigan Engineering—like much of the country—has been on a journey. In 2016, we laid out ME2020 as a pathway to success. This strategic vision encapsulated the very best of Michigan, and set a course for becoming the preeminent college of engineering serving the common good. Since that time, we have done much to achieve that vision.
We unveiled bold new educational and research initiatives, spurring innovation in our classrooms and laboratories. But where we have seen the most progress – and where we have helped lead amongst our peers – has been in our culture.
Shifting our culture
Although some may question the value of an engineering school placing equal emphasis on culture along with education and research, we knew that our people are our strongest asset. With our set of values to guide us, we crafted a culture pillar and DEI strategic plan that sought to take a hard look at where we were falling short in creating an environment for our students, faculty and staff that was inclusive, daring, collaborative, transparent and sought to have social impact.
Examples of success
- Our tenure and faculty review process has been articulated, clearly allowing both faculty and all of our community to understand the value in not only incredible research output and teaching, but also in public service and mentoring.
- Our staff incentives and reviews have been aligned with our values, recognizing those in our community who seek to conduct themselves in a way that is not only exemplary, but facilitates collaboration, daring and equity.
- Our community has endeavored to understand the impacts of racism and disenfranchisement of large swaths of our society, and to confront difficult questions about how we continue to inflict harm in our work. As a result, proposals for educating everyone in Michigan Engineering on issues of DEI—a first among our peers—were developed.
- We successfully weathered the storm of COVID through a commitment to our values, and are emerging stronger as a result. And we have faced the difficult questions of how to heal a community harmed by sexual misconduct, mental health and isolation.
- Our new Office of Culture, Community and Equity led by new executive leadership, helps drive a culture of inclusion and equity both within and beyond the Michigan Engineering community.
- We articulated the need to conduct engineering with an “equity-centered” approach to intentionally close–rather than unintentionally expand–societal gaps.
These examples just scratch the surface of our progress. Yet much work remains. We are not perfect, but we are committed. That commitment is reaffirmed through our continuation towards constant improvement.
Charting ahead
In addition to our efforts within the College, we looked outwards to our peers and leaders in the engineering field to explore what the future of engineering holds. Through that research, we’ve outlined a new “people-first” framework for both doing and teaching engineering for the future, one rooted in equity that leverages the strengths of our University of Michigan ecosystem and expertise.
It has been a great journey, but it’s not over. We have not reached “mission accomplished” status. We must continue to push ourselves to create a future that elevates all of humanity. We must set our sights on a new horizon that puts people at the heart of our endeavors.
By taking a “people-first” approach, we can continue this journey, leading the field of engineering past 2020 and into the future. A future where we build and rebuild systems that serve all of humanity.
2016
Aug
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Leadership retreat
A vision for the future – moving from great to best
2016
Oct
–
Vision, mission, values
Public announcement of the new materials
2016
Nov
–
DEI 1.0
Begin articulation of strategic plan
2017
Jan
–
Launch ME2020
Creating a common language for a common vision
2017
Sept
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Dean discussions
Launching small group conversations with faculty, students & staff
2017
Nov
–
Launching pillars
New pillars and implementation plans announced
2018
Mar
–
Culture pillar implementation
Public programs launched
2018
Aug
–
Research pillar implementation
Public programs launched
2019
Jan
–
Research pillar implementation
Public programs launched
2020
Mar
–
Maintaining momentum
Weather the COVID-19 pandemic and community/ societal difficulties
2020
Aug
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DEI 1.0
Conclude first phase of strategic plan
2021
June
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Moving deeper into DEI
Outline imperative for equity-centered engineering and launch community teams with education proposals
2021
Nov
–
Mapping the future
Conduct internal and external research to identify the future of engineering education
2022
Mar
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People-first engineering
Establish new “people-first engineering” framework for success
2022
July
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Launch OCCE
The Office of Culture, Community & Equity is established
2022
Oct
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TEE Center
NSF funds the Teaching Engineering Equity Center