LSA DEI and Anti-Racism Initiatives – Equitable Teaching

LSA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiative

LSA’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI):

“We are committed to making LSA an inclusive, equitable, and collaborative space to learn, teach, work, discover, and thrive together. Enhancing and embracing our differences is essential to achieving our shared goals of producing groundbreaking research, providing a world-class liberal arts education, and making a positive impact on our diverse society.”

DEI and Anti-Racism

It is important to note that DEI work and anti-racism work are not the same but should very much be linked together when seeking racial equity and justice. DEI work and initiatives can focus on generalized representation and climate issues while not fully interrogating the root causes of inequity and racism that are embedded in these issues. When DEI strategic plans do not include actions for structural or systemic change, they are stopping short of working toward true racial equity as they are not disrupting the status quo. Incorporating an anti-racism framework into DEI initiatives and strategies is essential as interventions and solutions go from solely focusing on the intra/interpersonal processes (implicit bias, individual cultural awareness) to putting additional emphasis on the systemic and institutional processes (hiring, admissions, promotions, awards, and advancement)(LSA Anti-Racism Task Force Report, p. 6). As expressed in the LSA Anti-Racism Task Force report: “Effective and authentic diversity, equity, and inclusion work must include and cannot be disconnected from anti-racism efforts, which require a focus on racial equity and justice. Anti-racism should be embedded in the work of DEI; and DEI work is insufficient and frequently ineffective without an explicit commitment to anti-racism” (LSA Anti-Racism Task Force Report, p. 6). In its report, the LSA Anti-Racism Task Force calls on LSA to embed an anti-racism framework into its DEI goals and strategic planning.


LSA Initiatives

The following are distinct LSA initiatives that strive to create equitable and anti-racist spaces on and off campus.

LSA Anti-Racism Task Force

Composed of LSA faculty, staff, and students of varying disciplines/fields and demographic backgrounds, the LSA Anti-Racism Task Force first convened in September 2020. LSA Dean Anne Curzan charged the group to:

  • Provide a statement of vision and goals for anti-racism in teaching, research/scholarship, and service/engagement in LSA.
  • Identify institutional policies, programs, and practices in the college (and university, as relevant) that sustain systemic racism and that must be investigated, revised, and/or overturned.
  • Identify current policies, practices, programs, and positions that contribute to eliminating racism and racial inequities and that merit additional investment to meet these goals.
  • Outline recommendations to inform LSA leadership in decisions for developing infrastructures, strategies, and other action steps to advance anti-racism as a core value in LSA work, in the short-term and longer-term.

Intending to provide a transformative framework and set of priorities for LSA, the task force recognized that their work and final report were initial steps in dismantling systemic racism at U-M. Within the report, the task force focused on distinct topic areas while acknowledging that the issues presented in each topic are interconnected i.e., efforts to retain undergraduates cannot be disconnected from efforts to retain graduates, faculty, and staff. The task force report focused on: 1) Undergraduate Enrollment and Retention; 2) Graduate Enrollment and Retention; 3) Faculty Diversity; 4) Staff Diversity; 5) Curriculum – Race and Ethnicity Requirement and Beyond; 6) College & Campus Climate; 7) Dismantling Carceral Practices and Policies; 8) U-M’s Role in Urban and Tribal Communities in Michigan; and 9) Anti-racism and Responses to COVID-19. Ultimately, the task force developed 13 key and cross-cutting recommendations for an anti-racist LSA and University of Michigan.


Carceral State Project

Combined, the Carceral State Project and DCC focus on the following campaigns:


Race and Ethnicity Requirement

  1. All courses must provide discussion concerning:
    • The meaning of race, ethnicity, and racism;
    • Racial and ethnic intolerance and resulting inequality as it occurs in the United States or elsewhere;
    • Comparisons of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, social class, or gender.
  2. All courses must devote substantial, but not necessarily exclusive, attention to the required content.

Program on Intergroup Relations

IGR’s core work involves:


National Center for Institutional Diversity

Past events have included:

  • Black College Student Mental Health: What Institutions Need to Know and Do to Support Healing and Thriving in a Time of Racial Crisis
  • Asian American Voter Engagement: Mobilization, Organization, and “Doing Politics” in 2020
  • Making a Movement: Coalition Building, Capitalism, and How History Can Inform the Activism of Today

LSA Center for Social Solutions

The Center’s mission is to “cultivate collaboration, leadership, and scholarship in order to create a more equitable and inclusive world. We seek to identify, develop, and implement scalable, data-driven solutions that address societal inequities. In this spirit, our four founding initiatives—diversity and democracy, the impact of slavery, water security, and the future of work—aim to redress systemic injustices through interdisciplinary research and educational outreach.


LSA Semester in Detroit

Semester in Detroit logo with the words "Respect,  Solidarity, Justice" underneath. Below are three photos showing students on a tour with Baba Jamon Jordan, in a house with community member in Southwest Detroit, and on posing on a set of steps.

The initiative is not just an opportunity for students to take courses in Detroit. As the mission states, “The Semester in Detroit mission is to engage U-M undergraduates in substantive, sustained and reciprocal relationships with the people and communities of the City of Detroit. Combining a semester-long residence in the city with rigorous academic study and a comprehensive community-based internship, SiD students become deeply involved in – and committed to – the life, challenges, and promise of this important American city.”

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