Johns Hopkins sets new diversity, equity, and inclusion vision, goals

Johns Hopkins University leadership today shared the final version of its new diversity, equity, and inclusion plan, comprising an ambitious set of 24 measurable goals informed by the ideas and feedback of the university community and recently endorsed by JHU's board of trustees.

The plan—Realizing our Promise: The Second JHU Roadmap on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion—builds on the strengths of the first Roadmap released in 2016 and reflects additional community feedback received since the release of a draft plan last month.

"At Johns Hopkins, we know that a rich diversity of people, experience, background, and thought is core to our university and to the critical inquiry and robust debate that fuels our excellence in research, education, and service," JHU President Ron Daniels, Provost Sunil Kumar, and Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer Katrina Caldwell wrote in a message to the university community today. "We also believe that diversity, inclusion, and equity are essential to the well-being of a democratic society and to a university environment that allows each member of our community to feel valued, engaged, and empowered to succeed."

With those core values and aims in mind, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and the Roadmap 2020 Task Force led a monthslong process that yielded 24 goals in six areas: cross-institutional, staff, faculty, students, alumni, and the Baltimore community. The new goals tie together the recommendations of the task force, feedback from the Hopkins community, and the insights of divisional leaders from across the institution. They include:

• Major investments in programs that remove barriers and create pathways to success for staff
• Increased university and divisional resources for DEI personnel, including an expanded role for the university's chief diversity officer
• Adoption of a new universitywide diversity statement
• Regular climate and engagement surveys, which will inform divisional and departmental action plans
• Creation of two universitywide advisory councils for staff and students, respectively
• New funding for the recruitment and retention of diverse faculty and PhD students, with an emphasis on STEM fields
• Innovation funds for community-academic partnerships
• Increased visibility for the community-based initiatives of faculty, staff, and students

In each of its goals, the plan aims to embrace a broad and encompassing definition of diversity that supports the needs and aspirations of underrepresented groups.

Daniels, Kumar, and Caldwell expressed gratitude for the engagement of the university's faculty, staff, students, alumni, trustees, and community partners who shared feedback on the draft report at six open sessions, in individual conversations and meetings, and online. Beginning next month and throughout the spring 2022 semester, the university will turn in earnest to the development of implementation plans and timelines for each of the Roadmap's goals. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion will share information about a universitywide kick-off event in February as well as other opportunities for engagement.

"With the Roadmap as our guide, it will take each one of us—and all of us working together in concert—to realize our promise as a community committed to opportunity and excellence," Daniels, Kumar, and Caldwell wrote. "Thank you for continuing this journey with us."