University President Ronald J. Daniels released a new version the the Roadmap on Diversity and Inclusion to the Hopkins community on Friday, Nov. 4. Updating an earlier draft created last February, the revised document responds to student and faculty feedback and to the demands presented by the Black Student Union (BSU) last November.
The Roadmap focuses on four main goals: achieving greater diversity of membership in the Hopkins community, improving opportunity for community members of all backgrounds, enabling robust engagement with diverse viewpoints and fostering a climate of respect.
The release of this updated roadmap reflects the University’s willingness to listen to student input and highlights its new approach to open and transparent discourse with the student body. The Editorial Board commends the University for its clear commitment to improving life at Hopkins.
The new version also offer plans for programming on diversity, race and the University’s troubled history as well as community engagement in Baltimore through partnerships with local public schools, economic programs and service-based courses.
In an effort to make the campus climate one that values respect and inclusion, the University plans to improve training programs and provide resources for students who wish to voice complaints and offer cultural competency programs and create a Homewood diversity council.
Demonstrating its commitment to taking student input seriously, the final draft of the Roadmap also includes in its appendices a copy of the BSU’s demands calling for faculty diversity, cultural competency and recognition of the Center for Africana Studies as a department. The Editorial Board supports this decision because it recognizes that the critical role of the BSU throughout the process.
The University plans to reexamine its recruitment and retention practices, expand multicultural and LGBT programs, improve counseling services, increase access to graduate programs and offer networking opportunities for grad students. Hopkins also plans to create a Commission on Undergraduate Education and a committee on centers and programs in KSAS.
The Faculty Diversity Initiative lays out plans for reworking recruitment practices and faculty mentoring programs and offering new programs and awards. In terms of staff, the Roadmaps lays out plans to increase the number of entry-level positions, offer assistance with career advancement and improve employee benefits.
Lastly, the Roadmap includes a Key Dates section outlining the status of various programs and providing explanations for why certain projects have been delayed, paused or restructured. The University has shown that it does value the responses of its community members, and the Editorial Board hopes that Hopkins will continue to be transparent in the future.
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