Diversity, Inclusion and Equity Plan Progress

A message sent to members of the Lehigh community.

Dear Members of the Lehigh Community,

Last fall, we shared with you the framework of the university’s Diversity, Inclusion and Equity (DI&E) Strategic Plan, an important element of our continued work toward building an inclusive community in which all members feel welcome, valued and supported. As discussed in the plan, our priorities include efforts to:

Enhance Our Culture

Improve Institutional Infrastructure

Diversify Faculty and Staff

Expand Student Access and Support

We indicated in last semester’s message to the community that our next steps would focus on discussing the plan, priorities and goals with key stakeholders and the broader Lehigh community, including convening working groups to develop critical progress measures to track the university’s DI&E efforts and measure our progress on this journey. Work toward these steps continued through the fall and winter, and we are pleased to report our progress to you today.

Process:

To advance our efforts and develop clear, meaningful and relevant progress measures, Lehigh partnered with EAB’s Higher Education Diversity Practice. Members of the EAB team collaborated with Council for Equity and Community (CEC) working groups charged with identifying progress measures for the four strategic priorities in our DI&E plan. These initial metrics reflect several iterations over months of deliberation and consultation with key Lehigh stakeholders across the university.

Progress Measures:

  • This initial set of indicators, detailed below, will allow us to track our progress toward our goals of enhancing our culture, diversifying faculty and staff, improving institutional infrastructure and expanding student access and support.
  • This initial set is a starting point and is intended to be a dynamic list. We will add to our progress measures over time and adjust them as needed.
  • Next, we will populate and track all the progress measures on our expanded DI&E plan site and provide detailed updates on our progress.

Next Steps:

  • DI&E Town Hall with Donald Outing, Vice President for Equity and Community:
  • HEDS Diversity and Equity Campus Climate Survey: We encourage all members of the campus community to share your experiences and perceptions of Lehigh’s climate and support of diversity and equity efforts by completing this important survey. The survey, which was launched through a message sent on March 21 to all members of the Lehigh community, will help inform our policies and practices moving forward and will remain open through April 18.
  • LUPD Review Committee Report Summary: The summary of the Lehigh University Police Department (LUPD) Review Committee’s report, which includes progress on the committee’s recommendations, will be shared with the campus community in April.

We will provide regular updates as we seek continuous improvement and strive to build a stronger and more equitable community. This essential work will also be a core, integrated piece of the strategic planning process, now in its beginning stages. We appreciate the continued participation and feedback of all members of our community. Please direct questions, concerns and suggestions to vpec@lehigh.edu or through this form.

Joseph J. Helble ’82

President

Donald A. Outing

Vice President for Equity & Community

Initial Progress Measures

We will use the following initial metrics to track progress towards our goals of enhancing our culture, diversifying faculty and staff, improving institutional infrastructure, and expanding student access and support.

Timeline: Movement in 3 years and substantial progress towards goals in 5 years, goals achieved in 10

Measures: Updated on an annual basis

Efforts focused on STUDENTS

Progress Measure Goal Owner
Percentage of undergraduate and graduate students enrolled across the university by race and gender Be a leader among our peers in percentage of undergraduate and graduate students enrolled across the university by race and gender. Provost, Deans, VP Admissions, DP Academic Affairs, DP Graduate Education, VPEC
Percentage of applications, from both undergraduate and graduate students, by race and gender Be a leader among our peers in the percentage of undergraduate and graduate applications by race and gender (adjusted by field). VP Admissions, VPEC
Percentage of undergraduate and graduate students offered admissions by race and gender Percentage of undergraduate and graduate students offered admissions do not differ by race and gender. Provost, VP Admissions, DP Academic Affairs, DP Graduate Education
First-year retention, four- and six-year graduation rates, and time to degree by race/ethnicity and gender and by Pell-eligible status First-year retention, four- and six-year graduation rates and time to degree do not differ by race/ethnicity and gender and by Pell-eligible status. VP Student Affairs, DP Academic Affairs, Director Student Access and Success
Total student credit hours in courses explicitly containing DI&E-related learning objective(s) and DI&E learning outcomes Consistent increases in total student credit hours in courses explicitly containing DI&E-related learning objective(s) and DI&E learning outcomes Deans, Chairs, Faculty Senate, VPEC

Efforts focused on FACULTY

Progress Measure Goal  Owner
Racial/ethnic and gender diversity of faculty hiring pools at all stages Demonstrate consistent increases in the racial, ethnic and gender diversity of faculty hiring pools at all stages (total applications, “long list” and “short list”). Provost, Deans, Dept Chairs, DP Faculty Affairs, VPEC
Percentage of faculty across the university by race and gender Be a leader among our peers in the discipline-specific percentage of faculty across the university by race and gender. Provost, Deans, Dept Chairs
Rate of faculty retention by race and gender Faculty retention rates do not differ by race and gender. Deans, Chairs, DP Faculty Affairs
Percentage of faculty in leadership roles (center/institute director, chair, associate dean, dean & deputy provost) by race and gender Percentage of faculty in leadership roles (center/institute director, chair, associate dean, dean & deputy provost) is representative of our faculty and student body. Provost, Deans
Rates of tenure success and time to full professorship by race and gender Rates of tenure success and time to full professorship do not differ by race and gender. Provost, DP Faculty Affairs, Deans, Chairs
Faculty salaries and start-up packages (adjusted for discipline) by race and gender Starting faculty salaries and start-up packages for faculty (adjusted for discipline) should not differ by race or gender. Plan a faculty salary equity review every three years. Deans, Chairs, DP Faculty Affairs

Efforts focused on STAFF

Progress Measure Goal Owner
Racial/ethnic and gender diversity of staff hiring pools at all stages (total applications, “long list” and “short list”) Demonstrate consistent increases in the racial/ethnic and gender diversity of staff hiring pools at all stages (total applications, “long list” and “short list”). VP Finance & Administration, AVP Human Resources
Distribution of staff performance reviews Distribution of staff performance reviews is consistent across race, gender, caregiver status, etc. VP Finance & Administration, AVP Human Resources, VPEC
Percentage of staff across the university by race and gender Be a leader among our peers in the percentage of staff at all ranks across the university by race and gender. VP Finance & Administration, AVP Human Resources, Hiring Managers
Rate of staff retention by race and gender Staff retention rates do not differ by race and gender. VP Admin, VP Human Resources
Percentage of staff in leadership roles (vice-presidents, directors, etc.) by race and gender Percentage of staff in leadership roles is consistent with university demographics. President, Provost, VPs
Rates of staff promotions and demotions by race and gender Rates of staff promotions and demotions do not differ by race and gender. VP Finance & Administration, AVP HR, Hiring Managers
Staff salaries by race and gender (adjusted by position type) Starting staff salaries should not differ by race or gender. VP Finance & Administration, AVP HR, Hiring Managers

Some of these data sets currently exist and others will be populated and reported on in the future:

Explore existing data at:

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