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:
- Join us in conversation on April 1 at 12 PM in Maginnes 102. Register here to attend virtually.
- 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
