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Message from the Chief Diversity Officer

Colleagues:

President Loh's approval of the Joint Task Force recommendations is a major accomplishment for the University of Maryland. It also presents major challenges and significant new opportunities for the Office of Diversity & Inclusion (ODI), Diversity Training and Education Programs, the Nyumburu Cultural Center, and LGBT Equity Center.

The ODI Leadership Council has discussed ways we will work together with other campus partners in the coming weeks and months to advance toward the implementation of these recommendations. This is a major win for the work that we do on campus, and I am committed to working hard to secure the resources we need to fulfill our obligations in this plan.

President Loh's announcement also included the release of the Preliminary Report for the Campus Climate Study. I ask that each of you read this report fully. You can expect to see the more detailed Final Report in June—that report will be a far more technical account of the full range of findings from this very deep and expansive dataset.

President Loh also announced the forthcoming report from the campus-wide external review of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). The external review was conducted by an exceptional panel of expert reviewers, who will also make recommendations about how to elevate the University of Maryland to a position as a national leader.

ODI is already moving quickly to advance the scope and impact of our work on campus. Three new key leadership positions in ODI have been filled in just the past few months (e.g., Director of Training and Education; Program Manager for Hate-Bias Response; Business Manager), and we hope to continue building our capacity in the coming months with additional new hires who will help us develop critical collaborative partnerships on campus to make our campus-wide efforts effective.

The approval of the recommendations of the Joint Task Force is a monumental step forward. The announcement of two additional reports takes us even further down the road toward a more inclusive and respectful campus climate. Now we must move quickly to secure the appropriate resources, and develop the key collaborative partnerships to make these recommendations into realities at UMD.

Sincerely,

Roger L. Worthington
Chief Diversity Officer and Interim Associate Provost

Professor, Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education