Ohio State University

On April 28, 2022, OSU published its "Task Force on Racism and Racial Inequities," which states that it would "Support the development of college-specific recruitment plans and activities tailored to students from underrepresented backgrounds" and "Continue to provide implicit bias training to all reviewers, assess scoring rubrics and other practices for the potential to impact admissions for students of color and economically disadvantaged students."

OSU's 2022 Academic Plan states that it would "[r]ecruit, retain, and graduate a student body across all majors and programs that reflects the rich diversity of our region, state, nation, and world."

OSU provides numerous types of DEI training including "CFAES Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Workshops," the "Kirwan Institute Implicit Bias Training," and the "ODI National Conference on Diversity, Race & Learning."

OSU offers a DEI Certificate to "gain the skills you’ll need to thrive in the diverse workplace of today."

The university offers the "Anti-Racism in Education" certificate after completing the program to "study... the historical context, theories, values, and aims of anti-racism work within educational contexts."

OSU's Office of Diversity and Inclusion announced several diversity training workshops for faculty and staff taking place in 2023 on such topics as microaggressions and anti-racism.

OSU's Office of Diversity and Inclusion has an "Inclusive Excellence Team Certificate Program" and describes the program as follows: "We equip teams with the knowledge and tools necessary to cultivate a learning mindset and group culture in the workplace that promotes buy-in to Inclusive Excellence initiatives."

On April 28, 2022, OSU published its "Task Force on Racism and Racial Inequities," which states that, for both students and faculty, it would "Develop and disseminate a core training curriculum that is informed by goals of knowledge gain, increased competency and increased self-efficacy in engaging in areas of DEI."

OSU's (at Marion) 2019-2024 Strategic Plan states that it "plan[s] to offer—to faculty, staff, and students alike—a variety of training, certification programs, and on-going support to promote a campus culture of care that more fully values difference, equity, and social justice."

The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion offers DEI workshops including "Bias 101: Understanding Implicit Bias," "Bias 102: Interrupting Bias," "Inclusive Language," and "Unpacking Privilege and Bias." The Office also provides assistance with "policy review and creation" to help "fulfill [the] institutional diversity, equity, and inclusion goals." 

The Office of Outreach and Engagement states it is "committed to racial justice." To support this commitment, the office offered trainings and resources to various colleges, departments, and community-engaging units. The Assistant Vice Provost led 12 workshops in the fall semester, covering topics like "racial justice, social identity, and dialogue."

On April 28, 2022, OSU published its "Task Force on Racism and Racial Inequities," which states that it would "Encourage undergraduate and graduate programs to include DEI topics and approaches in foundational or prerequisite courses for the discipline."

One of the strategies of OSU's (at Marion) 2019-2024 Strategic Plan is to "[c]oordinate with faculty to develop courses/curricula that support diversity, equity, and inclusion."

English Majors are required to take at least one designated diversity class to meet the "Diversity Requirement." The requirement aims to help students develop a "critical viewpoint that is informed by an understanding of the experience, literature, culture, and history of marginalized and oppressed groups."

A "Race, Ethnicity, and Gender Diversity" category is included in the new General Education program. The guidelines for proposed classes state that "race, ethnicity, and gender diversity all need to be represented in the proposal and syllabus." Furthermore, it states the University is "looking for an intersectional approach to race, ethnicity and gender diversity running throughout the course, and, ideally, explicitly grounded at the beginning of the course." The guidelines also recommend adding a "land acknowledgment" to the syllabus.

An OSU student fueled controversy after stating "Black People Are Superior” at a General Assembly meeting for the Undergraduate Student Government. He was reported by fellow members of the General Assembly.

The Business and Finance Office requires all staff, students, and supervisors to complete an annual online diversity training. Additionally, there is a one-time mandatory course on "Implicit Bias" and "Diversity Basics."

Supervisors in the Office of Business and Finance must complete two trainings: "Transforming Workplace Culture: Identifying & Addressing Implicit Bias" and "Navigating Difficult Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Conversations for Managers."

The university announced, "The Office of Research has partnered with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion to establish a $1 million fund to provide seed grants for Ohio State’s research and creative expression community to study the causes and effects of, and solutions to, racism and racial disparities."

OSU offers "The Early Childhood Education Program," which provides an “[opportunity] to examine interesting and effective social studies content knowledge, cultural understandings, and pedagogies for the early childhood learner within global contexts.”

OSU's Office of Diversity and Inclusion's "Dr. James L. Moore III Scholars Program" is a "student development initiative, focused on underrepresented transfer students from Columbus State Community College (CSCC)."

On April 28, 2022, OSU published its "Task Force on Racism and Racial Inequities," which states that it would "Continue to fund incentives for instructional redesign through the Drake Institute to encourage instructors to devise more inclusive syllabi and classroom practices."

OSU's "Race, Inclusion and Social Equity (RAISE)" initiative is described as follows: "The university set a goal to add at least 50 tenure-track faculty members whose research can help to address racial and social disparities. RAISE faculty will focus on topics such as health outcomes, educational equity, economic opportunity, environment impacts, justice and public safety, as well as the arts."

The Morrill Scholarship is designed to recognize "academically gifted students who demonstrate active involvement in leadership, service, and social justice initiatives centered around diversity." The University seeks applicants who "contribute to campus diversity" and are "champions of diversity, inclusion, and social justice."

The Student Life Center for Belonging and Social Change offers $700 grants that are "typically" awarded to "requests demonstrating collaboration" with "faculty/staff, Student Life staff members, and student organizations around diversity, belonging, inclusion, and social justice initiatives."

The Young Scholars Program is a "pre-collegiate and collegiate student success program" that seeks to "increase the numbers of first-generation, low-income, and targeted underrepresented students" at OSU. Among a number of other benefits, participants receive "the opportunity to attend a world-class research university with a generous scholarship."

Virginia Hull Diversity and Inclusion Award is given to "an English major from an underrepresented Ohio State student population who contributes to the inclusive excellence of the university through academics and/or community impact." Winners are given a $2,000 scholarship.

The university president supports "an independent Citizens Review Board to review instances of alleged police misconduct."

In 2022, OSU released its "Task Force on Racism and Racial Inequities" report. It outlined plans to engage in discussions with the Columbus Division of Police, Ohio State Department of Public Safety, and students, staff, and faculty of color. These talks aim to provide a platform for sharing concerns and experiences, as well as exploring ways to "improve policing in Columbus." Additionally, the University intends to establish a research center focused on policing, equity, and community safety, building upon its existing RAISE initiative.

According to the Department of Public Safety, all OSU Police Officers recently went through "diversity training." The training was "an extension of previous diversity efforts" and it "covered topics such as implicit bias." The training was reported to align with the "Ohio State’s Task Force on Community Safety and Well-Being recommendations." Additionally, the Police Department states that "diversity" is one of its "core values."

The OSUPD aims to improve its current "cultural diversity and implicit bias training." In support of this goal, Police Supervisors completed an "enhanced cultural diversity training for OSUPD" through "a 6-week online leadership course from the National Center for Civil and Human Rights."

The university will be organizing events and forums to have "Critical and incisive discussions."

The University hosted special events named "Microaggressions and Me" and "Navigating Difficult DEI Conversations."

The university hosted an event discussing the "Fiction and Fact About Critical Race Theory."

On March 8, 2022, OSU's John Glenn College of Public Affairs hosted an event titled "Dialogue: Critical Race Theory – What Is It, and Why Is It Under Attack?" This "Dialogue discussion" explored critical race theory and discussed "why it has come under fire."

OSU Libraries announced that on January 31, 2024, "The Critical Race Theory collective: Community Matters!" event would take place virtually. The event discussed "the importance of the CRTc’s work and upcoming plans to implement additional infrastructure and content using an Entrepreneurial Spirit and Community Building approach."

The College of Pharmacy provides DEI training videos on "race and anti-racism," "pronouns," and inclusive language, among other resources.

The College of Education and Human Ecology has a development course titled "Be the Change! Implicit and Institutional Bias." The course centers on "race, racial equity, and social justice" for education professionals. 

The University founded the "Bell National Resource Center on the African American Male" in 2002. The Center seeks to "improve retention and graduation rates for this subpopulation of undergraduates." It also focuses on research and hosts several programs for African American males.

The university announced, "We are establishing a university task force to examine issues related to racism and racial disparities on our campuses and in our community. The task force will bring forward specific recommendations for changes to specific policies, processes, practices, programs and/or positions that will help us be a better example of the ideal university."

The library released a statement in support of Black Lives Matter along with anti-racist resources.

OSU's Counseling and Consultation Service states the following: "[CCS] recognizes that our Black student body is affected by historic and ongoing systemic racism, oppression, and marginalization...CCS stands in solidarity with our Black student population. You Matter. Black Lives Matter."

The University's Earthworks Center has a "Land Acknowledgement" which is "a statement that runs counter to many historical narratives about the colonization and settling of North America, and it is intended to be provocative."

The Distinguished Diversity Enhancement Award "rewards individuals and groups for their commitment to... the values of diversity and innovation, and inclusion and equity." Staff, faculty, students, alumni, and retirees are eligible and winners are given a $1,200 cash prize.