University of Chicago

The Office of the Provost (Division of Diversity and Inclusion) provides "Faculty Diversity Training" and a "Staff Diversity Hiring" workshop in order to "improve the faculty search process" and to "incorporate best practices in diversity recruitment and selection."

The Chicago Center for Teaching and Learning at UC provides workshops, trainings, and resources in order to "help faculty navigate issues like diversity, stereotype threat, and bias in the classroom while developing more inclusive teaching strategies."

The University offers "Inclusion Workshops" which "aim to create a more inclusive campus climate." The workshops include "Hearing One Another" which "is now a part of the College’s orientation program for incoming first-year students" and "Inclusion in Practice" which "provides practical approaches to help people learn from and appreciate each other’s differences." The workshops are hosted by the Office of the Provost: Diversity and Inclusion.

The School of Social Work states that "students are required to take two courses with a focus on diversity, oppression, and discrimination" and that "curriculum content on human diversity is integrated into nearly every course."

The Office of the Provost (Division of Diversity and Inclusion) outlines how to report a bias incident and states, "Bias is a pre-formed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons who possess common characteristics, such as skin color, or cultural experiences, such as religion or national origin." 

The University has "Faculty Diversity Liaisons" that are "representatives from every school and division who have been tasked with staying abreast of the University’s diversity initiatives, priorities, and concerns." The group "meets quarterly to discuss updates, advise administrators on developments, and provide mutual counsel and support across divisions."   

On February 11, 2025, President Paul Alivisatos sent a "message to all University of Chicago employees." It stated, "In recent weeks, a large number of executive orders and federal policy changes have been issued... some of these, if implemented, would have far-ranging adverse impacts on institutions of higher education and academic medical centers, including ours." The President announced that UC joined "over a dozen plaintiff universities and associations in a suit to challenge the sudden reduction in NIH indirect costs." The President also reaffirmed the University's commitment to "diversity of viewpoint and experience [which] enriches [its] ability to seek truths."

The University of Chicago is considering the creation and funding of a "Department of Critical Race Studies".

The University offers a BA program in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies (CRES). The curriculum leads students "to examine both the processes through which members of the human population have been constructed as racial and ethnic groups, and the political, historical, social, and cultural effects of this constitution." Furthermore, focuses "on conquest, subjugation, genocide, slavery, segregation, migration, and diasporas, among other related topics, CRES prompts students to examine the political, social, and cultural practices and institutions of minority or marginalized populations in colonial and postcolonial settings."

According to an article released by the school on October 7, 2022, the University of Chicago Biological Sciences Division has a program, The Inclusion Menu, which “features an array of presentations related to diversity & inclusion education.”

The Office of the Provost (Division of Diversity and Inclusion) provides scholarship and funding resources for "students who are underrepresented in the academy and/or who have demonstrated a deep commitment to community engagement."

The Office of the Provost offers an Inclusive Climate Grant which provides funding for the "development of diverse and inclusive environments." The grants "are offered at multiple funding levels, depending on the specifics of the proposal."

The Physical Sciences Department (PSD) offers "Inclusive Climate Grants" which "offer funding to support PSD constituents in developing projects that will support/advance diversity and/or positively impact the climate of the PSD." The grants support "programs, initiatives, events, workshops, activities, conferences/symposiums." Awardees receive up to $1,000 per project proposal.

The University of Chicago offers resources on DEI in addition to hosting events on anti-racism.

The school takes part in the Faculty Advancement Network in order to promote diversity.

The school has created a Diversity and Inclusion Planning Toolkit.

The school has aided in creating a website of resources for "Inclusive Pedagogy."

In November of 2022, it was reported that Rebecca Journey, the professor of the course “The Problem of Whiteness,” had “postponed the course from winter to spring 2023.” This was in response to a great deal of backlash which started from a tweet posted by Daniel Schmidt, a sophomore. Furthermore, “the University defended the course, citing the Chicago Principles, a University tradition that upholds a commitment to free speech and the ability to debate controversial ideas.”

Concerning Daniel Schmidt’s tweet criticizing the course “The Problem of Whiteness”, Professor Rebecca Journey stated “This was a malicious attack not just on me as a teacher but on anti-racist pedagogy writ large” and, furthermore, “We can’t let the cyberterrorists win.” The professor is seeking disciplinary action against Schmidt.

The Office of the Provost (Division of Diversity and Inclusion) provides resources on affirmative action and anti-racism which include: "I Was a Racist Teacher and I Didn’t Even Know It" by Laurie Calvert, "How to Be an Antiracist" by Ibram X. Kendi, and "White Fragility" by Robin DiAngelo.

According to the 2024-2025 General Education Curriculum, students may fulfill the Social Sciences requirements by taking "Power, Identity, Resistance," "Self, Culture, and Society," and "Migration, Decolonization, and Diaspora Civilization." The classes focus on race, gender, and ethnic issues.

The Center for Teaching and Learning has "Diversity, Learning, and Inclusive Pedagogy" resources. It provides information on "Engaging Diversity," "Inclusive Pedagogy," "An Inclusive Climate" and examples of an "Exclusive Climate."

On March 14, 2025, the University paper published an article titled, "Department of Education to Investigate UChicago for Alleged Racial Discrimination." According to the Chicago Maroon, "the announcement comes one month after the Department informed institutions and agencies that they had 14 days to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs." The University was accused of the “embrace of pervasive and repugnant race-based preferences and other forms of racial discrimination [that] have emanated throughout every facet of academia.”

The school offers Diversity Leadership Awards.

The University of Chicago has a program called Dis-Orientation which hosts events that “include a series of workshops and seminars including ‘Race at UChicago,’ ‘Policing and Gentrification at UChicago,’ a ‘White Ally Workshop,’ and a student-activist open house.”

As part of the "UChicago Alumni and Friends Harper Lecture Summer 2023 Series," the university published a video (July 25, 2023) titled "The End of Affirmative Action in Higher Education Admissions?" which discussed the landmark Supreme Court decision on affirmative action in higher education.

In April 2023, the President & Provost released a Statement on Diversity. It states, "We are committed to building and supporting a diverse and inclusive climate where each person’s ideas and contributions can flourish." It continues, "Our commitment to diversity and inclusion... requires that we remain attentive to and address instances of bias and exclusion that diminish our opportunities."

The 2023-2026 Strategic Plan for the Chicago Center for Teaching and Learning outlines the goal to "Enhance support for a diverse undergraduate student body to be independent learners in and outside of the classroom."