University of Minnesota

The School of Public Health's "2021-2026 Strategic Plan for Antiracism" states that it would "Increase recruitment and enrollment of students from marginalized communities, particularly those who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color" and "Remove barriers for students during recruitment and the application process, such as application fees and the GRE requirement."

The Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost released a statement following the Supreme Court's decision on Affirmative Action which states, "We will continue our recruiting efforts that have yielded increased diversity in our entering classes" and that "we remain committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice on all our campuses."

The College of Design and the School of Public Affairs are hosting a workshop on April 1, 2022 titled, “Racism Untaught” to identify racialized design and assess anti-racist approaches.

In October of 2022, the College of Liberal Arts stated that the "Administrative Leaders Program has been restructured to include an intentional focus on enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion content as part of the curriculum, in addition to ensuring that program materials, discussion questions, and spaces used are accessible and inclusive of various identities."

As of October 2022, UM's College of Liberal Arts has "dedicated its November Professional Development Day as one where those who participate should prioritize professional development opportunities that enhance their capacity to advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion within the college."

As of 2023, UM's Office of Equity and Diversity's (OED) Certificate Program is open to faculty, staff and students and includes such courses as; "Addressing Implicit Bias and Microaggressions," "Race, Racism, and White Supremacy," and "My Role in Equity and Diversity Work."

The School of Public Health's "2021-2026 Strategic Plan for Antiracism" states that it would "Require annual training for all admissions committee members to include training on unconscious bias and how to conduct a holistic review."

The School of Public Health's "2021-2026 Strategic Plan for Antiracism" states that it would "Establish antiracist and other social justice training for student leaders so they can serve as informal support channels for other students."

The Office of Equity and Diversity provides an education program that "helps learners develop awareness and skills necessary for advancing equity and diversity in all aspects of their personal and professional lives." When it comes to advancing social justice, the guide states "It’s not all our fault, but it is our responsibility."

The Minnesota Writing Project at the university has an Anti-Racism in the Classroom Institute where they focus on whiteness in the classroom beyond white privilege and work to help develop anti-racist pedagogy.

The University of Minnesota Faculty Senate passed an academic freedom resolution in December of 2021 “to protect the ability of staff and faculty to teach about concepts such as critical race theory (CRT) and gender in the classroom.”

The College of Liberal Arts Fall 2022 "Progress Report" states that the College has "embedded community engagement" in its "curriculum" and "launched faculty awards to promote and reward cooperative research projects."

In the summer of 2020, UM's School of Public Health partnered with the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) to "design and implement a workshop series to support School of Public Health (SPH) faculty and instructors in developing anti-racist curriculum and pedagogy."

The School of Public Health's "2021-2026 Strategic Plan for Antiracism" states that it would "Develop and revise curriculum to prioritize antiracism and health equity knowledge and competencies."

UM's Bias Response and Referral Network (BRRN) "responds to reports of bias incidents on the Twin Cities campus" and refers those "who report incidents to appropriate campus offices that can effectively respond through investigation, educational coaching, or other resources, depending on the nature of the incident."

The University of Minnesota Department of Curriculum and Instruction is seeking an Assistant Professor of Elementary Literacy Education with a commitment to “racial literacy, critical race theory, and anti-racist and anti-oppressive approaches.”

The Office of the Provost and the Office for Equity and Diversity "partnered to implement a required online course for all faculty and instructors on disability accommodations and inclusive course design."

University Supervisors are required to participate in "New Supervisor Orientation" which includes content from the Office of Equity and Diversity.

The Office of Human Resources states, "We work to recruit and retain diverse faculty, staff, and student workers and reduce disparities among underrepresented groups in partnership with the human resources community."

During New Faculty Orientation, new hires attend a "Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion" session.

Through the $5 million Minnesota Transform program, faculty will assist "Black, Indigenous and immigrant communities to tell stories through digital platforms and public exhibits, revitalize Indigenous languages and write a report on the U's relationship with American Indian tribes

The College of Liberal Arts Fall 2022 "Progress Report" highlighted a 2021-2022 $5 million initiative titled "MN Transform: A Just University for Just Futures" which is funded by the Mellon Foundation. The initiative is "collaborating with Black, Indigenous, immigrant, and refugee communities to amplify historical interpretations, create new narratives and dialogues, foster community well-being, and inform policy responses through a variety of public humanities projects."

The School of Public Health's "2021-2026 Strategic Plan for Antiracism" states (as part of its research agenda on diversity, equity and inclusion) the following: "Director of DEI and Associate Dean of Research to meet and create a plan to assess SPH’s success in scholarship in DEI and antiracism."

UM's College of Liberal Arts' Race, Indigeneity, Disability, Gender & Sexuality Studies (RIDGS) provides a "recognizable and sustainable hub for rigorous theoretical work and engaged scholarship on diversity, social justice, and inequality." Additionally, RIDGS "brings together faculty to build upon interdisciplinary strengths by fostering intersectional collaborative projects and community engaged research."

The Office for Equity and Diversity's "Scholarly Excellence in Equity and Diversity (SEED) Award" program (2023-2024) "honors underrepresented students who are doing outstanding work to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion at the University of Minnesota and in the community." SEED awards range from $3000 to $5000 for one academic year.

The Race, Indigeneity, Disability, Gender & Sexuality Initiative is "dedicated to bringing faculty and students together to pursue lines of inquiry that challenge systems of power and inequality, assert human dignity, and imagine social transformation." Furthermore, the initiative "supports transformational, intersectional scholarship in multiple ways" by providing "space and resources for affiliated faculty and graduate students to engage in and share their work by providing small grants to support research groups, programming funds, and staff support for grant writing and event planning."

Race, Indigeneity, Disability, Gender & Sexuality Studies (RIDGS) offers "Research Workshops & Critical Reading Groups." Each year, RIDGS sponsors groups, and those accepted "will receive funding from $200-$1000."

No longer will work with the Minneapolis Police Dept. for large-event security or the K-9 unit.

The University's Police Department partners with "Fair and Impartial Policing," which provides "regular training" on implicit bias. Furthermore, "the curricula address various biases and their implications for law enforcement, including implicit associations, attentional bias, confirmation bias, and we/they bias and dehumanization."

The Police Department states "the United States’ history and its present day are marred by injustices based on race and ethnicity" and "like many of our long-standing institutions, law enforcement has been interwoven with the laws, policies and procedures that have led to discrimination, inequity and exclusion that has harmed our neighbors, families and friends." The department acknowledged "the collective weight of this history and the need for change."

The UMN Racial Justice Resources provides information on "abolition and reparations" including MPD150, which is a "grassroots group working towards a police-free Minneapolis," while "challenging the narrative that police exist to protect and serve."

The Humphrey School of Public Affairs’ Virtual 2020 Distinguished Carlson Lecture will be headlined by Professor Ibram X. Kendi.

UMinnesota lecture outlined twelve steps to recover from "whiteness".

The Earl E. Bakken Center will present a lecture titled "Anti-Racism Work: Dismantling your Practice", which will "analyze how white supremacy and systemic oppression has influenced our perception of wellness, and emphasize tangible ways to create a practice that serves all of us."

The university library offered a guide on "Conducting research through an anti-racism lens" which asks readers to "de-center whiteness" in their research and "acknowledge that scholarly publishing is racist."

The university library provides Anti-Racism Reading Lists with numerous quotes, references, and readings from Ibram X. Kendi in addition to books on white fragility, Black Lives Matter resources, as well as a dedicated special section for “anti-racist readings for white people.”

The University of Minnesota’s Gopher Equity Project incorporates DEI as an “online module for all undergraduate students” with ongoing discussion groups and suggested books, including several books from Ibram X. Kendi.

The College of Liberal Arts' homepage at UM states the following (regarding diversity, equity, & inclusion): "The core values of the College of Liberal Arts include freedom of thought and expression; respect, diversity, and social justice; excellence in all we do; and efficiency and adaptability in the achievement of our mission."

On January 11, 2023, the College of Liberal Arts, in partnership with the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, offered a one-day professional development event "focused on teaching and learning" and featured "scholars whose foundational knowledge is centered on curricula and pedagogy intersecting with diversity and anti-racism."

The School of Public Health's "2021-2026 Strategic Plan for Antiracism" states (as part of its faculty appointment, promotion, and tenure criteria) that it would "Ensure that continuation and promotion dossiers contain section(s) where the faculty member is expected to report on the ways they are contributing to increasing diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in SPH."

On December 5, 2023, the Daily Wire published an article titled "University Of Minnesota Pushes Critical Race Theory As Public Health With ‘Anti-Racism’ Trainings," which reported that the university's School of Public Health is "instructing students that 'racism' is the combination of 'prejudice' with 'power,' and 'a system of advantages based on race,' rather than simply hatred or prejudice against someone because of their race." According to the article, "[m]edical experts say this illustrates how Critical Race Theory is being injected into the realm of public health, which needlessly politicizes medicine by labeling racial groups as 'oppressors' and 'oppressed'.” 

In an April 2024 report titled “No Graduation Without Indoctrination: The DEI Course Mandate,” the organization Speech First “investigated 248 colleges and universities across each state” and found that “[more] than two-thirds include DEI academic requirements,” including the University of Minnesota. According to the report (pg. 20), the "Queer Kinship: Undoing the American Family" course "analyzes the American family within the context of imperialism and settler colonialism" and "examines how colonial ideologies have shaped and continue to influence familial norms and inequalities."

The "HR Inclusion in Practice" initiative "brings together human resources professionals from across the University with the goal of cultivating an inclusive and equity-focused workplace." The Practice "meets quarterly to highlight equity and inclusion in action within the HR space at the University." Past events include "Diverse Talent Pipeline Development" and "Reducing Systemic Barriers In Talent Management."

"The Diversity Community of Practice" (DCoP), which is a unit of the Office of Equity and Diversity, "is a grassroots community of faculty and staff from collegiate and administrative units that started on the Twin Cities Campus." Monthly meetings are held via Zoom and are available to "systemwide faculty." The purpose of the practice "is to develop and leverage personal, professional, and technical expertise, and to share innovative strategies that ensure successful implementation of equity and diversity goals at the University of Minnesota."

The Race, Indigeneity, Gender & Sexuality Studies Initiative founded "racial justice resources for students, staff, faculty, and community partners who are activists and are looking for support for their work, models from similar organizing efforts, and potential collaborators and coalition partners."

The Center for Race, Indigeneity, Disability, Gender, and Sexuality (RIDGS) hosts a "writing retreat for faculty members engaged in RIDGS work for one week of concentrated writing time."

The Center for Educational Innovation provides an "Inclusive Teaching at a Predominantly White Institution" guide.

As part of the five-year Strategic Plan for Anti-Racism, the School of Public Health works towards cultural change to becomign an anti-racist school by “accepting that racism exists at a systemic level in our country” and affirming to “commit to learning about racism’s history and its legacy.”

On June 4, 2020, the College of Liberal Arts' Anthropology Department stated that, "In fact, the murder of George Floyd is part of a much longer and more pervasive history of racist police violence and other structures of institutionalized racism--in particular anti-black racism--that have led to the murder, exclusion, and dehumanization of so many people of color in the Twin Cities including the police shootings of Jamar Clarke and Philando Castile."

The University may rename several buildings "if their namesakes were found to have committed wrongful behavior."

The Office of Admission's Commitment to Improving Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice states, "We denounce all forms of violence, discrimination, racism, and bias." It continues, "We join President Gabel in committing to bring our energy, our passion and our care for each other to end the heartbreaking cycle of racially motivated violence and discrimination."