University Partners

The Diversity Community of Practice (DCoP) is a grassroots community of faculty and staff who share a commitment to diversity, equity, access, and justice. All systemwide faculty and staff are invited to join monthly meetings via Zoom.

Some members have EDI as a formal part of their work, while others come from a range of roles and positions across the University who see EDI as a core priority. Members bring issues and considerations from their units to DCoP meetings for discussion, brainstorming solutions, and follow-up action and convey these lessons learned through their participation with the DCoP with their departments, programs, units, and campuses.

The goals of the DCoP are to:

• Increase awareness of diversity goals, events, and practices as part of our core work 
• Share resources and collaborate 
• Support one another as members innovate and take risks 
• Develop equity, diversity, and inclusion capacity and leadership at all levels 
• Create concrete and lasting changes on campuses, in colleges, and across units

Faculty and Academic Affairs supports academic leaders as they build and strengthen their academic units. OHR’s EDI and Talent Strategy teams collaborate with Faculty and Academic Affairs to create strategies for leadership development and cultural competency in recruitment, retention, and developing a diverse workforce. Faculty members seeking development and support can find valuable resources on the Faculty and Academic Affairs website.

The Lactation Advocacy Committee (LAC) is a volunteer coalition of representatives from the Women’s Center, the Student Parent Help Center, the School of Public Health, and Boynton Health, as well as departmental representatives and campus community members.

When LAC was formed in 2009, only three public lactation spaces existed on the Twin Cities campus. With significant effort from the LAC and from departments across the campus, more than thirty additional lactation spaces have been created since.

Visit the LAC website to find a list and map of public lactation spaces on the Twin Cities campus, as well as links to finding spaces on the Crookston, Duluth, Morris, and Rochester campuses.

We regularly partner with the Office for Equity and Diversity (OED) to advance a shared mission, vision, and values.

Ultimately, it is our responsibility as an institution—as part of our commitment to creating a welcoming and affirming climate—to serve and support the following individuals and groups at the University of Minnesota:

• American Indians and other indigenous populations
• People of color, including underrepresented groups and new immigrant populations
• People with both apparent and non-apparent disabilities
• People who identify as women
• People of various gender and sexual identities and expressions
• First-generation students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds

We also address issues of access and climate for individuals who might encounter barriers based on their religious expression, age, national origin, ethnicity, or veteran status. Furthermore, we recognize the importance of working with people who claim more than one of the above identities.

OED has an extensive collection of resources, funding and awards, and campus initiatives for faculty and staff.

The Equity and Diversity Certificate Program helps learners develop tools necessary for advancing equity and diversity in all aspects of their personal and professional lives. The program:

• Offers learners a theoretical framework for understanding equity and diversity work
• Helps learners develop necessary skills for equity and diversity work
• Gives learners direct experience working and communicating across differences

The University is committed to increasing diversity among its staff, faculty, and students in admissions, promotions, scholarship decisions, and other selection processes. The presence of implicit bias in these processes can inhibit this goal. This workshop exposes learners to the breadth of implicit bias research and will help them recognize shortcuts resulting from unconscious or unexamined bias. Learners will be introduced to promising practices and resources for addressing implicit bias in the context of search and selection processes.

Faculty/Staff Associations help make the University of Minnesota a more welcoming and inclusive place to work and learn. Connect with the groups below through the OED website to find out how you can join their mailing lists, learn about their upcoming events, programs, and meetings, and get involved.

• Asian American Pacific Islander Desi (AAPID) Staff & Faculty Association
• American Indian Faculty & Staff Association
• Black Faculty & Staff Association
• Disabled Employees at the U
• Jewish Faculty & Staff Association (JFSA)
• Latino/a/x Faculty & Staff Association
• Pride at Work
• U of M Indigenous Women & Women of Color
• U of M Veteran and Military Affinity Group

Duluth Campus Affinity Groups

• Commission on Equity, Race, and Ethnicity
• Commission on Disabilities
• Commission for Women
• GLBTQAI Commission
• Employees of Color and American Indians

The Trans Advisory & Action Team (TAAT) is led by trans and gender nonconforming people and open to persons of all gender identities and expressions. TAAT is a driving force behind many intersectional gender justice initiatives and a frequent partner with OHR. In addition to consulting on making University benefits more inclusive for trans employees, TAAT was a key partner in the initiatives outlined in more detail below.

The Gender and Sexuality Center for Queer and Trans Life  partnered with TAAT and Facilities Management to create gender inclusive restrooms across the University of Minnesota, so people of all bodies and genders may have full access. Most of these restrooms are single-stall & wheelchair accessible, removing barriers that previously existed because of gender, disability, or safety concerns.

To find gender-inclusive restroom locations, you can view the interactive maps for the Morris and Twin Cities campuses.  Crookston and Duluth have PDF versions available on their websites.

Many systems used by OHR to provide tax documentation, employee benefits, and employee pay use the employee’s name and sex that aligns with state-issued ID documents (a “legal name” and a “legal sex”) due to federal compliance and insurance claims processing needs. Some other University programs have a space to provide preferred name(s), pronouns, and/or gender.

Learn more about which functions require the use of legal name or legal sex under the "Employees" tab of the OHR website.

If you would like support from TAAT in contacting the respective department or unit about incorrect pronouns or name use, please email UMN-TAAT@umn.edu

Many within the university system are at varied stages of the EDI journey. Here, we hope to curate a central location for access to where the various colleges' and units' house some of that work. Below you will find links to just some that we think could be insightful.

• Carlson School of Management: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Annual Report
• College of Education and Human Development: Diversity and Inclusion
• College of Liberal Arts: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion in CLA
• Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs: Equity and Inclusion
• Medical School: Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
• Race, Indigeneity, Gender & Sexuality Studies: UMN Racial Justice Resources
• School of Public Health: Strategic Plan for Antiracism
• University of Minnesota Athletics: United We Are