Update from Dr. Charles Martinez
May 20, 2007
Following the adoption of the Diversity Plan for the University of Oregon in May 2006, the process for developing strategic action plans (SAPs) for every college, school, and unit was launched. The timelines released by President Frohnmayer with the spring 2006 draft of the diversity plan
stipulated that the 06-07 academic year would be devoted to developing, reviewing, and adopting those SAPs. The 07-08 academic year will represent the first year of implementation of the SAPs and the first formal progress report to the university senate and the larger campus community will occur during Spring 2008. The purpose of this memorandum is to provide a general update about the progress that has been made this year in developing the SAPs for every school, college, and unit.
Plan Organizing Elements
The Diversity Plan has called on each college, school, and unit to develop an SAP that: (1) provides details and data (where appropriate) about the specific diversity challenges that are to be addressed in their plan and why these targets are most appropriate; (2) includes detailed descriptions of the specific actions that will be taken to address those diversity challenges; and (3) provides information about the measurable markers of
progress that will be assessed during implementation. The university plan also described six main points to be addressed in each strategic plan including: (1) Developing a Culturally Responsive Community, (2) Improving Campus Climate, (3) Building a Critical Mass, (4) Expanding and Filling the Pipeline, (5) Developing and Strengthening Community Linkages, and (6) Developing and reinforcing Diversity Infrastructure.
SAP Development Support
In the summer of 2006, a conversation was facilitated with deans and campus leaders at the annual UO leadership retreat to begin the process of strategic action planning. While there were no precise prescriptions about the number of strategic plans that were to be submitted, the expectation was that, at minimum, there would be plan developed for every college, school, and vice presidential office, as well as a plan for the athletics department, the library, the Office of the Provost, the Office of the President, and the ASUO. As college, school, and unit leaders discussed initiating the strategic planning process, they were encouraged to engage in a variety of preliminary steps including activities such as selecting a committee to develop the plan and identifying and analyzing existing data about unit-level diversity efforts and outcomes. A strong focus was placed on the goal that the development of the Strategic Action Plans be viewed as the shared responsibility of all faculty, students, staff, and officers of administration within units, and that each of these constituencies, along with external community members, as appropriate, should be considered for membership on committees.
During the summer and early fall, OIED and the university Diversity Advisory Committee (DAC) prepared a comprehensive model to provide support to the colleges, schools, and units for developing their SAPs. The model included: (1) the creation/aggregation of a host of written resources (e.g., a plan development guide, an SAP template, lists of campus resources for the planning process, and model plans); (2) the establishment of a series of seven open technical assistance sessions to provide training on SAP development to unit leaders and planning committee members during the fall and winter terms; (3) development of a plan for individual consultation by OIED and the DAC; and (4) articulation of criteria for reviewing SAPs once they were submitted. A memorandum was sent to the entire campus community in September 2006 describing the supports, expectations, and timelines. Also, in the fall of 2006, a full briefing was presented to the University Senate about the SAP process.
Technical Assistance Sessions
OIED and DAC held seven three-hour technical assistance sessions between October 2006 and February 2007. The open sessions were designed to allow unit leaders and members of SAP planning committees to learn methods for engaging the strategic planning process, to brainstorm ideas, to ask questions, and to receive feedback. Attendees were encouraged to bring laptops so that they could begin the process of structuring SAPs during the sessions. Sessions were very well attended and many individuals came to more than one session.
Individual Consultation
A number of unit leaders made requests to meet with OIED staff during the planning process. In addition, a number of units asked for individual consulting resources from OIED and the DAC during the strategic planning process. Such
requests were always granted. Unit leaders were also encouraged to send early drafts of their SAPs to the DAC for informal review during the process.
Review Process
The timeline for the development of the SAPs required that drafts of plans from all units be submitted to OIED for review by the DAC, Provost, and UO General Counsel by the end of the winter term 2007. The fall 2006 memorandum to the campus community and the resource guide included details about the review process and criteria. This information was also discussed at each technical assistance session. Each college, school, and unit responded to submission deadline in some form, although there was clearly variance in the level of completeness of the SAPs at that point. Each SAP was assigned to 3-4 DAC members or OIED staff members for initial review. The review process required each reviewer to provide independent written critiques that focused on seven areas: (1) consistency with strategic directions outlined in the University Diversity Plan, (2) appropriateness of targeted actions given specified college, school, and unit challenges, (3) appropriateness of measures to track progress on strategic actions, (4) clarity of responsibility for implementation of each proposed action, (5) sufficiency of resource allocations, (6) feasibility of implementation, and (7) level of involvement of unit constituencies during the planning process. In addition, each reviewer was asked to indicate major strengths and weaknesses in a summary.
During spring break 2007, the DAC for a two-day retreat to conduct the reviews. During the review sessions, each of the primary reviewers provided summaries of their independent critiques noting the major strengths and weaknesses along the seven review areas. Following the reviewers' discussions, the entire DAC had a discussion about merits and possible suggestions for improvement for each plan. The review process was designed to be collaborative, rather than punitive. While there was some expectation that units would carefully consider the issues raised and suggestions by reviewers, there was also clear understanding that the university plan stipulated that each dean or unit leader would have final discretion as to the content of their Strategic Action Plan, subject to the authority of the Senior Vice President and Provost. Following the in-person discussions, reviewers submitted their independent written reviews and the DAC discussion comments were summarized in written form. Each SAP was then submitted, along with review comments, to the Provost and UO General Counsel for additional review. Ultimately, unit leaders received the review material back during the third week of the spring term. Comments from the Office of the General Counsel are pending.
General Observations Regarding Reviews
The DAC noted a host of general strengths regarding the SAPs following the reviews:
- All units were responsive to the timelines
- Very evident wide spread engagement
- Evident time and energy reflects the seriousness of the process
- Apparent effort to get past discomforts and address unfamiliar territory
- Majority of the plans followed the guidelines and individualized them
- Widespread engagement from unit constituencies
- New resources have been identified and existing capacity has been brought upstream
- New and necessary conversation and energy has resulted from this process
- Strong commitment to action rather than mere rhetoric
- Increased widespread knowledge of campus resources and efforts
- A new internal assessment forum has been created
A number of general ongoing issues were also identified by the DAC following the reviews:
- Overall lack of student inclusion in the planning
- Some lack of innovation
- Overemphasis on describing current strategies vs. new efforts
- Not enough reference to UO plan
- Limited environmental scanning to surface strengths and to evaluate impacts of current efforts
- Not enough energy on evaluation and measurement of progress
- Limited or poor data quality for environmental scanning
- Not enough clarity on accountability measures and responsible party for overseeing multiple unit plans
- Some plans were not written to reach both internal and external audiences
- Overgeneralization of "diversity" potentially leading to dilution of efforts
- Lack of clarity regarding resource and financial impacts
- Not enough utilization of current resources
Next Steps
Now that reviews have been returned, each college, school, or unit will have the opportunity to edit their plans prior to the required adoption date at the end of spring term 2007. Some units were explicitly encouraged to resubmit revised or more developed plans for review prior to adoption. OIED has provided individual feedback sessions to many units since the reviews to discuss the critiques and offer support for refinement. Implementation of the SAPs is to begin in earnest during Fall 2007. The first formal progress report will be provided by the Provost to the University Senate and the campus community in May 2008.
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