Diversity, Equity and Inclusion News

Associate Professor Sandra Momper has been appointed by Provost Susan Collins to the U-M’s Anti-Racism Faculty Hiring Initiative. The initiative, a component of the university’s multifaceted approach to addressing systemic racism, will bring over 20 new scholars with expertise in racial inequality and structural racism to schools and colleges across campus over three years. Members will review hiring proposals and make selections for funding for the first round of tenure track hires in January 2021.

In addition, she recently was appointed by Dilip Das, Assistant Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, U-M Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion to the Indigenous Leadership Group.

ENGAGE Program Director and Lecturer Ayesha Ghazi-Edwin received a Certificate of Appreciation from the James T. Neubacher Awards Committee, a unit of the U-M Council for Disability Concerns. The certificate is in acknowledgment of her efforts to advance the cause of accessibility and justice for the disability community.  In addition to her work at the school, Ghazi-Edwin is also the Fund Development and Research Specialist at Detroit Disability Power, a disability justice nonprofit organization in Detroit.  She also serves on the Michigan Social Work's Inclusion and Access Taskforce. 

Established by the university’s Council for Disability Concerns in October 1990, the award is a memorial to James T. Neubacher, a university alumnus and columnist for the Detroit Free Press who advocated for equal rights and opportunities for people with disabilities.

Natasha Johnson, PhD ‘20, has received a $5,000 Racial Injustice Award From the U-M Depression Center for her research on racism awareness among Black youths. Her research has the potential to provide empirical support for intervention programs aimed at combating racism by developing a psychometric tool that will evaluate resilient pathways for racially marginalized youth.

The Faculty Allies for Diversity Committee (FADC) at the School of Social Work is a recipient of the 2020 Carol Hollenshead Inspire Award for Excellence in Promoting Equity and Social Change (sponsored by CEW+).  This award was created to honor CEW+ director Carol Hollenshead and celebrates those whose sustained efforts have resulted in greater equity with regard to gender, race, class, age, disability, gender identity or sexual orientation. Recipients demonstrate a commitment to diversity and inclusion, creativity in devising strategic approaches to advocacy and problem solving, effective coalition building, and sustained effort and demonstrated outcomes in achieving greater equity in this community or beyond.  

The FADC received this award in recognition of their scholarship and advocacy on behalf of underrepresented minorities in academia, their commitment to diversity and equality, and their sustained efforts to create positive change. 

The FADC is co-chaired by Professor Rogério M. Pinto and Assistant Professor Addie Weaver. Members include PhD Student Briana Starks, Associate Professor David Córdova, Professors Lorraine Gutiérrez, Todd Herrenkohl and Trina Shanks. Congratulations to the Faculty Allies for Diversity Committee members for all of their hard work.

Shanna Kattari’s series, “Nonbinary Identities and Individuals in Research, Community, and the Academy” was included in U-M’s LGBTQA resources for faculty and staff. “As a cisgender person in the academy, I wanted to intentionally create a space for nonbinary scholars to share their knowledge and/or lived experiences, to help remedy some of the erasure and invisibility experienced by this community and population,” Kattari told the University Record.

The Student IDEA Board – which includes Assistant Professor Shanna Kattari – received a  U-M Distinguished Diversity Leaders Award from the Office of the Provost and University Human Resources. The Student IDEA Board was created to assess the university’s current structures and culture as they relate to students with disabilities, identify areas for improvement, and provide recommendations to enhance the lived experiences of disabled students.

Michigan Social Work's Office of Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) celebrated and honored recipients of the DEI Impact Awards, recognizing individuals or groups in the School who have made significant contributions to advancing diversity, equity & inclusion in the School of Social Work and/or in the community. Lauren Davis, Assistant Director of SSW DEI Program, said about the awards: “While there is still much work to be done to advance the efforts of the DEI strategic plan, we wanted to take a moment to celebrate the incredible work that members of the SSW community have made to advance diversity, equity and inclusion, and to acknowledge the commitment and progress we have made as a School.”

The recipients of the 2019 Impact Awards are, from left to right: Justin Hodge, Clinical Assistant Professor; Todd Huynh, Joint PhD Program Coordinator; Dominique Crump, MSW Student; and the Undoing Racism Work Group: Daicia Price, Clinical Assistant Professor; Richard Tolman, Professor of Social Work; Lorraine Gutiérrez, Director, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program, and Professor of Social Work. Not pictured, but also award recipients: Sharon Almonte, MSW Student; and Undoing Racism Work Group member Lisa Fedina, Assistant Professor of Social Work.

Associate Professors Terri Friedline and Trina Shanks identify key problems, and how to address them, in WalletHub's latest report on underprivileged children.