NCID director Tabbye Chavous appointed University of Michigan vice provost for equity & inclusion and chief diversity officer

Since 2016, Dr. Chavous has directed the National Center for Institutional Diversity (NCID) and brought to us not only a distinguished record of scholarly achievement, but also deep administrative experience, always with an eye and focus on transforming diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work at U-M and beyond. Her work in this regard was critical for the NCID, especially during tumultuous times in our nation where we have seen challenges to foundational DEI principles and truths that are core to our democracy. During these times in particular, diversity scholars and their scholarship were often on the front lines of defending DEI principles in higher education and society.

Under Dr. Chavous' leadership, the NCID transitioned to U-M’s College of Literature, Science and the Arts (LSA) and focused its efforts on the important work of catalyzing, supporting, and promoting DEI scholarship by building, connecting, and mobilizing scholarly communities for social change. The NCID also made significant advances in its unique work with scholars and leaders at U-M and beyond to catalyze and support innovative multi- and interdisciplinary scholarly projects that support the development of innovative evidence-based approaches that advance equity and inclusion in higher education and society.

Dr. Chavous has provided visionary leadership to a number of initiatives in LSA, the broader U-M community, and nationally, including:

• LSA Collegiate Fellows Program — This innovative diversity faculty program recruits promising scholars with demonstrated DEI commitments to postdoctoral fellowships with the ultimate goal of their transitioning into LSA faculty appointments. The program has positively impacted College faculty diversity and has also become a campus and national model.
• The James S. Jackson Award for distinguished career contributions to diversity scholarship, and the University Diversity and Social Transformation Professorship — In partnership with the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI), these programs represent two of the very few university-wide honors in the country specifically focused on recognizing and rewarding faculty scholarly and leadership contributions to DEI.
• The Anti-Racism Collaborative (ARC) — Building on the NCID’s existing Diversity Scholars Network model and public scholarship platforms, the ARC is a partnership with the provost’s office anti-racism initiative to support interdisciplinary engagement of the U-M scholarly community (faculty and research staff, postdocs, students) around research and scholarship focused on racial inequality, equity, and justice.
• An NCID public scholarship initiative to support scholars who are informing and influencing policy and practice by centering anti-racism and social justice principles. This initiative included the creation of two open access publications: Spark and Currents: Journal of Diversity Scholars for Social Change.
• Tools and resources to support the mental health of students of color — Including a national convening, a video toolkit for faculty and staff providers; a special issue of Currents focused on mental health among marginalized communities, and a special Spark issue on addressing Asian American/Pacific Islander college student needs.
• A research agenda to inform higher education practice related in DEI — The NCID sponsored and engaged in a number of cutting edge research projects on emerging, critical DEI issues in higher education that support institutional transformation, such as the Experiences of Academic Diversity Officers at the University of Michigan, the Promise of Diversity Statements Insights and an Initial Framework Developed from a Faculty Search Process, and the Social Action, Leadership and Transformation (SALT) model.
• Structures to support graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who are diversity scholars — The NCID has provided significant support for dozens of graduate student researchers and postdoctoral fellows through supporting engagement in research, funding and professional development opportunities.

It goes without saying that Dr. Chavous’ leadership of NCID for the past six year has truly been transformational. We congratulate Dr. Chavous on her appointment as the U-M’s vice provost for equity and inclusion and chief diversity officer and eagerly anticipate the transformative impact she will have in this new leadership role!

For more information on her appointment, read the University Record announcement.