A University Senate resolution approved on Feb. 6, 2018, requires all units to engage in diversity planning. It stated:

“LET IT BE RESOLVED, that San Diego State University creates a campus-wide diversity plan and that all academic and administrative units/divisions also create individual diversity plans that are congruent with the University plan. The University shall provide training and support for developing these plans. This requirement shall be in place by the year 2020.”

After receiving the resolution, President Roush supported the implementation of the resolution and further provided that all units have diversity plans by fall 2020. Any units without an approved plan will not be able to hire beginning Jan. 1, 2021, until the criteria are satisfied. The Diversity and Inclusion Plans are meant to be expansive in nature; according to the resolution language, “all academic and administrative units/divisions” are required to have a plan on file. Beyond the wider university plan for equity, diversity, and inclusion, this includes all 54 academic departments and schools, eight colleges, Library, Imperial Valley Campus, Mission Valley Campus, all divisions (Academic Affairs, Business and Financial Affairs, Graduate and Research Affairs, Information Technology, Student Affairs, University Relations and Development), and campus auxiliaries. However, to ensure vertical alignment between the College Diversity Plans and the Department/School Diversity Plans, in September 2019, DDI recommended to the University Senate that the deadline for the Department/School Plans be moved to March of 2021; that recommendation was approved at the October 1 Senate meeting.

Diversity and Inclusion Plans are an opportunity for units to articulate their goals with respect to equity, diversity and inclusion for all faculty, staff and students as part of their mission of excellence in education and scholarship. A good plan requires understanding how well the unit is (or isn’t) currently supporting students, staff and faculty from diverse backgrounds; developing a shared vision of the environment that the unit wishes to create; and considering metrics for evaluating progress toward shared goals. The process of creating these plans is therefore an opportunity for units to engage in important conversations about values and priorities, and to think strategically about what changes are needed to reach stated goals. At the end of the development progress, these plans will help guide the unit as changes are implemented and progress is evaluated; at the same time, plans themselves will continue to evolve as departments and units continue to grow and develop.

To support the development of these plans, Campus Diversity and the Diversity Liaisons (the Equity and Inclusion Councils) provides guidance, professional learning, and continued support with individual elements of the plans.

• Informal feedback and review from the College/Unit-level Diversity and Inclusion councils
• Informal feedback and review from the University Inclusion and Equity Council representatives
• Review and recommendation for approval from the Senate DEI committee
• Review and approval from the Chief Diversity Officer

The process and expectations for individual schools and departments are somewhat different than for the colleges. For more information on that process, please see the page on Diversity and Inclusion Planning for Schools / Departments.