Engineering change: strategic planning to build a department culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion in mechanical engineering

Although diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) interventions in science, engineering, and higher education are often discussed as being led at the individual or institutional level, departments can be an effective academic entity for creating meaningful culture change. One way a department can emba...

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Main Authors: Susan J. Cheng, Alondra M. Ortiz-Ortiz, Karl Grosh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-04-01
Series:Frontiers in Education
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2025.1469889/full
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author Susan J. Cheng
Susan J. Cheng
Alondra M. Ortiz-Ortiz
Karl Grosh
Karl Grosh
author_facet Susan J. Cheng
Susan J. Cheng
Alondra M. Ortiz-Ortiz
Karl Grosh
Karl Grosh
author_sort Susan J. Cheng
collection DOAJ
description Although diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) interventions in science, engineering, and higher education are often discussed as being led at the individual or institutional level, departments can be an effective academic entity for creating meaningful culture change. One way a department can embark on this work is through strategic planning, which can help a diverse group of stakeholders come together to identify a set of goals and pathways for achieving those goals over a sustained amount of time. In this piece, we present an overview of the University of Michigan Department of Mechanical Engineering’s three-phase DEI strategic planning process, which involved proposing strategic planning, creating the strategic plan, and preparing for implementation of the plan. Guiding questions and lessons learned from this process are provided to help other departments create their own locally relevant strategic plans in DEI.
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spelling doaj-art-5e2bfb1dc45b4ac3bcd0144c38c132652025-08-20T02:54:39ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Education2504-284X2025-04-011010.3389/feduc.2025.14698891469889Engineering change: strategic planning to build a department culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion in mechanical engineeringSusan J. Cheng0Susan J. Cheng1Alondra M. Ortiz-Ortiz2Karl Grosh3Karl Grosh4Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United StatesDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United StatesDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United StatesDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United StatesDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United StatesAlthough diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) interventions in science, engineering, and higher education are often discussed as being led at the individual or institutional level, departments can be an effective academic entity for creating meaningful culture change. One way a department can embark on this work is through strategic planning, which can help a diverse group of stakeholders come together to identify a set of goals and pathways for achieving those goals over a sustained amount of time. In this piece, we present an overview of the University of Michigan Department of Mechanical Engineering’s three-phase DEI strategic planning process, which involved proposing strategic planning, creating the strategic plan, and preparing for implementation of the plan. Guiding questions and lessons learned from this process are provided to help other departments create their own locally relevant strategic plans in DEI.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2025.1469889/fulldiversityinclusionequitystrategic planninghigher education
spellingShingle Susan J. Cheng
Susan J. Cheng
Alondra M. Ortiz-Ortiz
Karl Grosh
Karl Grosh
Engineering change: strategic planning to build a department culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion in mechanical engineering
Frontiers in Education
diversity
inclusion
equity
strategic planning
higher education
title Engineering change: strategic planning to build a department culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion in mechanical engineering
title_full Engineering change: strategic planning to build a department culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion in mechanical engineering
title_fullStr Engineering change: strategic planning to build a department culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion in mechanical engineering
title_full_unstemmed Engineering change: strategic planning to build a department culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion in mechanical engineering
title_short Engineering change: strategic planning to build a department culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion in mechanical engineering
title_sort engineering change strategic planning to build a department culture of diversity equity and inclusion in mechanical engineering
topic diversity
inclusion
equity
strategic planning
higher education
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2025.1469889/full
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