Implementation

Creating a diverse, inclusive, and equitable experience for all community members requires more than carefully crafted strategic plans, it requires implementation. This sections explores the ways that the Nicholas School actively works to meet our DEI goals.

DEI Implementation Plan & Anti-Racism Plan

The Nicholas School has developed two implementation major plans to create a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable school. These implementation plans extend the work of a number of DEI strategic plans (see Background Information below), to provide concrete activities to advance DEI in the Nicholas School.

The DEI Implementation Plan outlines DEI goals, objectives, and activities (i.e., tactics) primarily derived from past NSOE DEI reports and strategic plans, as well as from the Nicholas School Anti-Racism plan, a vision of racial equity born from a petition from the Nicholas School community in 2020. Additional activities were added based on the Duke University Faculty Climate Workshop offered in August 2021. To learn more about how these plans were developed, please see Background Information.

Wondering what NSOE has been doing to advance DEI? Check out our Accountability Updates or our Year-in-Review Updates from 2022-2023 and 2021-2022.

DEI Implementation Plan and Evaluation

Implementation activities for each set of NSOE DEI goals and objectives are evaluated annually based on a 3 point scale: Transforming (3 pts), Developing (2 pts), Emerging (1 pts), or No effort (0 pts).

This framework has been adapted from the work of outdoor inclusion expert, Karlisa Callwood, PhD of KAC Consulting, LLC presented at the NAI 2021 Conference. In this, Transforming means that the activity is part of the culture of the school and is regularly practiced. Developing means that some aspect(s) are either practiced regularly, but the activity hasn’t been fully integrated into the practices of the school or the activity has only recently been incorporated. Emerging means that discussions are taking place about prioritizing or initiating the activity and that there is general support for doing so.

The result of the Associate Dean of DEI 2021 assessment are below. The highest scores (in the upper Emerging range, >1.5 out of 3) were given for the Nicholas School’s two inclusion objectives and second diversity objective (2b, see below). The lowest overall scores (in the lower Emerging range between 1 and 1.5 out of 3) were given for the Nicholas School’s first diversity objective (2a, see below).

Summary statistics are available that indicate change in rank since the DEI Implementation Plan went into effect in Fall 2021.

Are you interested in learning about NSOE’s pay equity and re-leveling efforts for faculty and staff? If so, please visit our Salary Equity & Leveling page.