The Director’s Advisory Committee on Community and Diversity (DACCD) is made up of staff members and researchers from each of the five ISR research centers plus the Center for Insitute Services. The committee meets monthly. Our charge:

• To recommend policies and activities to the Director that will raise the consciousness of all employees about the value of diversity in everyday work settings
• To change practices in work settings, research programs, centers, and the Institute that detract from the positive gains from a diverse workforce and the valuing of diverse experience
• To set practical timetables for achieving short-term and longer-term goals via policies and activities
• To work collaboratively and in a complementary fashion with center-level initiatives that address diversity

Membership

Members of the Director’s Advisory Committee on Community and Diversity are appointed by the ISR Director, with the advice and guidance of the committee. Some of the factors considered in membership composition are:

• Representation from all ISR Centers
• Diverse representation in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability status, religion, sexual orientation, and family status
• Representation from various job families

Former members of the Committee and those who are interested in diversity issues but might not have time to serve on the Committee are formally acknowledged as the Friends of DACCD. These staff are called upon for volunteer activities and other diversity programs at ISR.

If you are an ISR staff member or researcher, have an active interest in issues of diversity, and would like to be considered for membership in the DACCD or as a Friend of the Committee, email the DACCD Membership Committee at dacdmembership@umich.edu.

Subcommittees

Much of the work of the DACCD is accomplished in subcommittees:

• Perspectives plans and executes programs and events designed to build a spirit of community at ISR, to raise awareness about important social issues, and to foster respect for one another’s diverse backgrounds and viewpoints.
• Membership assists in determining the schedule for rotating members on and off the DACCD and helps assure that membership is balanced with regard to representation from ISR Centers & job families and in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability status, religion, sexual orientation, and family status.
• Accessibility works on issues of making ISR’s physical and virtual spaces accessible to all people regardless of their ability status.
• The ISR Community and Diversity Lending Library’s purpose is to make materials and resources related to DACCD’s mission easily available and accessible to the staff of the Institute.
• Communications develops and maintains a website and messaging to keep the ISR community informed about events and activities of the DACCD and to raise general awareness of issues of diversity.
• Social Justice works on furthering the theme of Social Justice.
• Budget works on drafting and monitoring the DACCD budget for each fiscal year.
• Community Guides provides staff and faculty new to ISR with some knowledge and resources that are unique to ISR to help build their sense of connectedness to the Institute.

Latest News from DACCD

• 2021 DACCD Summary
• Reimagining DACCD Membership & Recruitment
• Updates from DACCD’s Accessibility Subcommittee
• DACCD’s Social Justice Committee 2021 updates

Other Diversity Related Projects

• The ISR Climate Survey – In addition, together with others at ISR, DACCD supports a periodic Climate Survey to gauge attitudes and the overall workplace climate at ISR.
• ISR Common Interest Groups – The intent of these groups is to give staff an opportunity to meet with others at ISR through shared hobbies and interests and thereby strengthening our workplace community. Several groups are currently active, including A Loose Knit Group, Genealogy, ISR Feeds, and ISR Reads (a social justice book group).
• Vuthy Pen Recognition Award – In 2015, DACCD established the Vuthy Pen Recognition Award to honor the memory of a long-time associate and esteemed Senior Programmer Analyst at the Institute for Social Research. In addition, DACCD established the Vuthy Pen Educational Trust to benefit his children.

Resources

The Resources page provides links to diversity-related U of M Offices and Departments as well as community resources.