UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — During a virtual conversation for the University community, Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi and Special Adviser for Institutional Equity Jennifer Hamer discussed the recent process to inventory DEIB programs and resources across Penn State’s campuses.   

Along with covering key findings and the special adviser’s recommendations, Bendapudi shared four proposed DEIB-related actions — which align with her DEIB-related goals — to move forward with over the coming months. These efforts include a multi-tiered, equity-centered “one-stop” resource hub for students, new equity-focused hiring programs for both faculty and staff, and a new University-wide system for reporting wrongdoing, including bias reporting. 

“I’d like to thank Jennifer and her team for taking on this important task that will contribute to strengthening Penn State’s commitment to DEIB and driving outcomes for our community,” Bendapudi said. “Jenny’s work to examine the University’s current DEIB efforts and her recommendations will help build on my vision and goals to create transformational and inclusive experiences that enable all students, faculty, and staff to succeed at Penn State. This conversation is the first step stemming from the special adviser’s work and there will be continued conversations and opportunities for the community to engage.”  

To view the conversation in full, visit liveevents.psu.edu. Following the conversation, community members can submit questions and comments about findings and next steps using an online form. An executive summary of the special adviser’s findings and recommendations, which were discussed during the conversation, is also available. As the special adviser’s analysis was completed in a short time frame, the full details, including additional data and appendices, will be available this summer.  

In November, Bendapudi named Hamer — interim associate vice provost for Educational Equity; professor of African American studies and women’s, gender and sexuality studies; and director of the Mid-Career Faculty Advancement Program — to lead the work with support from a volunteer team of faculty and staff from across the University. The special adviser was charged with:  

• Distilling key DEIB data and report recommendations into a series of actionable measures.   
• Identifying successful DEIB activity throughout Penn State, focusing on initiatives that can be enhanced or further supported to increase DEIB outcomes.   
• Formulating an initial plan, in alignment with Bendapudi’s key diversity goals, indicating key investments and areas of focus to drive progress toward successful completion of these goals.  
• Defining executive leadership accountability. 

Among recent efforts, the University recently launched a new public DEIB dashboard that collects and tracks DEIB information from across the institution in one central location. Bendapudi and Lance Kennedy-Phillips, vice provost for planning, assessment, and institutional research in the Office of Planning, Assessment, and Institutional Research (OPAIR) provided an update about the dashboard at the meeting of the Penn State Board of Trustees Committee on Equity and Human Resources on April 20. 

Process and findings  

Over eight weeks, in consultation with the OPAIR and others, the group gathered information and analyzed a variety of existing University data and reports. Along with reviewing strategic plans from academic and administrative units, the team gathered information from the President’s Commissions for Equity; the Penn State Community Survey; Taskforce on Faculty Promotions; Taskforce on Policing and Communities of Color; Select Presidential Commission on Racism, Bias, and Community Safety; More Rivers to Cross reports; data from deans and chancellors on faculty attrition; and DEIB-related scholarship and research, including contacting all associate deans for research; and more.

The team also met with a variety of individuals and groups, including student organizations such as Black Caucus, Latino Caucus, and Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Caucus; University Staff Advisory Council; Division of Undergraduate Studies; and Office of the Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses; among others. 

“In a short time frame of eight weeks, we identified a variety of strengths as well as challenges and opportunities we must address on an institutional level to increase diversity, promote equity, and address retention and belonging across Penn State’s campuses,” Hamer said. “It was so important to hear from as many voices as we could during this process. Our community is passionate and cares deeply and we have an abundance of talent, programs and research, but we must focus on outcomes. If we can work toward a cohesive set of goals, we can boldly tackle this important work, address inequities and achieve our land-grant mission.” 

Penn State’s student, faculty, and staff demographics are consistent with Big Ten peers, and key metrics indicate that while there have been modest improvements, there is persistent underrepresentation of African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, Native American, and Native Hawaiian and Asian Pacific Islanders among student, faculty, and staff populations; underrepresentation of women in the composition of faculty and within the highest faculty ranks; and overrepresentation of white women and white men among administrators.

Hamer said that Penn State has established a strong foundation on which to make continued headway, pointing to the many academic and administrative units that have established DEIB strategic plan action items and that have appointed DEIB leadership; institutional surveys and considerable data that serve as a baseline to assess change, including the recently launched DEIB dashboard; and a breadth of DEIB-related scholarship produced by faculty and researchers. 

“The work to advance DEIB is not easy, but it’s important and we truly value those who are leading these efforts across Penn State,” Hamer said. “There are hundreds of people across the University who are engaged in some way with equity focused work for students, faculty and staff, as well as our equity commissions and other groups. To me, this is in and of itself a strong foundation on which to build.” 

While Hamer notes that additional data-gathering and analysis will be valuable in the future, the preliminary inventory showcases an abundance of DEIB-related programming, initiatives, and research and scholarly work, including:  

• 261 undergraduate and 243 graduate student support programs and action items across Penn State.  
• 244 faculty professional and leadership development action items across Penn State.  
• More than 100 research centers, projects and initiatives that touch on DEIB topics in the last decade. 
• More than 900 faculty and researchers who have published more than 1,000 articles on DEIB-related topics in the last decade. 
• More than 130 grants awarded to Penn State totaling nearly $57 million in the last decade, with the number of grants received each year increasing significantly during the past five years. 

Recommendations and next steps 

Bendapudi shared initial steps the University will take to address key challenges and carry out recommendations made by the special adviser. 

“I have identified four key actions we will accelerate that I believe are responsive to Jenny’s findings and will help us achieve the DEIB goals I have laid out,” Bendapudi said. “We are getting started by moving these initial projects forward — in partnership with many across our community, including those who work in the DEIB space, are part of the Equity Commissions, and student leaders across our campuses.” 

Bendapudi also named four members from her President’s Council to assemble and lead agile teams in advancing each of the four equity-enhancing actions. In the coming months, each lead will develop a plan — in partnership with an equity-focused partner — to carry out the following actions and share progress updates with the Penn State community. 

Action 1 — Establish a multi-tiered, equity-centered “one-stop” resource hub for students that will drive undergraduate and graduate students across the commonwealth to one place for answers and connections to multiple units and support resources that contribute to the student experience. The resource, with multiple tiers, will be a central place for every student to go for answers, support and help navigating Penn State. Though this hub will benefit all students, including graduate students, additional attention will be paid to enhancing existing resources that offer identity-focused support for progression, engagement, and outcomes to first-generation college students, those from underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups, campus-to-campus students, queer and trans people of color (QTPOC) students, LGBTQ students, and others who are more likely to report challenges related to belonging. Student leaders in the University Park Undergraduate Association and from across Penn State’s campuses have highlighted the need for a central online resource to help students make more immediate connections to the resources they need, and Interim Vice President for Student Affairs Andrea Dowhower, who will lead this effort, has been working with student leaders for many months to begin to add structure to the first tier of this program. Additional opportunities will be explored beyond the online self-service tool, including identity-focused resources for investment in additional existing specialized resources such as the Gender Equity Center and Counseling and Psychological Services, as well as for emergency funding. David Callejo, associate vice president and senior associate dean for academic programs in the Office of the Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses, will be an equity partner for this effort. 

Action 2 — Develop a faculty hiring program to help diversify Penn State’s faculty. The comprehensive program focused on hiring and retention will include establishing a clear spousal hiring policy; enhancing equity-centered search committee training, including addressing implicit bias in the search and hire process; and setting up accountability procedures at the unit and campus level to drive progress. Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Justin Schwartz will lead this effort and build out an agile team to begin to enhance existing programs intended to drive tenure-line faculty retention and progression to full professor, with particular attention to the experiences of underrepresented racial and ethnic minority faculty and women across the campuses; better support the advancement and career cycle of nontenure line faculty; and improve postdoctoral and graduate student experiences. Schwartz has already been considering how to institutionalize commitments to spousal hiring, opportunity funding for diverse hires, expansion of successful retention programs across various units, and enhancements to the SRTE process and efforts. 

Action 3 — Develop a staff hiring program to address diversity among staff and to support staff members in their career and professional development at Penn State. With an equity-centered lens, this new program will incorporate enhanced equity-centered search committee training, including addressing implicit bias in the search and hire process and hiring accountability procedures that augment outcomes. Vice President for Human Resources Jennifer Wilkes, who will lead this action, will build on existing practices and policies to enhance hiring and onboarding. Adidi Etim-Hunting, director of diversity, equity and inclusion in Development and Alumni Relations, will be an equity partner for this effort. 

Action 4 — Develop a new University-wide system for reporting wrongdoing, including bias reporting, to address the process and multiple mechanisms for reporting and following up on misconduct and bias for students, faculty and staff across 24 campuses. The new program and process will be streamlined, provide clear timelines for response, and support a greater level of accountability in terms of tracking, case management, and follow-up with reporters of bias. Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer Tabitha Oman, who will lead this team, has been working with various leaders to better understand reporting structures and plans to expand the implementation team to build an equity focus into the plan. Seria Chatters, assistant vice provost in the Office of Educational Equity, will be an equity partner for this effort.  

Special adviser’s team 

The following faculty and staff members collaborated with the special adviser on the evaluative process:  

• Karen Armstrong, director of inclusion, equity and diversity, Outreach and Online Education  
• D. Scott Bennett, senior associate dean for Research and Graduate Studies and distinguished professor of political science, College of the Liberal Arts  
• Ashley Citarella, associate director of operations, programs and events, Student Affairs  
• Adidi Etim-Hunting, director of diversity, equity and inclusion, Development and Alumni Relations  
• Annette Fetterolf, analysis and planning consultant, Outreach and Online Education  
• Jennifer Hamer, special adviser for institutional equity, Office of the President   
• Ashley Jackson, equity research specialist, Office of the Vice Provost for Educational Equity   
• Susan Johnson, assistant director of research funding, planning and operations, Office of the Senior Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, College of the Liberal Arts   
• Lance Kennedy-Phillips, vice provost for planning, assessment, and institutional research, Office of Planning, Assessment, and Institutional Research  
• Linda Klimczyk, IT manager, Libraries Strategic Technologies, University Libraries  
• Roderick Lee, director of Information Technology Degree Programs and associate professor of Information Systems, School of Business Administration, Penn State Harrisburg    
• Laura Leites, associate research professor of Quantitative Forest Ecology, College of Agricultural Sciences; Equity Leadership Faculty Fellow, Office of the Vice Provost for Educational Equity  
• Nivedita Nagachar, undergraduate studies adviser, Division of Undergraduate Studies  
• Daniel Newhart, assistant vice provost for planning, Office of Planning, Assessment, and Institutional Research  
• Rheno Pradikta, graduate research assistant, Public Policy  
• Carly Sunseri, director of data science, Office of Planning, Assessment, and Institutional Research  
• Amy Tegeder, administrative support coordinator, Office of the Vice Provost for Educational Equity  

To view the conversation in full, visit liveevents.psu.edu.