A draft of the OneIT Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Action Plan has been published in order to gather feedback and begin to prioritize the initiatives.

The draft was developed by a subgroup of IT leaders last year as part of the university strategic planning process, which required each organization to develop plans for four areas: Student Success, Research, Engagement, and DEI. It aligns with a strategy in the IT Workforce of the Future Goal in the OneIT Strategic Plan: "Cultivate a workforce culture of commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Embrace this commitment as mission-critical, not just compliance-driven, and embed it in hiring, incentive, retention, and career-development practices and initiatives." The draft DEI plan also reflects and shares components of the Campus DEI Action Plan. 

Initiatives in the plan are designed to increase a feeling of belonging, improve retention rates, and increase the number of individuals who would recommend us as a place of employment. The efforts will allow the OneIT community to learn more about DEI and apply that knowledge to interactions with others and the solutions it implements. The community’s ability to understand others better, reduce inconsiderate language, and consider others in its efforts will directly impact the success of faculty, staff, and students.

OneIT is already making progress on some elements of the plan, even as efforts to refine and prioritize the plan take place. Opportunities to discuss and provide input on the plan are being scheduled. You may also share your thoughts with the team that has been working on the plan by emailing OneIT-DEI@uiowa.edu.