University of Michigan dedicates $85M to ‘diversity’

The University of Michigan has earmarked $85 million over five years in order to promote diversity and inclusiveness on its campuses.

The university released a 43-page strategic plan detailing how the additional $17 million in annual spending will be used to “create an inclusive and equitable campus,” such as through initiatives to “recruit, retain and develop a diverse university community.”

Efforts to promote diversity already cost the Wolverines $40 million per year, noted Derek Draplin of Michigan Capitol Confidential, which first reported the program.

Among other things, the additional diversity funding will go toward improving how the university tracks “bias-related incidents,” including a bias-reporting hotline.

The university will foot the bill for $31 million of the initiative through its general fund, while private donors and other sources of revenue will cover the additional $54 million in new spending.

The cost of tuition at Michigan’s flagship Ann Arbor campus is $13,856 for in-state students and $43,476 for out-of-state students, according to U.S. News and World Report. Room and board comes in at an additional $10,554 per annum.

The University of Michigan increased tuition by 3.9 percent last year for in-state students.

The strategic plan reiterates the university’s commitment to “increasing diversity, which is expressed in myriad forms, including race and ethnicity, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, language, culture, national origins, religious commitments, age, disability status and political perspective.”