Imani Barnes is a first-year graduate student in the Higher Education Master’s program with a concentration in Diversity and Social Justice. She is also a graduate of the University of Florida with degrees in English & African American Studies and a minor in Women’s Studies. As a first-generation college student and McNair Scholar, she is excited to explore the University of Michigan and get one step closer toward a Ph.D. She currently serves as a Graduate Student Instructor for the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies while simultaneously completing an internship with LSA Undergraduate Education as their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Intern. She is passionate about creating an inclusive environment for women of color in academia and aim to incorporate Black feminist pedagogies into all aspects of my professional career. She enjoys singing and is an avid TV consumer outside of my academic and professional interests. Her favorite show is “The Challenge” on MTV. Similarly, while she hasn’t performed music in a few years, you will find her wherever there is a karaoke night.

COVID in Color

As the only organization of female academics of color at the University of Michigan, the Woman of Color in the Academy Project (WOCAP) is keenly aware of the new difficulties that COVID-19 pandemic raises both for the University’s DEI commitments and for WOCAP’s mission of achieving a university where all women of color faculty experience success, leadership, visibility and representation. As a step toward meeting these challenges, the COVID in Color project will pilot a focus-group study that draws on its membership to understand the complex and intersectional experiences of women of color faculty at the University of Michigan. The immediate objective of the study is to identify areas of concern that existing studies on experiences of women academics on the one hand and on faculty of color on the other are failing to capture, and to gather qualitative data about challenges exacerbated by the intersectionality of gender and race. Such a study would help guide WOCAP’s future advocacy efforts and enable WOCAP to aid the University in identifying and meeting DEI needs focused on women of color. Beyond these measurable outcomes, however, we also believe that the process of conducting the survey itself will generate invaluable opportunities for experience-sharing and community-building. The survey will serve as a springboard for further initiatives in teaching and mentoring.

Jeannie Marks is a second-year graduate student, originally from Birmingham, Alabama. She is currently pursuing her MA in Higher Education with a concentration in Student Access and Success after receiving her Bachelors of Science in Biology from Furman University (Greenville, SC) in 2020. Here at Michigan, she also serves as the Health and Well-being Graduate Intern with the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life. She is passionate about student well-being, specifically related to the areas of eating disorder prevention and interpersonal violence prevention in college environments. After graduating in December, Jeannie plans to work in student support services, student wellness advocacy, and/or new student orientation. It is her ultimate goal to apply her passion for collegiate mental and physical health toward a Ph.D. in the future.

Affinity Groups in Institutions of Higher Education

As a collaboration between investigators at the Diversity Research & Policy Program, the Affinity Groups in Institutions of Higher Education is an exploratory study with the purpose of learning more about both formal and informal groups, networks, and associations that support academic staff employed by higher education institutions, particularly Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). Our project is designed to obtain information about the history, formation, mission, and structure of these groups, as the research base on this topic within higher education settings is fairly limited. We plan to disseminate our findings at academic venues, to staff professional associations, and to staff employee groups on our campus and elsewhere.