The Office of Equity and Inclusion (OEI) provides the campus community with resources and support aimed at building a community and climate rooted in equity and inclusion. We welcome you to:
- participate in our educational and funding opportunities
- partner with us to cultivate engagement in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work
- engage with our campus climate survey data and toolkits
- become an active reporter of incidents of bias and mistreatment, and
- inform us of DEI opportunities and events on campus to bolster awareness
Additionally, UMass Amherst has a wide network of practitioners, programs, and support services throughout campus.
Education and Development
As a key pillar of OEI’s work, Education & Development aims to foster both individual and collective growth by providing transformative, evidence-informed, responsive learning opportunities to the entire UMass Amherst community.
We work with all campus constituencies, including students, faculty, staff, and administrators, to create personalized offerings that support each group’s needs and goals in the realms of DEI. These offerings may include:
- Trainings & Workshops
- Dialogue Facilitation
- Consultation & Advising
- Partnerships & Collaboration
- Guidance on Long Term Initiatives
CONTACT: Penn Pritchard
Employee Resource Groups
Employee Resource Groups (ERG’s) provide staff and faculty with resources for professional development, networking, membership, and building community. ERGs also demonstrate our commitment to supporting our Employees in the recruiting process, and they currently serve our disability and illness community, international staff and faculty, LGBTQIA+ community, and our veterans on campus.
CONTACT: Cas Rego-Martin
Funding Resources
The work of equity and inclusion does not happen within silos, and engagement with one another and the community is crucial in building our aspirational environment. New and fresh ideas from different perspectives are what help push this work forward. With this in mind, OEI provides annual funding through the Climate Improvement Grants and the Engagement Fund. Both grants range from $250 - $2,500, and multiple projects are funded.
Campus Climate Improvement Grants
Campus Climate Improvement Grants fund projects that address challenges to climate and belonging, with past projects such as book cubs, film series, DEI learning resources, and more.
CONTACT: Linda Ziegenbein
OEI Engagement Fund
The Engagement Fund supports partnerships that thoughtfully engage the UMass community in our collective effort to build a more inclusive campus, such as cross-departmental conferences, collaborative workshops, and other engagement opportunities.
CONTACT: Cas Rego-Martin
Advancing Community, Democracy, and Dialogue Grant Funding
UMass Community, Democracy, and Dialogue grants support grassroots efforts led by faculty, students, and staff to promote diverse discourse and open dialogue on critical global and domestic social issues. These grants support activities such as workshops, symposia, brown bag lunches, guest speakers, and the development of curricula or resources. Application open in August and December.
CONTACT: Linda Ziegenbein
Climate and Bias Reporting
The Climate Incident Report (CIR) is a formal mechanism for members of the University of Massachusetts community to alert campus leaders to acts of discrimination or bias as well as ones that violate our values and codes of conduct. The CIR is a publicly-accessible online form in the header of the OEI website. Once a CIR is submitted, personnel from OEI will follow-up within two business days. Learn about reporting options and the OEI Climate Incident Report.
CONTACT: Emmanuel Adero
Campus Climate Data and Tools
The University is invited to participate in an extensive Campus Climate Survey every 4-5 years. The survey takes a holistic picture of the challenges of creating a respectful and inclusive campus environment. Once the data has been assessed, reports are made publicly available, with accompanying “toolkits” to help you take in the information and provide thoughtful steps on how to use the data towards creating more respectful environments.
- See the latest Campus Climate Reports
- Read and Download the Toolkits
CONTACT: Emmanuel Adero
Communication and Outreach
OEI is committed to increasing engagement and knowledge of the plethora of DEI events, initiatives, and resources as well as celebrating the diversity of our students, staff and faculty. We encourage you to inform us of DEI opportunities and news in your area so we may assist in bolstering awareness across campus and celebrating our community. OEI can help facilitate DEI-centered content creation, graphic design, event collaboration, cross-campus communications, and other support depending on needs.
CONTACT: Ebru Kardan
Additional Campus Resources
We encourage you to use campus wide resources available to you, such as:
