New Office of Holistic Excellence (February 15, 2024)

Dear Colleagues,

At last week’s State of the University address, I shared a new vision for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts on our campus. 

Our record of excellence, both inside the classroom and out, has been rooted in diversity of thought. Each of you contributes to the fabric of our community, with personal histories, narratives, and experiences that shape and strengthen our campus culture. The academic fields students are drawn to and choose to study also help build specific mental models and modes of reasoning.

We have created the Office of Holistic Excellence to recognize the immense value in authentic engagement with diverse perspectives, ideas, and ways of perceiving the world. This office aims to expose our community members to and help them integrate the richness of myriad intellectual approaches and thinking to ensure that our minds and futures are wonderful, worthy places to live and flourish. 

I have asked three outstanding and long-serving members of the UM-Dearborn community to lead this new office as we re-envision our DEI efforts: Rima Berry-Hung, director of Human Resources; Shareia Carter, director of the Center for Social Justice and Inclusion; and CASL Associate Dean Marie Waung. With their deep connections to faculty, staff, and students, we can better infuse more effort, ideas, and depth into this critical part of our campus life. 

The Office of Holistic Excellence will serve as a hub for fostering multidimensional, integrated, and thoughtful approaches to understanding the world and envisioning a vibrant and inclusive future where we all benefit. This reimagined office will collaborate closely with internal and external stakeholders, using data-driven holistic and creative engagement strategies. 

I look forward to the creativity, wise counsel, and initiatives of the Office of Holistic Excellence as we continue to build upon our many strengths as a diverse, vibrant, and compassionate community. 

Go Blue - Go Dearborn!

Domenico Grasso
Chancellor