Goal 2: Recruitment & Retention

In Year Five, the U-M ADVANCE Program conducted research to help the university better understand faculty concerns and improve overall retention rates. Our interview studies pinpoints and describes key factors that influence faculty departure. These factors include unit climate, research support and resources, opportunities for mentoring and leadership and family needs. See the report executive summary or or see this synopsis. Focus groups including BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) faculty additionally point to issues such as high levels of service, including so-called “invisible” service, challenges navigating perceived  racism on campus and pressure to secure an outside offer. Moving forward, ADVANCE will continue to take advantage of other opportunities to address climate, such as through its RISE Committee, various workshops, an ongoing collaboration with the CRLT Players and partnerships with schools and colleges.

In an effort to diversify the health care workforce, Michigan Medicine established a portfolio of pipeline programs ranging from precollege to post-baccalaureate. In light of COVID-19 constraints and the disproportionate impact on marginalized communities, the Office for Health Equity and Inclusion (OHEI) delivered pipeline programs virtually in the summer of 2020 within a national landscape where numerous summer pipeline programs were cancelled. To assess the impact of virtual formats on learner growth and development in areas critical to health care professions, we conducted a comparative analysis of our standard program evaluation data. Measures surveyed included service orientation, college readiness, comfort with diversity, cultural awareness, leadership, empathy, resilience and growth. Preliminary findings indicate that a virtual pipeline program format could be leveraged to reach more learners in communities underrepresented in medicine while remaining within budgetary constraints. This is a promising first step in understanding how to hybridize pipeline programs in a way that maximizes efforts to diversify the next generation of health care professionals.

The Officer Education Program’s (OEP) primary goal in Year Five was to expand the diversity of its talent pool by focusing on campus recruitment and utilizing the full potential of cadet peer groups. The virtual environment necessitated by COVID-19 provided new opportunities to leverage our participation in recruitment efforts across the various campuses supported by OEP programs. By deploying our cadets and working with their respective student organizations to schedule recruiting and information sessions, OEP was able to reach a highly diverse pool of candidates across the greater Metro Detroit area and its respective universities.