Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP)

About the DIAP

About the DIAP

Pathways to Diversity and Inclusion: An Action Plan for Brown University (DIAP) is Brown’s strategic plan, undertaken from 2016 to 2025, for creating a more diverse, inclusive and equitable academic institution for the success of every member of our community.

In February 2016, Brown University released Pathways to Diversity and Inclusion: An Action Plan for Brown University to create a more diverse and inclusive community and to ensure that this work — which is essential to fulfilling Brown’s vision for academic excellence — is centered in all aspects of University life. The Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, or DIAP, focuses on a set of concrete, achievable actions.

In 2021, five years after the DIAP, Brown released DIAP Phase II to recommit to the goals established in the original action plan. Phase II did not replace the DIAP, but rather is a companion of the original document.

Through these plans, Brown committed to transform the policies, structures and practices that historically led to the exclusion — rather than the meaningful inclusion — of some members of the community.

The strengths of the DIAP are its concrete, measurable goals; University-wide engagement by academic and administrative units across campus to achieve the goals; and commitment to accountability through a robust system of oversight.

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Six Priority Areas

The DIAP and DIAP Phase II prioritize actions in six areas that further Brown’s mission in compliance with applicable law, ensuring that all Brown community members have the ability to participate fully in campus life:

  • People — identifying, recruiting and retaining students, faculty and staff from groups that have been historically underrepresented in higher education, consistent with applicable legal requirements
  • Academic Excellence — creating a learning environment in which students from all backgrounds can thrive in their chosen fields of study; providing scholarly resources to support education and leading-edge research; and sustaining the University’s commitment to the highest standards of research and teaching, consistent with applicable legal requirements
  • Curriculum — reforming, expanding and developing courses, seminars and other learning opportunities around diversity, inclusion and related topics, consistent with applicable legal requirements
  • Community — creating a community that works actively to counteract inequity and injustice and that promotes an attitude of mutual respect, consistent with applicable legal requirements
  • Knowledge — collecting and sharing data to benchmark and measure progress, consistent with applicable legal requirements
  • Accountability — ensuring the steps outlined in the DIAP are carried out, consistent with applicable legal requirements

DIAP Phase II

The second phase of implementation for the DIAP, DIAP Phase II, further advances the University’s goals and desired outcomes within each priority area.

In compliance with applicable legal requirements, DIAP Phase II:

  • Reflects on and assesses the impact of the DIAP over its first five years
  • Refreshes the plan’s goals and highlights new and continuing actions to address emerging issues and sustain progress
  • Clarifies the concepts of diversity and inclusion for the Brown community
  • Updates the DIAP’s governance structure
  • Offers a set of tools to guide the work of every department charged with maintaining this momentum

Learn More about DIAP Phase II

Campus-wide Engagement: DDIAPs

A key element of both the DIAP and DIAP Phase II is the campus-wide involvement of academic and administrative units across Brown to realize diversity and inclusion goals via an approved Departmental Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (DDIAP) aligned with the University's overall set of concrete actions, with annual progress updates. 

Departmental Plans and Reports