Integrity. Respect. Inclusion. Equity. Diversity. Innovation.
These six words represent the values that the University of Michigan adopted in 2023 as the foundation of its culture. These values are more than just words—they are a commitment to creating an environment of trust, where everyone can strive toward their fullest potential. As highlighted on the Culture Journey website, these core values define who we are, shape our purpose, and serve as our guide for decisions, actions and relationships within the University.
What is perhaps most notable about those six guiding values is that three of them overlap with pivotal work that the University has prioritized since 2016, when it created the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and implemented the DEI Strategic Plan.
Diversity, equity and inclusion are intrinsically linked to the University of Michigan’s core values, and it has never been more apparent than in how it aligns with the Culture Journey.
“We wanted to make sure the values reflected what the community thought as a whole,” says Krista Stelmaszek, a performance consultant for Organizational Learning (OL) and a member of the Culture Journey team. “[They utilized] polling, town halls, community forums and focus groups to gauge what people felt U-M should be valuing. Diversity, equity and inclusion rose to the top.”
“DEI kept coming up. Should DEI be a single value, or should they be separate entities?” notes Lynn Carruthers, senior marketing communications specialist for Organizational Learning and the Culture Journey. “The response was they should be separated and looked at individually.”
Both Carruthers and Stelmaszek credit the foundation and infrastructure from the first DEI Strategic Plan—DEI 1.0 (which ran from 2016-2022)—as creating the groundwork upon which these values can live.
DEI 1.0 gives us this roadmap—we’ve created an infrastructure for change…I think it says a lot about the organization’s commitment that [DEI] showed up as our values.
“Would people have been so insistent about having those three words as our values? I think it says a lot about the organization’s commitment [to DEI] that those showed up as our values,” says Stelmaszek. “DEI 1.0 gives us this roadmap—we’ve created an infrastructure for change. How can we either model that or partner with that to make this culture change effort stick?”
Like the commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, the Culture Journey began as a presidential initiative (with presidents Schlissel and Ono, respectively), signaling a long-term commitment to imbuing the entire U-M ecosystem with these values. Additionally, Vision 2034, another presidential initiative, uses these values in its framing, and Student Life has had a set of values in place that are closely related. Culture Journey has since been absorbed by Organizational Living, “weaving it into the fabric of everything we do here,” says Carruthers.
Currently in the socialization phase, the team recognizes that ingraining these values across the vast U-M network will take time. This effort is about more than just awareness—it’s about fostering a deep, shared understanding that transforms the university culture over time. Lightpole banners across campus that list the Culture Journey values on one side and DEI 2.0’s goals on the other are one example and one that continues to show the interconnectedness and synergy of DEI initiatives and the Culture Journey. These banners serve as a daily reminder of the university’s commitment to these principles, ensuring they remain at the forefront of the community’s minds.
Additional tools include educational resources on the Organizational Learning website, leadership development programs, a series of regular podcasts, a Culture Journey listserv, and the upcoming implementation of quarterly values, which is scheduled to begin in early 2025.
Reflects Stelmaszek about the work ahead, “a vision is somewhere you want to be. The values are the compass to get you there.”
To learn more about the impact of U-M’s culture journey, visit culturejourney.umich.edu.