B&F Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

• Established initial plan for The Business & Finance, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Internship Program in partnership with Fisher College of Business office of Diversity & Inclusion. Two student interns were hired in the program's pilot year working within the Tax Office and Office of Investments.
• Alignment of DEI Committee goals with B&F Human Resources and Chief of Staff broader goals regarding recruitment and retention. 
• Established required training for all B&F Staff (Diversity Basics) and for all B&F managers (Navigating Difficult DEI Conversations). Created DEI Guide to help facilitate open dialogue and provide additional DEI resources to B&F staff.
• Created Workday report on diverse supplier spending in order to help set and track unit-specific goals. Met with Senior Fiscal Officers to discuss opportunities to engage with diverse suppliers. 

• Expanded internship program to offer opportunities within the Office of Enterprise Risk Management and the Office of the Treasurer.
• Held information sessions on the internship program for B&F managers.
• Published an internship guide for B&F managers.
• Published and maintained the DEI Guide on the B&F website.
• Held a Lunch & Learn to discuss the DEI Guide and other B&F Diversity Committee work.
• Rolled out a “Pick your own DEI training” for B&F using the Office of Diversity and Inclusion’s DEI Education Program.  
• Worked with five areas (Administration and Planning, OTDI, Student Life, Student Life-Dining Services, and Business and Finance) to establish FY24 diverse spending targets. 

TALENT PIPELINE GOAL: Our objective is to foster an inclusive and equitable culture within the Office of Business and Finance by prioritizing retention, achieving a diverse employee population, and promoting demographic diversity in applicants.

TRAINING & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GOAL: To improve B&F employee awareness of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion principles by increasing the usage and availability of DEI training and professional development resources.

BUSINESS DIVERSITY GOAL: To increase the awareness and usage of diverse businesses throughout the university by providing spend data to assist areas in setting attainable and achievable goals.

Subcommittees include Talent Pipeline, Training & Professional Development and Supplier Diversity. Interested in supporting a subcommittee? Let the committee chairs know by responding here.

Mike Papadakis, Chair

Yolanda Zepeda, Office of Diversity & Inclusion Representative

Karina Brown, Director of Communications

Willingness to Serve Statement

The above committee members acknowledge that they have committed to serve on the Office of Business and Finance (B&F) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee to work with the Talent Pipeline/PD&Training/Supplier Diversity Subcommittees for at least one year and are willing to serve as an active member as summarized below.

I will work to promote the committee, its aims and its purposes. 

I have agreed to foster a more diverse and inclusive climate and build a community that promotes an equitable, healthy, supportive, and nurturing environment in Business and Finance. To accomplish the stated objective through a pledge to the following: 

• Willingness to coordinate DEI efforts within B&F and across the university to align with B&F and university DEI initiatives.   

• Commitment to actively participate to achieve committee and subcommittee goals throughout the year.  

• Dedicated to supporting and driving change on DEI topics within my unit and across B&F. 

• Open to an understanding of different ideas, opinions and feedback on DEI topics.  

• Have a desire to make a meaningful impact within B&F and the university.   

• Engage in personal education and growth in topics associated with DEI. 

• Familiarity with key terms and definitions associated with DEI. Glossary | Racial Equity Tools  

• Ability to express a specific personal or professional commitment to DEI. 

I also understand that this is a volunteer position, and I will not be paid for any services rendered to the committee. Upon departure from this role, I agree to transition all documents related to this position to a designated, active committee member immediately to ensure no interruptions to the committee’s efforts.