The University of Michigan will be spending nearly $80 million to expand the diversity of faculty members in the health science fields.
University officials say the $79 million towards diversifying its health sciences faculty will include a $15 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.
The plan, saysU-M Professor Robert Sellers, is to use the money to hire 30 new faculty over five years and support them with resources and mentoring. Sellers expects diversity to be generated through the diverse focus of the research in the job descriptions.
"We anticipate a disproportionate number of people who will apply will be members of a traditionally underrepresented group, but it will not be a requirement that the person be a member of an underrepresented group."
He says the university believes improved performance in the sciences requires diverse perspectives.
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