Hunter has kept an eye on what happens to Frontiers master’s students. Do they graduate with a master’s degree, do they continue into doctoral programs, do they find jobs outside of academia? “The expansion of such programs is another metric of success,” he adds, which translates into three or four bridging programs at U-M alone, with more popping up around the country.

Rob Sellers (Ph.D. ’90), a professor and former chair of the Department of Psychology, recently has taken on a new role as vice provost for equity, inclusion, and academic affairs. He plans to look for three major marks of progress in every diversity initiative on campus: Are the programs more diverse than they were? Do we have an environment that everyone feels is inclusive? Do people treat each other with respect?

One metric worth gauging is “the extent to which we become even more excellent at what we do,” Sellers says, “in terms of innovation, problem-solving, and having a greater variety and excellence in our understanding of the human condition.” He’ll lead a campus-wide effort to increase diversity on campus, directly testing Page’s conviction that greater diversity leads to extraordinary outcomes.

Read the full article "The Case for Diversity" on LSA Today.