The University of Michigan has announced it is investing $79 million to hire 30 new assistant professors from a wide array of backgrounds as part of its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiative.
U of M will be investing $63.7 million from its own funds and $15.6 million from a National Institutes for Health grant for the initiative.
Robert Sellers, U of M professor of psychology and a co-coordinator for the program, said diversity should be central to the university experience.
"It's based on the fundamental notion that in order for us to be excellent, it's important that we have diverse perspectives, that if you want to create new knowledge and innovation, there's tons of research that shows you want diverse experiences, you want diverse ideas and diverse perspectives," he said.
