DULUTH – A faculty group at the University of Minnesota Duluth is calling on campus and system leaders to better address racial inequality.

"Now is the time for bold and sweeping action that can transform our campus and community," says a letter sent by the Anti-Racist Subcommittee of the Employees of Color and American Indian group last week. "We recognize that the university is experiencing severe financial challenges due to COVID-19; however, the work of racial equity cannot be put on hold."

The group outlined three initiatives for UMD to take on in the coming years: Creating a vice chancellor of equity and diversity; hiring 50 new tenure-track faculty who are Black, Indigenous and Hispanic; and making a social justice course mandatory for students.

The letter said that out of 349 tenured/tenure-track faculty, 11 identify as Black/African American, nine as American Indian/Alaska Native and five as Hispanic/Latino. To mirror state populations of those groups, the letter calls for at least 13 more Black faculty and 15 more Hispanic/Latino. (Asian American faculty are overrepresented currently and comprise 15% of faculty, the letter says.)

"At the moment, we are even less diverse than our state, which is already less diverse than the United States as a whole," said the letter, which was sent to both UMD and U system leaders. "This makes our institution incapable of cultivating a campus climate that is welcoming, well-informed, and critically engaged."

The student population at UMD is more than twice as diverse as Duluth as a whole, with 76% of students identifying as white last year, according to federal data.

UMD spokeswoman Lynne Williams said campus leadership "looks forward to engaging this group, and others on campus, to continue to find ways to work together and take steps toward a more inclusive and diverse campus."

In July, Chancellor Lendley Black wrote to the campus outlining the administration's "diversity and inclusion action steps," saying: "I want to assure you that UMD is committed to taking impactful and measurable actions to provide a safe and welcoming campus for all."

The seven steps in the chancellor's plan broadly address hiring, training, co-curriculars, communication and a third-party review of UMD police policies, plus a "challenge" to departments to "create an equity/diversity/inclusion upper-division course or equivalent."

U spokesman Jake Ricker said that "President Gabel supports the plans — and actions already taken — by Chancellor Black and his leadership team at our Duluth campus."

In contrast, the letter from the anti-racism committee sets specific hiring targets, creates a new administrative position and would make a course on equity mandatory.

Similar demands have been made of other U campuses, Minnesota State and at private schools. In July, graduate students at the Twin Cities campus called for hiring more people of color and a plan to "combat anti-Blackness" in classrooms. Minnesota State leaders have been asked to review police training curricula.

The letter to UMD said that the campus "lacks empowered, cohesive leadership on issues of equity and diversity" in calling for a new vice chancellor to oversee those efforts: "While some important gains have been made, the reality is that these initiatives have had little impact on structural racism at UMD."

In calling for a required class on racial and social justice, the letter said: "Students must engage in difficult conversations surrounding race, gender, and sexuality, immigration, ability, and religious oppression."

The letter asked for a meeting with administrators by Oct. 1. Williams said the chancellor regularly meets with the Employees of Color and American Indian group.

"The essence of these recommendations align with the action steps Chancellor Black provided to campus in July," she said.

The authors of the letter, led by Professor Rebecca de Souza, declined to comment.

Brooks Johnson • 218-491-6496