The University of Michigan may soon end its considerable investment in diversity, equity, and inclusion—news that has roused faculty activism. Tabbye Chavous, the university’s chief diversity officer, plays a central role in the unfolding drama. A recent New York Times feature heavily scrutinized her work and seems to have catalyzed the Board of Regents’ opposition to DEI. Chavous has denounced the article as sexist.

Chavous’s pushback is no surprise: her vision for higher education hangs in the balance. Documents that I’ve acquired shed light on that vision, giving a behind-the-scenes look at one of the school’s multimillion-dollar DEI programs and showcasing hiring practices spearheaded by Chavous herself.

In 2023, UM created the Michigan Program for Advancing Cultural Transformation (M-PACT), a DEI-focused hiring initiative for biomedical scientists. Chavous serves as co-principal investigator on the project, partially funded by the National Institutes of Health, along with $63.7 million from the university. M-PACT represents a colossal investment in DEI, and through a public-records request, I’ve obtained the university’s proposal for the program.

As its name suggests, M-PACT was designed with the goal of achieving “cultural transformation” on campus. One element of that transformation would be brought about through a personnel-building project, hiring “a critical mass of faculty committed to DEI.” Specifically, the university would hire 30 new scientists with a “demonstrated commitment to DEl,” evidenced by the applicants’ required diversity statement. The program would not only bring in new hires but also “nurtur[e] a cadre of existing senior-level faculty and administrators who will engage in M-PACT trainings to become more effective DEI change agents within their spheres of influence.”