Rhetaugh G. Dumas Progress in Diversifying Award

Rhetaugh Dumas was an esteemed leader with vision, insight, and wise counsel who had a major impact in the advancement of nursing, health care, and academic programs at U-M. Vice Provost Emerita Dumas was the first African-American woman to hold the position of a Dean at the University of Michigan when she was appointed in 1981. She remained Dean of Nursing until 1994, when she was named the inaugural vice provost for health affairs and the Lucille Cole Professor of Nursing. Prior to those appointments, she was the first woman and first nurse to serve as a deputy director of the National Institute of Mental Health. Dumas was Deputy Director, Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration (1979-1981) and before that, Chief, Psychiatric Nursing Education Branch of the Division of Manpower and Training Programs (1972-1976). She was also a founding member, a Charter Fellow, and a former president of the American Academy of Nursing. Dumas served the University of Michigan for over 20 years with vision and a commitment to excellence.

The rationale for the Rhetaugh G. Dumas Award is that achievement of a diverse faculty requires an institutional commitment to change that transcends the impact of individual actors. The full professor rank presents the zenith of faculty career ranks. Having concurrent ethnic/racial and gender diversity in the faculty holding the rank of full and associate professors, tenured and non-tenured, provides an emblematic statement about the institutional commitment of that unit to implementing a climate of inclusion. Thus, the Academic Women’s Caucus seeks nominations of units that have demonstrated the vision, commitment and dedication to achieve a truly diverse faculty.