This bill mandates that public institutions of higher education in New Jersey develop a comprehensive faculty and student diversity plan aimed at enhancing the recruitment and retention of diverse faculty, staff, and students. The plan must include specific goals, steps to achieve these goals, metrics for monitoring progress, programming to improve campus climate, and strategies to ensure students acquire necessary cultural competencies. Institutions are required to update this diversity plan every three years and submit an annual student diversity report to the Secretary of Higher Education, detailing enrollment, retention, graduation rates, and targeted support programs for diverse students.

Additionally, the bill establishes the role of a staff diversity ambassador at each institution to oversee the implementation of the diversity plan and report directly to the institution's president. It also mandates annual diversity training for faculty, staff, and students involved in faculty search committees, focusing on addressing unconscious bias and increasing the representation of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups in hiring. Furthermore, the Secretary of Higher Education, in collaboration with the Division on Civil Rights, is tasked with developing guidance to assist institutions in their faculty search and selection processes, ensuring best practices are followed to foster a diverse faculty.