91成人导航

Dear 91成人导航ans,

听

I am delighted to present our latest progress report on our diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, originally articulated in my听August 2020 communication听(you can also review our past DEI reports from听November 2020听and听March 2021).

While there remains much to do, I am very proud of the advances we have made鈥攖ogether鈥攐ver the past year, setting 91成人导航 on a path to become a national model for DEI in higher education. Thanks to all of you for your exceptional work.

Tomorrow,听Mary Wardell-Ghirarduzzi听will become our inaugural Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer. Most recently the chief diversity executive at University of San Francisco, Dr. Wardell-Ghirarduzzi will be working closely with our students, faculty, staff, university leaders, Regents, community leaders and the听diversity directors appointed at all of our schools and colleges. We are thrilled to have her join us and will benefit greatly from her expertise, passion and caring approach to fostering inclusive communities.

Other advances since our March DEI report include:

Regents:听The Board of Regents continues to diversify its membership and leaders. The five new Regents include three women, two people of color and two LGBTQ+ members. The four executive officers starting this week include three women, two people of color and two LGBTQ+ members. Fundraising for the new Lift Every Voice Endowed Scholarship for Black undergraduate students, led by Regents Chair Norman Allen, is now at more than $110,000. The first recipients will be named in the fall. Additionally, DEI issues are now part of every Regent committee. The Investment Committee has started research on how to include DEI issues into decision-making on the school鈥檚 investment portfolio and the Audit Committee has launched research on best practices at other universities.

University Committee for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion:听The 35-member UCDEI, comprised of faculty, staff and students, continues to advance under the leadership of co-chairs Marshea Pratt (staff) and Qingwen Dong (faculty). UCDEI honored听student,听faculty听and听staff听Champions of DEI for their inclusive outreach and service. The committee鈥檚 DEI Dialogues virtual event series continued to draw local, state and national speakers on a wide array of DEI topics (DEI Dialogue recordings are available on the听UCDEI webpage). Meanwhile, the committee is exploring a cohort model, inviting university stakeholders to join small groups for relationship building and discussions about all aspects of DEI.

Teaching:听Dr. Dong and the UCDEI are working with the University Assessment Committee to develop and test DEI and social justice rubrics for course evaluations and assessments. They also are working with the General Education Committee to develop DEI guidance for curriculum development.

Student Life:听Student Life efforts included a vast array of programs to promote diversity, equity and inclusion and outreach calls to students to support retention and engagement. The activities included conversations around the escalating national violence against Asian/91成人导航 Islanders, weekly conversations focused on Latinx and Black students, and Pride Week activities and workshops. Meanwhile, the Women of Distinction Awards event drew 164 participants.

Library:听The DEI audit of our library collections, aided by a $10,000 UCDEI grant, is nearly completed (an update from April can be found听here). Members of the library鈥檚 DEI planning committee will share the results this fall.

Personnel:听Deborah Freeman, director of affirmative action and equal employment opportunity, reported that in the first quarter of 2021, university new hires were 62% female and 39% people of color. Among those receiving promotions, 57% were female and 39% were people of color. The vice presidents also are now reviewing all employee exit interviews to identify trends and to develop new retention strategies.

Public Safety:听Public Safety teamed again with Ombuds Hector Escalante and Counseling and Psychological Services therapist Carlton Oler to conduct more Community Conversations around DEI in law enforcement and building trust.

I am extremely proud of the 91成人导航 community for all of these efforts. We have made meaningful progress in creating a more inclusive and representative community. But we are just at the beginning.

I look forward to seeing everyone back on our campuses soon!

听

Sincerely,

Christopher Callahan
President