For Your Information | September 9, 2021

September 9, 2021 | Volume 3, Issue 1

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The Aggie Info and Help Line

The Aggie Info and Help Line housed within the Aggie Compass Basic Needs Center, responds to questions by students arising from COVID-related return-to-campus concerns. The info line relies on trained student staff from the Aggie Public Health Ambassador Program to address non-crisis questions and provide referrals. Staff will provide answers using information available to the public on official campus webpages including the Campus Ready site, Student Housing and Dining Services and Office of the Registrar. Learn more at their website.

Fundraiser to help with parole applications for Afghan refugees

The Sacramento Family Unity, Education, and Legal  (FUEL) Network for Immigrants is a coalition of over 50 local  non-profits, religious organizations, law school immigration clinics, businesses, local pro bono attorneys, educators, and other community partners dedicated to serving the legal, information, and health needs of Sacramento’s immigrant and refugee population. Pre-order Tamales HERE from September 1- October 2 for pickup on October 10 ($25/dozen).

A MESSAGE FROM VICE CHANCELLOR TULL

Dear Friends,  

Greetings and welcome back! Even though we have taken a break over the summer, people have been hard at work with regard to working to make UC Davis an ideal institution. For example, Dr. Mikael Villalobos became the Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for DEI. We welcome him to his new role; he has already been hard at work! In August, the School of Medicine had a retreat that included a segment on DEI and strategic planning (See more on the Inclusion, Diversity, Anti-Racism, and Equity (IDARE) initiativeat UC Davis Health.) The School of Medicine has been working with students, residents, faculty, and staff on its health equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives, and we are pleased to see such strong participation! 

In this issue, I am going to take some time to highlight some of the work that is taking place within the College of Biological Sciences (CBS). Dean Mark Winey was recently reappointed as Dean, and CBS conducted a Town Hall on DEI yesterday, moderated by population biologist Victoria Watson-Zink. Morgan-Zink who serves as the Graduate Student Assistant to the Dean for Diversity and Inclusion. I thank Associate Dean Ted Powers for inviting me to speak, and applaud CBS on the launch of their new DEI website for the college:! CBS didn’t stop there.  The graduate groups in CBS are hard at work with their own commitments to diversity. Yesterday, a few hours after the CBS college-wide town hall, the Biochemistry, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology (BMCDB) Graduate Group’s DEI Committee (DEIC) held an information session with presentations that shared work from their subcommittees and outlined plans for the year. This group, led by graduate students Aron Judd “AJ” Perez Mendiola and Mikaela Louie, did a phenomenal job! Their mission from their slide can be found below.

DEIC Mission Statement:

Commit to the diversity of applicants and incoming students by increasing outreach of, recruitment of, and engagement with individuals from underrepresented and diverse backgrounds.

To promote and foster a diverse, equitable, and inclusive training environment by providing diversity and anti-racism training for all BMCDB members (faculty and students) and mentorship training for all BMCDB faculty members.

Other graduate groups in CBS were invited and attended the session and the mixer afterward.  The photo below shows the students and supporting faculty and staff who were there in person, along with the Zoom participants. 

Kudos to BMDBC DEIC. You are doing great work! I extend my continued gratitude to all as you move DEI forward! Thank you!

Warmest Regards,
Renetta

Mandela Washington Fellows Look to the Future

Since 2016, the University of California, Davis, has welcomed nearly 130 African leaders through the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. From future policymakers to energy conversation scientists, this year’s Fellows were a diverse cohort coming from different yet equally impressive backgrounds. They are eager to continue to engage with the UC Davis community to create substantial global change. Let us introduce you to just a few of them! Meet the Mandela Washington Fellows.

UPDATES & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Office of Academic Diversity | AVC Lorena Oropeza

Sloan Grant Enhances STEM Faculty Diversity Efforts Amid Pandemic

The Center for the Advancement of Multicultural Perspectives on Science, or CAMPOS, recently secured a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to further advance STEM faculty diversity by assisting underrepresented minorities with research development and family care during and after the coronavirus pandemic. The $250,000 award is for ENHANCE: Promoting Advancement and Retention of Underrepresented STEM Faculty by Enhancing Research Productivity and Centering Family Support. Read the announcement.

CAMPOS and CAMPSSAH Welcome Eight New Faculty Scholars for 2021-22

We are delighted to welcome eight new Faculty Scholars to the Center for the Advancement of Multicultural Perspectives on Science(CAMPOS) and the Center for the Advancement of Multicultural Perspectives on Social Science, Arts, and Humanities (CAMPSSAH). This is the seventh cohort of CAMPOS scholars and they join thirty-five current faculty representing twenty-six STEMM disciplines on the main campus and medical center. For CAMPSSAH the four new scholars are part of the third cohort with seventeen total faculty in thirteen different departments or schools. The Faculty Scholars were nominated by their respective deans and chosen based on their scholarly excellence and contributions to diversity through their research, teaching, and service. Please join us in welcoming these eight outstanding faculty to our campus this year:

CAMPOS

Anya Brown, Evolution and Ecology
Kristen George, Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine
Marco Gonzalez, Neurology, School of Medicine
Joseph Teran, Mathematics

CAMPSSAH

Zinzi Clemmons, English
Nicholas Jones, Spanish and Portuguese
Shingirai Taodzera, African American and African Studies
Ariana Valle, Sociology

Office of Campus Community Relations | Interim AVC Mikael Villalobos

2021-2022 Book Project Selection: How to Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

The UC Davis Campus Community Book Project is thrilled to announce our next selection: How to Be An Antiracist by Ibram. X. Kendi. Dr. Kendi’s book will be featured as a part of the book project’s 2021-2022 cycle focusing on the theme of social justice in practice. You can learn more about the selection and upcoming book project cycle here.

In support of our theme and selection, the book project will host a year-long program of events that includes lectures, panels, workshops, book discussions, film screenings, exhibits, performances, and more. Dr. Kendi will come to UC Davis to speak at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts on Thursday, March 31, 2022 at 7:30 pm—for more information, visit the Mondavi Center event page. Please stay tuned for more announcements on our book project upcoming program, which will kick off in October. 

In the meantime: Visit the book project events page and subscribe to our online calendar for up-to-date event information. We also invite you to follow the book project on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Fall Quarter Professional Development Programs

The Diversity & Inclusion Education Program, a unit of the Vice Chancellor’s Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, is pleased to announce that our fall lineup of professional development courses are now open for enrollment and include both in person and virtual sessions.

Office of Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion | AVC Hendry Ton

School of Medicine receives state funding to address Native American health needs

The UC Davis School of Medicine will develop a new academic pathway to train students interested in caring for the Native American and Alaskan Native communities, thanks to a boost in state funding. The programs are part of a UC-wide initiative known as PRIME(Programs in Medical Education), which intend to fill the shortage of doctors in medically underserved areas and reduce health disparities. In addition to the funding to create the new Native American PRIME, UC Davis will receive another $1.7 million to bolster its Rural PRIME pathway, which trains students to address health issues in rural communities. Read the article.

Luis G. Carvajal-Carmona selected as HACU Leadership Academy Fellow

The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) today announced that Luis G. Carvajal-Carmona has been selected as a fellow for the third cohort of the Presidential Leadership Academy (La Academia de Liderazgo). The prestigious one-year HACU program is designed to prepare the next generation of culturally diverse leaders for executive and senior-level positions in higher education. Carvajal-Carmona is a professor and the Auburn Community Cancer Endowed Chair in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine. He is the associate director for basic science at the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center and the co-director of the Community Engagement Program at the Clinical and Translational Science Center. Read the article.

EVENTS

September 9, Thursday

Staff/Faculty Womxn of Color Support Group | 12:00pm
This group was brought together in 2019 by Dr. Gill and Cecily to support womxn of color employed at UC Davis. The intention is to offer a safe and encouraging space to support healing, growth and development in the personal and professional lives of womxn of color. Hosts: Dr. Satinder Gill, Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Academic and Staff Assistance Program Cecily Nelson-Alford, Director, Women’s Resources and Research Center. Consent for participation is necessary, please contact drgill@ucdavis.edu for more information. The groups meets bi-weekly year round on Thursday (next meeting 9/23).

September 20, Monday

Safiya Umoja Noble - UC Council of Chief Diversity Officers Distinguished Scholars Webinar | 12:00pm
Noble will share her work on data discrimination and racial and gender bias in search engine algorithms. What are the implications for socially marginalized and oversurveilled populations? The webinar is part of the UC Council of Chief Diversity Officers’ Distinguished Scholars series. Each event features a notable UC faculty member who has made significant contributions to public policy and the study of racial inequality through their research, teaching and mentorship. Dr. Safiya Umoja Noble is an associate professor in UCLA’s Department of Information Studies. She serves as the co-founder and co-director of the UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry (C2i2). Noble is the author of a best-selling book on racist and sexist algorithmic bias in commercial search engines, Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism, which has been widely reviewed in scholarly and popular publications. Register here.

October 5, Tuesday

Mehrsa Baradaran - UC Council of Chief Diversity Officers Distinguished Scholars Webinar | 12:00pm
Baradaran will share her work on racial wealth gaps and generators of wealth in Black communities. The webinar is part of the UC Council of Chief Diversity Officers’ Distinguished Scholars series. Each event features a notable UC faculty member who has made significant contributions to public policy and the study of racial inequality through their research, teaching and mentorship. Mehrsa Baradaran is a professor of Law at UCI Law. She writes about banking law, financial inclusion and racial inequality, and is the author of How the Other Half Banks and The Color of Money. She has advised U.S. senators and congressmen on policy, testified before the U.S. Congress, and spoken at national and international forums like the U.S. Treasury and the World Bank. Register here.

RECOMMENDED READING

Karen Nikos-Rose, “Native Girl’s Remains Returned to Alaska After More Than a Century,” August 30, 2021.
A trek of 4,000 miles between Alaska and Pennsylvania is a long trip even in three planes with today’s technology, observed Lauren Peters, days after the University of California, Davis, doctoral student and her family made that journey. She and her two sons were returning her grandmother’s aunt to her native Aleut island, St. Paul Island, on the Bering Sea, after her disinterment at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Read the story.

Jennifer Chu, “Study highlights long road toward gender parity in the geosciences,” MIT News, July 16, 2021.
Researchers find improvement in relative retention of women but predict decades of sustained effort are required to achieve gender parity. Read the article here.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

The Aggie Info and Help Line
The Aggie Info and Help Line housed within the Aggie Compass Basic Needs Center, responds to questions by students arising from COVID-related return-to-campus concerns. The info line relies on trained student staff from the Aggie Public Health Ambassador Program to address non-crisis questions and provide referrals. Staff will provide answers using information available to the public on official campus webpages including the Campus Ready site, Student Housing and Dining Services and Office of the Registrar. Learn more at their website.

Reporting Concerns of Harassment and Discrimination
The Harassment & Discrimination Assistance and Prevention Program (HDAPP) supports the University's commitment to a harassment and discrimination-free work and learning environment for all members of the UC Davis, UC Davis Health, and University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR). 

If you are interested in reporting concerns of Harassment and Discrimination, please contact HDAPP to file a report and/or speak with a representative to better understand your options. Learn more about HDAPP here or go to HDAPP's website for more information.

11 Suggested Actions toward Anti-Racism in the Office and on Your Own
Written by the UC Davis Office of the Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and based on the Office of Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion’s Anti-Racism and DEI Action Plan, the “Being an Ally Requires being Anti-Racist: 11 Suggested Actions toward Anti-Racism in the Office and on Your Own” provides practical suggestions for everyone. 

Aggie Compass Basic Needs Center
The mission of Aggie Compass is to help mitigate the effects of food and housing insecurity on students, while working to change policy, systems and environment that will affect long term change. The Aggie Compass is a comfortable space for students to build community and learn about basic needs resources, pick up fresh fruits and vegetables, receive CalFresh enrollment assistance and help finding stable housing.

If you need help with food or housing insecurity concerns, financial or mental wellness, please visit their website for more information.

Counseling Services Mental Health Resources Webinar [requires Kerberos log-in] One of the things we hear frequently from instructors about teaching in Spring 2020 is the extent to which they encountered students in their courses experiencing significant stress or crisis, yet they felt unequipped to help or direct students to resources. To help, Student Health and Counseling Services provided a Mental Health Resources Webinar. If supporting students in crisis is a concern for you, please watch this previously-recorded webinar. Webinar topics include an overview of mental health services on campus, how to make referrals, signs of distress and how to respond, and how faculty can support students in the classroom (remote or on-campus). Student Affairs has also provided this folder of faculty resources.

Content Submission Form
Do you have a DEI-oriented event, announcement, or article that you would like us to help promote through our DEI communication channels? Did your unit/department or a member of your unit/department receive recognition that demonstrates your commitment to DEI? If so, please send us your information through this online form.

We invite you to share and submit your thoughts and items for our newsletter (either current or future news and events) at diversityinclusion@ucdavis.edu

Thank you for your dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion!

#ThinkBigDiversity
https://diversity.ucdavis.edu/