For Your Information | June 24, 2021

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UC Davis is Recruiting for a Hispanic Serving Institution Director

The HSI Director bears primary responsibility to implement the 2019 HSI Task Force report. As the chair of the campus HSI task force, the Director works closely with students, faculty, and alumni, as well as deans and other campus administrators to advance the goals and recommendations of the report. Additionally, the Director will work on securing HSI status for the campus and work with federal agencies to secure UC Davis' status as an HSI. The HSI director is charged with the dissemination of outcomes, and broadly sharing best practices and lessons learned as a R1 research institution. The Director will serve as the campus liaison to the Hispanic Association of College and Universities and Excelencia in Education and actively explore opportunities to partner and collaborate. Learn more and apply here. The application deadline is July 2, 2021.

UC applauds Office for Civil Rights’ affirmation of Title IX protections for gay and transgender students and employees

University of California President Michael V. Drake, M.D., issued the following statement on the Office for Civil Rights’ recent announcement affirming Title IX protections for gay and transgender students and employees: “We enthusiastically applaud this week’s affirmation by the Office for Civil Rights that Title IX prohibits discrimination against students and employees in schools based on sexual orientation and gender identity, including those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer. For too long, the LGBTQIA+ community has been persecuted and denied legal protection, and this decision advances everyone’s right to be treated fairly, and with dignity and respect. This guidance also aligns with our own commitment to being an inclusive community, and to not only embracing but celebrating diversity.”

A Message from Vice Chancellor Tull

Dear Friends, 

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of enjoying my first UC Davis Commencement ceremonies! While I understand that the celebration was quite unusual due to the COVID protocols that reduced interaction, it was nonetheless exciting to congratulate and honor the students. It was especially heartwarming to see the students’ smiles in one of the early morning ceremonies where one of the announcers took time and effort to fully pronounce each person’s name correctly. There is a famous principle from Dale Carnegie that says, “A person's name is, to that person, the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” 

It’s important to honor people’s names -- to spell them correctly, to pronounce them correctly, and to call everyone by their lived name. This is not a difficult endeavor. We can read names on nametags or Zoom boxes, we can ask people their names and call them the name that they’ve shared (without changing it or altering it to fit something else). Further, we can refer to people according to their pronouns. Referring to people by their lived name and by their pronouns does not have to be a debate. Last week, DEI’s Twitter page posted NPR’s article, “A Guide To Gender Identity Terms”which answers questions about terms such as gender identity, gender expression, cisgender, transgender, use of “they” as a singular, and how to apologize if there is a mistake such as misgendering someone or using the wrong pronouns. We pride ourselves on being a civil society, and as such, we can provide everyone the dignity of acknowledging people’s identities, and calling them by their names. 

Next month, our newsletter will be light, and we will be taking a vacation break in August. In the meanwhile, Happy Juneteenth (UC Holiday on Monday, 6/28), and we’ll return with a light, summer version of the newsletter on July 8!

Warmest Regards,
Renetta

UC Davis Welcomes 2021 Mandela Washington Fellowship

On June 21, the University of California, Davis, virtually welcomes 30 leaders from 20 African countries for a six-week Leadership in Public Management Institute as a part of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, the flagship program of the U.S. Department of State Young African Leaders Initiative. The institute, organized by UC Davis Global Affairs, will build practical knowledge and leadership capacity in topics such as public management, community engagement, public speaking, and the intersection of public health and local government. The UC Davis Mandela Washington Fellows will participate in discussion forums, professional networking, cultural connection activities, leadership sessions, community service, and focus project coaching from their home countries. Read more.

‘A Monumental Step’ in Reclaiming a California Indigenous Language

For his graduate research comparing languages around the world, Lewis Lawyer couldn’t find a single published reference book on Patwin, an endangered language once spoken in hundreds of Northern California communities, including what is now Davis. So, on his way to completing his UC Davis doctorate, Lawyer wrote one. With the release of A Grammar of Patwin by University of Nebraska Press earlier this year, the findings of his dissertation are now available to scholars as well as to Patwin/Wintun people working to revitalize their ancestral language. In the book, Lawyer (Ph.D., linguistics, ’15) brings together two centuries of work by linguists before him — synthesizing word lists, notebooks, audio recordings and manuscripts in archives across the country. Read the full article.

UPDATES & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Office of Academic Diversity | AVC Lorena Oropeza

Two CAMPOS Faculty Scholars Win Career Awards

Madeline Nieves Cintron, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology, received the American Heart Association’s Career Development Award. The award supports highly promising healthcare and academic professionals, in the early years of one’s first professional appointment, to explore innovative questions or pilot studies that will provide preliminary data and training necessary to assure the applicant’s future success as a research scientist.

James A. Letts, Assistant Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology, received The U.S. Department of Energy’s Early Career Research Program award. This funding is designed to bolster the nation’s scientific workforce by providing support to exceptional researchers during the crucial early career years, when many scientists do their most formative work.

P.L.A.C.E. with CAMPSSAH Announces Summer Writing Retreat Award Recipients

We are delighted to announce six UC Davis faculty have been selected to participate in the inaugural cohort of the “P.L.A.C.E. with CAMPSSAH Summer Writing Retreat.” The Summer Writing Retreat, scheduled for September 15-21, at Granlibakken in Lake Tahoe, is for faculty working to complete a big task (e.g. writing an introduction, a book proposal, or a chapter in a book project) and who would benefit from uninterrupted, concentrated writing time and structured feedback. 

Faculty will share work, read and comment on each other’s work, and provide a report about the work completed or progress made at the end of the retreat. This retreat will offer writing consultant support from Elena K. Abbott, Ph.D., a professional editor, writing coach, historian and author. She has experience consulting with scholars across many disciplinary and other divides (fiction and nonfiction, for instance) and offers a suite of services which can be specialized to fit the needs of the person/group.

2021 Award Recipients:

Beenash Jafri
Assistant Professor of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies

Rachel Jean-Baptiste
Associate Professor of History 

Milmon F. Harrison
Associate Professor of African American and African Studies 

Desirée A. Martin
Associate Professor of English and Cultural Studies  

Amy Motlagh
Associate Professor of Comparative Literature and Middle Eastern/South Asian Studies

Jon Rossini
Associate Professor of Theatre and Dance 

Please read the full announcement here.

Office of Campus Community Relations | AEVC Rahim Reed

2021-2022 Campus Community Book Project

With the 2020-2021 UC Davis Campus Community Book Project program now behind us—remember, you can find event recordings on the book project resources page—we now are looking ahead to the 2021-2022 cycle and beyond, and we welcome your involvement:

First, we invite you to join a book project committee. All are welcome: faculty, students, staff, and community members. Remote participation is always available, and committee meetings will take place exclusively via Zoom at minimum through this summer. To sign up for a book project committee, please complete this form.  

• The Program Planning Committee convenes in early July, and this summer will be tasked with planning the program for the 2021-2022 book project cycle on the topic of “social justice in practice.” We will meet every 2-3 weeks through September. The first Program Planning Committee meeting will be next Thursday, July 1 at 12:00pm via Zoom. Interested in joining? You will be emailed the meeting details after you complete the above committee sign-up form.
• The Selection Committee will convene in early August and will be charged with making recommendations for the 2022-2023 book project cycle. The Selection Committee meets every 3-4 weeks through the end of the calendar year, with the goal of giving its final recommendations before winter break. 

Second, we invite you to nominate a book on the theme of "police brutality, police reform and transformative justice/alternatives to policing” for the 2022-2023 book project cycle. Nominations can be emailed to ccbp@ucdavis.edu, and the deadline for submitting nominations is Friday, July 30, 2021. More information can be found on the book project nominations & selection page. 

Looking to stay connected with the book project? Visit the book project events page and subscribe to our online calendar for up-to-date event information and registration links. We also invite you to follow the book project on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

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

Latest Blog Post – “In Celebration of Juneteenth”

Shanna Fraites, member of UC Davis Health African American Faculty and Staff Association (AAFSA)Employee Resource Group writes, "we are resilient, passionate, intelligent, and determined people. Let’s take this Juneteenth to celebrate us and remember where we were, how far we’ve come and how far we have yet to go..." Full post. Advancing Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion blog page. Submit a blog post today 

The City of Sacramento invites you to support your community!

Get excited about our two upcoming community meetings quickly approaching, entitled, Community Conversations! Next Wednesday on June 23rd the city of Sacramento is hosting a panel discussion about customized anti-displacement strategies for the Stockton Blvd area. 

The following week on July 1 the city of Sacramento is hosting another exciting gathering about wealth-building community ownership models. It would be great to have your support for these events seeking to bring attention to disparities that are impacting the city we love. For more information, check out the Stockton Blvd Plan Events page.

More ways to stay informed and involved in the process of the Stockton Blvd. Plan:

• Visit the website at cityofsacramento.org/Stockton-Blvd-Plan
• Email us at StocktonBlvdPlan@cityofsacramento.org with any questions
• Forward this to your friends and encourage them to subscribe to future newsletters

EVENTS

June 30, Wednesday

Creating a More Inclusive Workplace: Gender Language & Pronouns | 12:00PM
Please join Alexis Sanchez, Director of Advocacy & Training, Sacramento LGBT Community Center, the UC Davis Health Vice Chancellor’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Council and the PRIDE (People, Respect, Inclusion, Diversity, Education) LGTBQ+ Employee Resource group on June 30th at 12pm for a virtual gathering with an educational presentation by the Sacramento LGBT Community Center. Register here.

July 1, 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 7/1).

July 15, 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 7/29).

RECOMMENDED READING

New report: Pathway to citizenship for 10 million would boost GDP by $1.7 trillion
A new report by the Center for American Progess (CAP) and the Global Migration Center at UC Davis on how citizenship for undocumented immigrants would boost U.S. economic growth, written by GMC Director Giovanni Peri and GMC Graduate Student Affiliate Reem Zaiour, has been published today and featured in The Hill. Read the full report here.

Gender and Caregiving During COVID: The Case of Women in Academia - Select Bibliography
A curated list of articles and journal articles developed by Megan Moodie and Caroline Spurgin, with the Advancing Faculty Diversity Workgroup (2020-2021), University of California, Santa Cruz. Available here.

UC Davis LIVE: Reentry Anxiety After Covid-19 – Special Video Presentation
As the pandemic restrictions are lifted across the country, people face returning to workplaces and pre-pandemic activities with a mixture of anxiety and elation. What are the psychological issues around going back to offices and mixing with people again? How will employers react to those who want to keep working from home? What does a new normal look like? We address these questions with our two experts: Professor Angela Drake is a clinical neuropsychologist at UC Davis Health and Kimberly Elsbach is professor of management and holds the Steven G. Newberry Chair in Leadership at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management. Watch the recorded discussion here.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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.

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/