Currents (November 1995; Special Report)

              Ill DIVERSITY
• Why is diversity important?
• How are we doing?
• What are we doing to improve?
UNIVERSITY   OF   CALIFORNIA,   SANTA   CRUZ
CURRENTS
Special Report
Published by the Office of Public Information for the campus community
November 1995
Strengthening our commitment
By diversifying UCSC, we honor our pledge to all Californians
1 olleagues: Many of us
share a personal and
ardent commitment
Uto diversity. Our goal—
to prepare with excellence
the future leaders of our state
and our nation—can be met
only with dedicated effort to
ensure that the people of
UCSC mirror the face of
California.
The importance of achieving this level of diversity
cannot be overstated. Our
mission is to serve the people
of California—people who
increasingly reflect cultures,
languages, and traditions
from every part of the world.
Unless we support the academic preparation of all the
young people of California,
and then develop a campus
with an academic and social
environment that fosters their
success, we will be unable to
do the job required of us.
Student and faculty groups,
the UCSC staff and administration, and the Board of
Regents have endorsed the
pursuit of diversity as a high
value. Members of the UCSC
community cultivate myriad
programs and services to
support that value, and we
have achieved significant
progress over the past years.
Still, much more work
remains. We have yet to reach
all of our goals to increase the
numbers of well-qualified
students, faculty, and staff
from among currently
underrepresented groups.
Inspired by our success to
date and determined to
achieve even richer diversity,
we now must renew our
commitment and redouble
our efforts.
This special issue of
Currents presents a summary
of our achievement to date. It
also highlights recent initiatives and indicates direction
for future effort. I invite you
to read it, and then join me
in celebrating diversity even
as we endeavor to further
enhance it.
Developing cfiversity is
essential for the stability and
strength of California. Nothing less than the future of our
children and grandchildren is
at stake.
C^Z-iz
Inside
Student diversity—Page 2
Faculty diversity—Page 6
Staff diversity—Page 7
Campus leaders respond to tough questions about diversity
Recently, rhere have been several
opporruniries for the campus
community to discuss issues
of diversity, especially in light
of the regental decision on
affirmative action. Among them
were open forums as well as
discussions initiated by individual
campus units and living groups.
Following are responses to a few
of the questions directed to Chancellor Pister, Executive Vice Chancellor
Tanner, and Vice Chancellor
Hernandez at one of the open
forums.
Q: How can we still be talking
about diversity, when the Regents
have resolved to end affirmative
action in admissions and hiring?
Does our commitment to diversity
mean we will disobey the Regents'
directive?
A: Affirmative action is only one of
the tools used to foster diversity.
Now, we must find new ways to
prepare, recruit, admit, and enroll
qualified students from all sectors
of our society, including those who
are currently underrepresented.
Similarly, we must develop creative
strategies to recruit the best faculty
and staff. Although I personally
disagreed with the Regents'
decision—as did every other
chancellor and the university
president—I will carry out the
Regents' policy and adhere to the
new requirements. However, the
Board of Regents emphasized its
conviction that California's diversity
is an asset, and it further stated that
"It is in the best interest of the
university to take relevant actions
to develop and support programs
which will have the effect of
increasing the eligibility rate of
groups which are 'underrepresented'
in the university's pool of applicants
as compared to their percentages in
California's graduating high school
classes." That statement provides
some suggestion for future direction.
—Chancellor Karl Pister
Q: Has the pursuit of diversity
resulted in diminished academic
quality and lowered academic
standards?
A: On the contrary, the breadth and
depth of rigorous academic endeavors have been enhanced by the
introduction of diverse perspectives.
To cite but a few areas, the studies
of sociology, politics, and history
have been reinvigorated by the
growing presence of women and
minorities among our faculty and
students. Also, there have been
invaluable contributions to all
disciplines by people who in the
past might well have been denied
access as professors or students.
—Executive Vice Chancellor Michael
Tanner
Q: Are we ignoring the needs of
non-underrepresented students
through too much attention to
developing diversity?
A: All students benefit from the
widened horizons resulting from
greater diversity. The opportunity to
learn with—and to learn from—
individuals of different backgrounds
only enhances the ability to succeed
in a society in which diversity is the
norm. By working to increase the
number of students who meet UC
admissions criteria, we increase the
general level of education. At the
same time, we must not forget that
the socioeconomic advantages of our
society are not shared equally.
Students who enjoy the privilege
of excellent schools and supporrive
families are not harmed by our
outreach to the less fortunate. And
I believe those same students will
be harmed if they do not have the
opportunity to interact with those
with whom they will share the
future. —Chancellor Karl Pister
Q: After so much effort to increase
diversity, why does UCSC still have
less diversity than stated in our
goals?
A: There are a number of factors
involved in the challenge of
building a diverse campus. The pool
of UC-eligible students among some
ethnic groups is alarmingly small—
only 5 percent of graduating
African-Americans and 4 percent of
graduating Hispanic students from
among all high schools in California
this past year were UC-eligible. It
makes sense, then, to increase our
support of academic preparation in
K-12 and also to pursue vigorous
outreach programs to attract those
relatively few qualified students.
—Vice Chancellor Francisco Hernandez
Currents / November 1995