Members of the campus community, As we enter the new academic year, I want to share with you the accomplishments of the Campus Council on Community and Diversity during the past 12 months. The council, which is composed of a broad representation of faculty, staff and students, meets monthly to address matters that affect the well-being of our campus community and to attend to the important role of diversity in the life of the community. This group advises the chancellor and me, and the leadership of the campus, on ways in which we can strengthen and maintain our bonds of community. Since its inception in December 1997, the council has been committed to acting, as appropriate, to work on these community issues. Although areas remain that require further action, I am pleased to report what we have achieved thus far. Throughout our discussions on the council and with the campus at large, several themes emerged: * The bonds of our community are strained by a general lack of awareness and sensitivity to the differences in culture, religion, backgrounds and experiences that we each bring to the campus; * The campus is not making sufficient progress in the hiring of women and people of color into faculty, managerial and upper administrative positions; * There is need for increased outreach to underrepresented students; and * There are concerns among underrepresented minorities and women about the attitudes and practices of campus and city of Davis police departments. As a result of these discussions, I believe that we as a council have a more complete picture of these and other issues facing our campus, and a better understanding of the steps we must take to remedy these problems. Here are some of the initiatives launched by the council in response to these concerns: Raising awareness about community and diversity through campus orientation and education programs We determined that one place to begin the dialogue about campus expectations was through the orientation that new employees receive. As a result, beginning in winter quarter, the orientation program will be revised so that every new employee will learn about the Principles of Community and about their rights and responsibilities as members of our campus. Also beginning this fall, all new supervisors hired on campus will be required to attend a diversity-education workshop designed to help them develop the skills to manage a multicultural staff. These efforts are being coordinated by the Office of Administration, Staff Development and Professional Services, and the Office for Diversity, Affirmative Action/Equal Employ-ment Opportunity. New faculty members will also be asked to participate in a program designed to enhance their effectiveness as professors in a multicultural environment. In addition, all new department chairs will have a diversity education/affirmative action workshop woven into their orientation program. Faculty members will also be invited to participate in diversity workshops offered in each college throughout the coming academic year. The first workshop was held Nov. 5 for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Barry Klein, vice provost for academic personnel, and Harriet Murav, assistant vice provost for diversity and academic personnel, have taken the lead in coordinating these efforts. For students, educational opportunities about diversity will continue to expand. A year ago, the campus and city police departments held an all-day workshop with a group of students to foster better relationships and to address the issue of targeting individuals as suspects based on stereotypic profiles. I have asked the two departments to continue with these kinds of workshops and hope that other campus units will follow suit. In a similar vein, diversity education has been instituted through the Campus Media Board for The California Aggie and KDVS staffs this fall. In addition, the Media Board has rigorously reviewed and revised the policies and practices governing the campus media in order to ensure the media meet the campus's commitment to the Principles of Community as well as the responsibility of freedom of speech. I believe all of these educational efforts to be immensely important, and the council hopes you will join us to support these programs. Recruitment, retention and outreach Students Recruitment, retention and outreach efforts for students, staff and faculty are critical issues for our campus. As many of you may be aware, last year students passed the Facility and Campus Enhancement initiative that will provide new recreational and student-activity space in 2003-4. Included in this initiative was the funding for a student-run retention and recruitment center. Students as well as staff and faculty members are engaged in the planning efforts for this center, and I believe that it will help significantly to attract and retain talented students from underrepresented groups. In addition, our K-12 outreach efforts continue and we are committed to investing in our Sacramento-area partnership schools over the long term to ensure that bright young people envision a future at the University of California. Staff Outreach efforts for staff employment also continue to advance. This year, Sylvia Reyes joined the Staff Affirmative Action Office as an intern to assist in developing programs to increase our regional visibility and improve our recruitment of job candidates. We will need to do more of these kinds of efforts, and we look forward to continued progress in this area. Faculty For faculty, our efforts have been slow to reap rewards. Although complete data on our hires will not be available until later this fall, our initial review indicates that we have been far less successful than hoped. We recognize that we must work during the coming year to improve our record of success. It is essential to our academic endeavors that our faculty reflect the diversity of thought and perspective necessary to provide top quality education and research. The chancellor and I recently issued the new systemwide guidelines for pursuing diversity in our faculty and staff ranks and, in the cover letter to chairs and program directors, asked for renewed commitment and attention to the importance of diversity within our academic and staff personnel. In addition, Vice Provost Klein and I will be appointing a campus committee to examine the issues that may be responsible for our previous lack of progress in recruiting a more diverse faculty and to assist us in developing "best practices" for the campus as it embarks upon the task of recruiting more than 500 new faculty members by the middle of the next decade. It is vitally important to recruit faculty members during this critical period who are distinguished in their academic pursuits and who reflect the rich diversity of modern California. Every dean will also appoint a similar committee to guide faculty recruitments at the college and departmental levels. Office staffing Finally, we have continued to give attention to the staffing of the Office for Diversity, Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity. Last year we hired Karen Roth to serve full time as coordinator of the Diversity Awareness Education Program, and Harriet Murav as assistant vice provost for diversity and academic personnel. These two individuals will develop diversity workshops and seminars and assist in our recruitment efforts to diversify our faculty candidate pools. The director of the office, Eleanor Fontes-Fulton, is on leave for the fall quarter, and I have asked Roberto Paez to provide the leadership for this office during her absence. Roberto will also serve as special assistant to the chancellor and in that capacity will help us craft a staffing and administrative structure that better positions the campus to achieve greater diversity in the ranks of its students, faculty, staff and administration. The council is committed to addressing the issues that need our attention throughout the coming year. Although we have dealt with some concerns that have come forward, several challenges remain. In the coming month, the council will be determining the goals we want to accomplish during this academic year. We will keep you apprised of our efforts. We welcome your participation in the process of creating a respectful community; please contact me or other members of the council. Working together, I believe, we can create and maintain a campus community that welcomes and nurtures all of its members. We look forward to hearing from you. Robert Grey Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Chair, Campus Council on Community and Diversity