Guidelines for Assessing Faculty Candidate Contributions to Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at UC Merced
Advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are responsibilities of all UC Merced faculty through their research, teaching, and/or service. As a public institution we expect all new hires to meet our equity and inclusion standards for excellence. These responsibilities are codified in both the UC Merced Principles of Community, and The University of California Regents Policy 4400. Advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging also supports our campus goals for diversifying the faculty and creating an inclusive campus climate for all individuals. The purpose of this webpage is to provide candidates for faculty positions and faculty search committees information about how to consider and evaluate contributions to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging throughout the faculty search process.
From the UC Merced Principles of Community:
"The University of California, Merced, is a public, land-grant institution created to serve the communities of the San Joaquin Valley, the State of California, the nation and the world through excellence in education, research and public service. Our principles reflect our ongoing efforts to increase access and inclusion and to create a community that nurtures lifelong learning and growth for all of its members. We encourage every member of the UC Merced community to join us in our collective pursuit of these principles."
These principles of community for the University of California, Merced, are rooted in our mission of teaching, research and public service. They reflect our passion for critical inquiry, debate, discovery and innovation, and our deep commitment to contributing to a better world. Every member of the UC Merced community has a role in sustaining a safe, caring and humane environment in which these values can thrive.
From the UC Merced Diversity Statement:
We affirm that a diverse campus furthers our mission to create, interpret, and disseminate knowledge and values. The manifold diversity of our community encourages each of us to reflect on intellectual and cultural orthodoxies, and thus stimulates the creativity at the heart of our academic mission as a research university. We take pride in serving a large population of first-generation college students, including the broad representation of background on our campus as a Hispanic (HSI), Minority (MSI) and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander (AANAPISI) serving institution. As a common goal, we will work together to ensure all members of our academic community reflect the multiplicity of identities in our region. Our commitment to diversity will foster our ability to thrive in a complex world.
From the Regents Policy 4400: Policy on University of California Diversity Statement:
“The diversity of the people of California has been the source of innovative ideas and creative accomplishments throughout the state’s history into the present. Diversity – a defining feature of California’s past, present, and future – refers to the variety of personal experiences, values, and worldviews that arise from differences of culture and circumstance. Such differences include race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, language, abilities/disabilities, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, and geographic region, and more.”
“The University particularly acknowledges the acute need to remove barriers to the recruitment, retention, and advancement of talented students, faculty, and staff from historically excluded populations who are currently underrepresented.”
