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New stories about the Initiative
Letters of Support for the Initiative
UCLA Faculty Diversity Initiative (proposal)
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DAILY BRUIN, February 19, 2003 Proposal endorses faculty diversity By Shaun Bishop Directors of the four UCLA ethnic research centers introduced an initiative to increase faculty diversity at a town hall meeting Tuesday, drawing broad support from students, faculty and community members who attended. "For us to come together collectively gives us more strength and allows us to make a more coherent argument," said Darnell Hunt, director of the Center for African American Studies. The directors endorsed their collaborative proposal that would give six additional faculty positions to each of the centers. The jobs would come out of an estimated pool of 200 given to UCLA to fill over the next seven years, jobs for which a concrete plan of allocation has not yet been made, according to the directors. Chon Noriega, director of the Chicano Studies Research Center, gave a brief overview of the initiative to start the hour-long meeting. He outlined the main points of the plan and put it in context of recent state budget cuts and a growing minority population in California. The other directors added their thoughts after the summary. "Six new faculty will transform the American Indian Studies program and make it so much more viable and so much more useful for the community," said Hanay Geiogamah, director of the American Indian Studies Center. "The four centers have been key catalysts in diversifying faculty. By adding to the capacity the centers have to do this, I think we only hasten the diversification of faculty," Hunt said. Asian American Studies Director Don Nakanishi also presented letters of support from Asian Pacific leaders across the state. The town hall portion of the meeting turned the event into a support rally for the initiative, with advocates praising the four directors and their efforts. Daniel Solorzano, chair of the education department, voiced his desire for Chancellor Albert Carnesale to adopt the proposal. "I want to encourage (Carnesale) to take this opportunity to put him on the map," Solorzano said, referring to ethnic studies research. Solorzano and others emphasized that UCLA could become the "preeminent ethnic studies institution" in the country under the initiative. Reynaldo Macias, César Chavez Center chairman, believes the university's decision to adopt or reject these efforts will be atestament to its institutional priorities. "Everybody's for diversity, but in hard times what will be done to reflect this in the institution?" Noriega asked. Asian Pacific Coalition Director David Chung was one of a handful of students in the crowd of 50 to offer a undergraduate perspective. "As students, we understand the importance of what ethnic studies have done for our communities. Students are in full support of this initiative," Chung said. |