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Diversity Opportunities for Faculty
As former chair of UCSD’s Committee on Academic Personnel, Nicholas Christenfeld has seen that faculty are “on board” with helping to diversify the Univesity’s faculty and student populations. But he also knows they need to be able to easily find ways to do it.
To enable faculty to actively engage in this key element of the university’s mission, Christenfeld and Jeanne Ferrante, Associate Vice Chancellor for Faculty Equity, proposed creating a central, searchable database of diversity opportunities.
Academic Affairs has made the database a reality. The Diversity Opportunites database offers information on activities ranging from research to mentoring and from teaching to community outreach, both on and off campus.
Using the database to find the right opportunity
Faculty members and applicants for faculty positions can search the database for volunteer opportunities by clicking “Search for diversity opportunities” (top left on this page) and then specifying search criteria, including:
- Type of activity (e.g., advising, mentoring, outreach, research, teaching)
- Location (on or off campus)
- Target population (e.g., prospective or current university students/scholars, faculty, K-12 students)
- UCSD division or college
- Duration (ranging from weekly to annual participation)
Submitting opportunities for the database
Entities and organizations both on and off campus can submit diversity opportunities for inclusion in the database by clicking “Submit a new diversity opportunity” (top left on this page) and filling out the form provided. Opportunities are reviewed to ensure they are at the appropriate level before they are made available to faculty.
For further information about submitting diversity opportunities, contact Jennifer Park at (858) 822-5862 or via email at opportunitydiversity@ucsd.edu.
Reporting contributions to diversity
In order to encourage a culture that promotes and advances diversity, equity, and inclusion, statements regarding past or anticipated contributions to diversity are now required from all applicants for faculty positions. All faculty applicants’ statements are formally rated during the evaluation process.
Current faculty due for academic review can report their contributions on the UCSD Biography and Bibliography form in a section created specifically for this purpose, “Most Significant Contributions to Promoting Diversity.” Reporting such contributions is not required but is strongly encouraged.
Detailed information on reporting diversity contributions is available on the Faculty Candidate Information about Contributions to Diversity Web page. Topics include examples of contributions to diversity and a discussion of how contributions are recognized during the review process.
UCSD's commitment to diversity and excellence
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are part of the University of California’s fundamental mission and are integral to UCSD’s achievement of academic excellence.
We value diversity not only because it reflects fair and equal access to opportunities, but because it enriches the University’s educational environment, is a catalyst for innovation, and is essential for economic growth.
We must be active, intentional, and engaged with diversity in ways that increase awareness, content knowledge, cognitive sophisticiation, and empathic understanding of the complex ways individuals interact within systems and institutions.
Suresh Subramani
Executive Vice Chancellor
Academic Affairs