Dear UC Santa Cruz Community,
The Equity & Equal Protection Office is happy to welcome back Rosa Garcia as associate director of Equity & Equal Protection, ADA Officer. She previously worked as a service coordinator in UCSC's Disability Resource Center, later as principal investigator & complaint resolution officer in UCSC’s Title IX Office and most recently served as campus ADA officer on an interim basis.
Rosa has extensive expertise in disability law and policy as well as issues of disability and access in higher education. She has years of experience in stewarding the interactive process to facilitate meaningful access for persons with disabilities while ensuring the integrity and excellence of our programs. Rosa also brings years of expertise conducting discrimination and harassment complaint resolutions.
Rosa is a graduate of UC Santa Cruz, she is a John R. Lewis (formerly College Ten) alumna and went on to receive her master of science in clinical rehabilitation and mental health counseling from San Francisco State University. Prior to entering into higher education, she has held various positions working in community mental health.
As the associate director of Equity & Equal Protection and ADA officer, Rosa will oversee key compliance related activities affecting the ongoing establishment and maintenance of a culture of safety, non-discrimination, and acceptance at the University of California. Her work will include compliance governance, policies and procedures, training and education, communication and reporting, internal monitoring, and auditing.
Under general direction of the Associate Vice Chancellor for Equity and Equal Protection, she will also provide expert-level knowledge and is responsible for developing and administering policies and practices to assure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Act, Sections of 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and other federal and state laws and regulations pertaining to access and accommodations of persons with disabilities.
Rosa will serve as the primary university point of contact regarding the ADA and liaison with relevant state and federal agencies and ADA coordinators at other institutions and associations. In collaboration with Facilities Access Manager, Student Programs Access Manager, Public Access Manager, Employment Access Manager, and Electronic Access Manager, and other university entities, she will develop recommendations for procedures and practices that will facilitate ADA and 504 compliance efforts across the university, including coverage of areas involving students, faculty, staff and visitors.
Rosa will be responsible for coordinating assessments of the university’s physical, digital, employment and programmatic access for individuals with disabilities and will provide outreach efforts focused on dissemination of information across the university regarding the ADA as well as the university’s responsibilities, policies, procedures, and resources for disability accommodation and access. She will provide leadership and oversight for all ADA-related programming initiatives for faculty, staff and students and work alongside the following campus departments.
Rosa will also work alongside the Public Access Manager to receive and respond to requests for public access. She will provide consultation, oversee and assist in the implementation of disability-related access requirements for university events and conferences and other public events and services, including digital access. For more information on visitor access, please view the ADA program access page for visitors.
Additional information about ADA-related resources
Rosa will serve as the primary resource to the campus community regarding programmatic access as mandated by state and federal laws and she will also serve as the principal steward of the interactive process for the entire campus community and all individuals involved in this process have the right to escalate any concerns regarding access and inclusion to her.
The UC Santa Cruz Disability Resource Center assists the campus with equal educational access for students with disabilities. Its goals are to support retention and graduation of students with disabilities, promote a non-discriminatory campus environment and encourage student development and independence.
The mission of the Academic Personnel Office is to facilitate the recruitment, appointment, advancement, and retention of the most qualified and diverse faculty and academic appointees possible while also providing leadership and oversight of academic policy and procedures in a manner that supports the overall academic goals and objectives of the Administration and the Academic Senate consistent with the campus Principles of Community. The Academic Personnel Office works with faculty and academic appointees with disabilities who require accommodation support to ensure full and meaningful participation in their work.
Disability Management Services under Staff Human Resources provides support to staff and academic appointees by identifying opportunities for reasonable accommodation for employees with disabilities. Disability Management Services supports access and equal participation of all employees with disabilities in the workplace through the interactive process.
Please join me in welcoming Rosa Garcia into this inaugural leadership role on campus.
Sincerely,
Anna Finn
Associate Chancellor & Chief of Staff, CECO, LDO
Interim AVC for Equity & Equal Protection
