Every member of the UC Santa Cruz community has a role in fostering and sustaining a safe, caring and welcoming campus environment. We do this collectively by embracing our Principles of Community, and accepting the responsibility to pursue these principles. Our current strategic planning effort, Leading the Change: The UC Santa Cruz Strategic Plan, calls for a healthy campus climate that fosters equity of experience and ensures that staff, students, and faculty of all backgrounds feel welcome and included. We aspire to extraordinary outcomes in our teaching, research, scholarship and creative activities, and we strive to get there by embedding principles of diversity, equity and inclusion in all that we do.
Much of this vital work is accomplished through staff organizations that have been founded by staff and sponsored by the university for the purpose of providing opportunities to build and strengthen both personal and professional connections that enrich our campus community. The work that our staff does through these organizations is, in fact, work on behalf of the university and should be valued and respected as much as any other work done by an employee. This is not “volunteer” work that an employee does in their free time, and we need to be sure that staff have time during their regular workday to do this part of their jobs.
Therefore, I write to reaffirm our continuing commitment by encouraging and supporting our staff who work for these organizations. I believe deeply that an effective UC Santa Cruz manager or supervisor is one who supports opportunities for staff to contribute to the campus.
Thank you in advance for your continued support of the amazing staff on our campus.
