To support students, strengthen the campus climate, and combat antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of hate, UC Santa Cruz will expand mental health resources, promote community-building events, offer new educational programming and professional development opportunities, and create new outlets for students to share their perspectives on improving campus climate.
The plan is part of a systemwide effort announced by President Michael V. Drake to offer greater support to campus communities in the midst of global turmoil and in response to the deep anguish felt by many students, staff, and faculty.
“National and international events can have a deep impact on our students, faculty, and staff. As an institution of learning, we want to provide our students, faculty, and staff with the tools and resources to create joy, uplift our community, care for themselves, and have opportunities to understand histories and global events,” Chancellor Cynthia Larive said. “I appreciate everyone who collaborated to craft this plan and encourage our community to take part in these opportunities over the weeks and months to come.”
UC Santa Cruz conducted extensive outreach in early 2024 to gather ideas and input from community members. The offices of the Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI) jointly conducted a campus-wide survey of faculty and staff, with 77 percent of respondents agreeing the campus should offer more programming about Israel, Palestine, and other impacted regions. Leaders from the Division of Student Affairs and Success (DSAS) and ODEI met with nearly 20 student organizations to better understand how best to support undergraduate and graduate students and strengthen their sense of belonging.
“As a public research university, we have a special role to play in fostering dialogue and understanding, sharing knowledge, and creating an environment where all members of the community can thrive,” said Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Lori Kletzer.
The programs and initiatives that will launch in the 2024–25 academic year fall into three main areas: mental health and trauma support, educational programming (including event planning and campus climate assessment), and training and professional development for leaders, faculty, staff, and students.
Expanding mental health, trauma support
UC Santa Cruz is continuing its existing partnership with On the Margins to provide group workshops and one-on-one sessions for students and employees. The campus has been partnering with On the Margins for several years, and its anti-racist framework has resonated with many participants.
To uplift communities and create joy, the campus will create a new fund within the Division of Student Affairs and Success to support student-initiated events and programs. More details about funding requests will be shared in the fall.
The campus will also set aside funds to provide mental health support for all students, including Jewish-identified and Palestinian-identified students, and will continuously engage with students to understand how best to offer additional resources.
Events and educational programming
Teaching and learning is central to the mission of UC Santa Cruz, and the campus will develop extracurricular educational and community-building activities that foster greater awareness of and provide additional tools to combat antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Arab sentiment, and other forms of hate and bias.
In partnership with the Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, each of the five academic divisions and the division of graduate studies will offer new programs that are free and open to the public. These projects will include guest speakers, creative exhibits and other kinds of events. Additionally, ODEl will continue to partner with units across campus to plan heritage month and other celebrations/commemorations for students, staff, and faculty to foster a sense of belonging and inclusivity on campus and strengthen bonds among students, faculty, and staff.
To celebrate and recognize the diversity of identities at UC Santa Cruz, the Division of Student Affairs and Success will be working with students and campus partners to uplift students of all backgrounds in ways that are meaningful and relevant to them.
As an additional element of contact with our community, ODEI, in collaboration with Institutional Research, Analytics, and Planning Support, will be administering a “Student Pulse Check” survey in fall quarter to get a better sense of how undergraduate and graduate students are experiencing this moment. Results will be used to inform listening sessions that will be held in winter and spring quarters as well as the development of future campus programs and resources.
UC Santa Cruz provides an array of reporting and support resources, though not all students may be aware of all that is available. The campus will hire a student intern to focus on outreach, coalition building with student organizations to promote mental health services and educational programming.
Training, professional development for faculty and staff
The Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI) is leading an effort to develop educational programs for leaders, staff, and faculty on three broadly defined topics: antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias, and bias on the basis of African, Black, and/or Caribbean (ABC) ancestry.
These educational programs will take various forms, including asynchronous training, synchronous leadership training, new and curated online material development, “train the trainer” workshops for those who liaise with students, staff, faculty, and community members on relevant topics, and high-level workshops for key administrators.
A series of asynchronous modules, ranging from 20 to 40 minutes long, will be released beginning in late fall quarter and throughout the academic year, and promoted to faculty and staff.
The campus is also offering faculty and staff additional cohort-based professional development activities that will help them foster a campus climate in which everyone feels welcome and supported. More information on the Navigating Student Relationships with Compassion series, including registration information for fall quarter, can be found online. The workshop is offered by On the Margins.
Based on feedback from students and best practices in diversity, equity and inclusion, the campus will begin offering an intergroup dialogue (IGD) program. A facilitated, structured approach for engaging in face-to-face interactions engaging with issues of diversity, social inequality, and social justice, IGD programs can have a lasting impact on dialogue participants and on those who train to become IGD facilitators. The campus will apply to send a group of students, faculty, and staff to the four-day program offered at the National Intergroup Dialogue Institute at the University of Michigan.
UC Santa Cruz is also developing a Staff Equity Advocate (SEA) program, designed to embed the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in staff employment. The SEA pilot will launch in fall with a focus on manager recruitment. Unit leaders play an important role in fostering and promoting a welcoming, fair, and inclusive environment and actively combating bias and bigotry in the workplace.
SEAs will advocate for inclusive and equitable recruitment processes and procedures by serving as an advisor and consultant to the hiring manager and search committee. Advanced educational programs in addition to UC’s “Managing Implicit Bias” will be developed to train the SEAs.
The Ombuds Office has launched a stakeholders group to support the development of a campus labyrinth, similar to what was recently created at UC Merced. The labyrinth will be used in conjunction with curricula in art, history, psychology, racial justice, music, ecology, and the humanities.
Once created, the campus plans to offer facilitated walks at least once a month for students, staff, faculty, and community members to gather together and work on building resilience.
