During these two-day visits, a team of three to four task force members met with chancellors, senior academic administrators, members of senate committees, deans, department chairs, directors, and faculty to discuss the under-representation of women and ethnic minorities among UC faculty.
The group addressed barriers that prevent full participation of women and minorities in faculty careers and they discussed strategies for recruiting and retaining a faculty whose teaching, research and service will serve the needs of the diverse state of California.
"While we saw that each campus faced similar challenges, the task force also found several successful programs unique to individual campuses," said Rosina Becerra, task force chair and associate vice chancellor for faculty diversity at UCLA. "We will discuss these issues with the Council of Chancellors in January and engage them in a discussion of strategies for improving the University of California's inclusiveness for faculty and students."
In addition to sharing its findings with the Council of Chancellors, the task force is scheduled to meet with other senior academic administration groups in the spring.
The findings will be summarized in a report and disseminated via the task force Web site (www.universityofcalifornia.edu/facultydiversity/) and through a systemwide President's Summit on Faculty Diversity.
UC President Robert C. Dynes appointed the task force members in last May and charged them with reviewing the status of faculty diversity and recommending future approaches to improving the University of California's inclusiveness and ability to meet the educational needs of the state.
"UC will remain competitive as a leading institution of higher education only if it is successful in addressing the under-representation of minorities and women among its faculty and academic leaders," Dynes said.
The 11-member task force includes faculty representatives from each of the UC campuses and the systemwide Academic Council chair, Cliff Brunk.
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