Deadline Approaching for Diversity, Equity Grant Program
March 16, 2016
The Office of Campus Climate recently launched a program that aims to strengthen UC Merced’s campus climate and cultivate an environment where all students, staff and faculty members feel respected, included and valued.
The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Grant program is accepting proposals for projects that help UC Merced cultivate an inclusive and equitable community. Successful proposals should inspire collaborative, high-impact, experimental and sustainable ideas. Selected grants can receive funding up to $5,000 for one year.
All campus community members — staff members, Senate and non-Senate faculty members, postdocs and students — may submit proposals. Projects must be done in coordination with an official campus organization, department or account. A committee of staff and faculty members and students will review submissions, and awardees will be notified by April 29.
“People have been hearing about and talking about this pilot program,” said Deirdre “De” Acker, director of the Office of Campus Climate. “It’s getting people to discuss diversity issues, which is exciting, and they are thinking about solution-oriented ideas.”
Proposal submissions are due in electronic form by 5 p.m. Friday, April 8. Projects should start by fall.
The Chancellor’s Advisory Council for Campus Climate and Inclusion, the Office of the Chancellor, Graduate Division and the Office of Campus Climate partnered to support the grant program in response to results from the UC Campus Climate Survey administered at the Merced campus in 2013 and follow-up focus groups.
UC Merced modeled its pilot program after UC Berkeley’s Innovation Grants for Equity, Inclusion and Diversity, established six years ago. Funded projects there have included:
- Cal Anti-Racism Collaborative (Cal ARC), a student-led initiative in the School of Social Welfare that creates non-academic spaces to discuss topics of power, privilege and oppression within the field of social work;
- Rising Above Professional Obstacles: Career Development for Staff of Color, a career development brown-bag series; and
- An Unfinished Conversation, which aims to encourage diversity and promote retention in electrical engineering and computer sciences by creating a more inclusive environment for students, faculty and staff.
Additional projects and descriptions are posted on UC Berkeley’s innovation grants website.
Details regarding UC Merced’s diversity grant program, including submission requirements, criteria, guidelines and other information, are available on the Office of Campus Climate website under the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion tab.
Acker, meanwhile, is available to answer questions about the proposal process. Contact her by email, call 209-228-2598 or send inquiries to equityinclusiondiversity@ucmerced.edu.
