Academic Senate

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are core values of the University of California and are integral to its achievement of excellence. Addressing these issues is an important aspect of dossier preparation and evaluation. The Academic Personnel Manual (APM 210-1-d) states that “Contributions in all areas of faculty achievement that promote equal opportunity and diversity should be given due recognition in the academic personnel process, and they should be evaluated and credited in the same way as other faculty achievements.”

Although the APM does not make it obligatory to incorporate comments about contributions to diversity in dossiers, UCLA introduced a requirement for faculty actions. Faculty members who are submitting dossiers in personnel actions should, therefore, highlight their contributions to diversity issues in their research, teaching, or service activities so that CAP can recognize these contributions in its evaluation of the candidate’s file. A candidate’s dossier should address these contributions in the personal statement in the context of describing contributions to teaching, scholarship, and service or as a separate diversity statement. The UCLA Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Statement FAQs is a helpful resource to get started.

Diversity issues may be approached and evaluated under several different rubrics, and it is not the purpose of this guidance to enumerate these exhaustively. They will emerge in different ways in the various aspects of research, teaching, service, and outreach practiced at UCLA. The following list from Appendix 41 of the CALL gives examples of contributions to diversity:

• efforts to advance equitable access to education
• public service that addresses the needs of California’s diverse population
• research and scholarship in a scholar’s areas of expertise that addresses issues of inequality
• mentoring and advising of students and faculty members, particularly from underrepresented and underserved populations
• encouraging diversity of thought; acknowledging that innovative ideas come from dissimilar teams, cultures, and sources
• pedagogical practices and learning theories that create inclusive learning environments and communities
• curriculum development that enhances equity, diversity, and inclusion

Faculty committees appointed to evaluate academic personnel must take these contributions into account in their evaluations, and department chairs should comment on these contributions in their recommendation letters.

Further guidance on this issue may be found in Appendix 41 of the CALL.

Last Updated: April 25, 2023