Our Commitment
UC Davis Graduate Studies opposes racial bias in any part of graduate education and training, and yet acknowledges that racism has shaped the development of academic research, methods of training graduate students and postdocs, and the make-up of faculty, students, and postdoctoral scholars. Such bias has limited who has access to the development of human knowledge and has placed limits on that knowledge. We therefore commit to re-envisioning graduate education and training that actively rejects racist assumptions and structures.
In 2020-2021, working groups comprised of faculty, students, postdocs, and staff created a set of recommendations for actionable goals that Graduate Studies is undertaking to address racial injustice at UC Davis in three broad areas that have also been integrated into our Strategic Plan:
- Invest in financial support for underrepresented and marginalized graduate students.
- Improve outreach, admissions, recruitment, and retention to underrepresented groups and students/ postdoctoral scholars of color.
- Create a truly inclusive graduate campus climate.
Annual Graduate Anti-Racism Symposium (GARS)
This annual Spring symposium brings scholars, students, and staff from across campus to address racial inequities in graduate education and to collaborate on anti-racist initiatives. Speakers have included a wide representation of members of the university community, including staff, faculty, graduate students, and campus leaders.
View the Graduate Anti-Racism Toolkit
IDARE Committee
Implementation of the Anti-Racism Initiative is charged to the Graduate Studies IDARE (Inclusion, Diversty, Anti-Racism, and Equity) Committee. This committee is part of a campus-wide effort coordinated by the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The Graduate Studies membership is:
Josephine Moreno and Ellen Hartigan-O'Connor, co-chairs
Committee members: Daniel Castaneda, Sarah Driver, Nicole Rabaud, Gordy Sauer, Fatoumatta Sisay, Elizabeth Sturdy, and Edher Zamudio