University of California, Davis
PA-6: Assessing Diversity and Equity

UC Davis engages more than 1500 individuals across the campus in a network of advisory committees, resource groups, taskforces, and peer support networks as the primary mechanism for assessing campus progress toward its DEI goals. This includes cataloging, coordinating, and consulting on DEI achievements, recommendations and future investments. DEI also consults with dozens of groups—83 consultation hours to 55 departments/groups in 2022-23—who have sought out guidance to plan for a more inclusive future. These community networks are listed at https://diversity.ucdavis.edu/community-networks. See also: https://diversity.ucdavis.edu/hsi-implementation-task-force, https://diversity.ucdavis.edu/scholars, https://diversity.ucdavis.edu/campssah-scholars, https://diversity.ucdavis.edu/dei-committees.

In recent years, the University of California and UC Davis have implemented numerous experience surveys and complementary dashboards that tell the story of UC Davis diversity and climate through data. UC Davis’s Budget and Institutional Analysis, or BIA, promotes available tools and helps unit to find data on their progress. DEI and BIA consult with leaders find insights in their data and then act on those insights. A list of these surveys is available here: https://financeandbusiness.ucdavis.edu/bia/i-a/surveys

UC Davis is halfway through its 10-year DEI strategic plan, which is grounded in three roadmaps to excellence: the UC Davis Strategic Vision for Diversity and Inclusion https://diversity.ucdavis.edu/strategic-plan, the UC Davis Chancellor’s Strategic Plan (To Boldly Go, 2018, https://leadership.ucdavis.edu/strategic-plan), and the 2019 report of the Hispanic Serving Institution Taskforce (https://diversity.ucdavis.edu/hsi-task-force ). UC Davis measures its progress against these plans.

The campus draws from the intellectual work of Maisha Winn and Lawrence “Torry” Winn, co-founders and co-directors of the Transformative Justice in Education Center at UC Davis. https://tje.ucdavis.edu/ The 5 Pedagogical Stances (5 PS) framework—History Matters, Language Matters, Race Matters, Justice Matters, and Futures Matter—serve as a thematic and decision-making structure for organizations to use when dealing with incidents that are not keeping with the UC Davis Principles of Community. https://diversity.ucdavis.edu/principles-community

DEI goals are incorporated into every employee performance review, and the campus has recommended that supervisors and their employees utilize the UCOP CORO Nor-Cal Anti-Racism Learning and Reflection tool to enhance these reviews. https://www.ucop.edu/human-resources/coro/2020_forms/coro_nor-cal_2020_reflection_tool.pdf

Findings from and activities based on the following experience surveys are available online:
- Undergraduate students: https://financeandbusiness.ucdavis.edu/bia/i-a/surveys/ucues
- Graduate students: https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/about-us/information-center/UCGSES-survey
- Faculty: https://academicaffairs.ucdavis.edu/faculty-satisfaction-survey-reports-coache
- Staff: https://hr.ucdavis.edu/staff-experience-survey

Recent findings include:
- According to UC Undergraduate Experience Survey, or UCUES, Results, UC Davis students were more positive about campus climate, diversity, and inclusiveness in 2020 than in 2016—they felt more comfortable with the campus climate for diversity and inclusion in my classes. (89% agreement in 2020 vs. 85% in 2016); more comfortable campus climate for diversity and inclusiveness at this university (89% agreement in 2020 vs. 84% in 2016); that UC Davis is a welcoming campus (94% agreement in 2020 vs. 91% in 2016), and that the campus values diversity (92% agreement in 2020 vs. 87% in 2016). However, there are differences between groups that UC Davis is seeking to address, including areas related to transfer student success, supporting students with disabilities, affordable course materials, Native American student admissions and outreach, COVID-19 resiliency, mental health, advising, basic needs, academic integrity, and the societal impacts and public value of a UC degree. More information on how campuses are addressing the results of the survey are available here: https://www.ucop.edu/institutional-research-academic-planning/services/survey-services/ucues-20th-anniversary/ucues-systemwide-reports-and-dashboards.html; https://www.ucop.edu/institutional-research-academic-planning/services/survey-services/ucues-20th-anniversary/ucues-reports-to-the-uc-board-of-regents.html; https://www.ucop.edu/institutional-research-academic-planning/services/survey-services/ucues-20th-anniversary/ucues-presentations.html; https://www.ucop.edu/institutional-research-academic-planning/services/survey-services/ucues-20th-anniversary/ucues-research-publications.html

- UC Davis offers more than 100 graduate and professional programs, and the climate and inclusiveness of each graduate program play an important role in shaping the experience of their respective students. UCGSES respondents felt that students (95%) and faculty (89%) in their graduate program make thoughtful efforts to understand racial injustice. Respondents also reported that students (94%) and faculty (88%) made thoughtful efforts to advance inclusion in their graduate programs. UC Davis Graduate Studies is actively addressing racial bias in graduate education and training with the Graduate Anti-Racism Initiative. Launched in 2020, the initiative engages graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, faculty and staff in re-envisioning graduate education and training that actively rejects racist assumptions and structures. To learn more about the initiative, visit the https://grad.ucdavis.edu/graduate-studies-anti-racism-initiative . In response to the UCGSES survey, UC Davis and UC students alike noted that their respective campuses could benefit from increased community-building efforts, with 32% of UC Davis students and 38% of all UC graduate students disagreeing with the statement “there is a strong sense of community among the graduate students in the university." More information is available here: https://grad.ucdavis.edu/news/uc-survey-illuminates-graduate-student-experience-1

- The results of the staff experience survey show that the UC Davis staff feel a strong sense of purpose and meaning in their work and appreciate work flexibility; however, they are looking for equal opportunity. African American staff in particular reported lower satisfaction than other staff. UC Davis has established the Davis Campus Staff Experience Advisory Group to ensure that campus-wide staff issues are elevated and addressed. https://hr.ucdavis.edu/staff-experience-survey/results. Administrative Advisory Committees submit annual reports, with recommendations, to the Chancellor, which are published on their websites. https://diversity.ucdavis.edu/administrative-advisory-committees.

- In the most recent COACHE survey of UC Davis faculty, in 2021-22, faculty report high levels of satisfaction with mentorship and person and family policies, but the lowest levels of satisfaction for departmental collegiality and engagement. Although women and faculty of color report slightly lower levels of satisfaction than men and white faculty, the disparities are meaningful only for four of the survey themes:
Female, Faculty of Color, and URM faculty members rate the standards and processes related to promotion to full professor less positively than male and white faculty;
Female faculty members report lower levels of satisfaction with the Service aspect of faculty work
URM faculty members rate departmental collegiality lower than White faculty members.
White faculty members report lower levels of satisfaction with the clarity of tenure expectations
Faculty overwhelmingly agree that increasing faculty diversity should be a priority for UC Davis. Overall, 84% of respondents agree – with 54% agreeing “strongly” and 30% agreeing “somewhat” – that faculty diversity should be prioritized. Positive endorsement of prioritizing faculty diversity is consistent among faculty of all ranks, but it is most prevalent among assistant and associate professors. Faculty in all demographic groups report very strong support for prioritizing faculty diversity, and this support is greatest among women and URM faculty. There has been a marked increase in support for prioritizing faculty diversity, with 84% agreeing that it should be a priority, compared with 73% from the 2017 COACHE survey. The largest increase in agreement can be found within the comparison group of men and whites. However, UC Davis faculty members’ perception of their colleagues’ ability to assess faculty contributions to diversity are slightly more negative than positive on this issue. UC DAvis faculty are generally positive that “requiring diversity statements from job applicants is a useful tool in the faculty search process,” with 52% of faculty “agree”, 27% “disagree”, and 16% “neither agree nor disagree” that requiring diversity statements from faculty job applicants is a promising way to increase faculty diversity. Faculty support for the use of diversity statements in the academic hiring process varies significantly by gender and race/ethnicity, with women, URM, and Asian/Asian-American faculty more likely to agree with the diversity statement requirement. https://academicaffairs.ucdavis.edu/faculty-satisfaction-survey-reports-coache

UC Davis has utilized COACHE survey data to launch several initiatives related to faculty recruitment and retention, including:
- Dialogues Across Difference: Solutions to Disruptive Speech in the Learning Environment
- ENHANCE: Promoting Advancement and Retention of Underrepresented STEM Faculty by Enhancing Research Productivity and Centering Family Support
- Faculty Retention and Inclusive Excellence Networks—Designing Solutions (FRIENDS)
- Faculty of California United in Scholarship–FOCUS
- Professors Leveraging A Community of Engagement (PLACE) with CAMPSSAH
- Workplace Climate Action Group (WCAG)
- 2021-24 AFD Climate and Retention Pilot Intervention Program - DEI Blueprint
- Mining Text for Bias in Written Comments of Student Evaluations of Teaching
- 2021-23 Fostering Crucial Conversations and Building Opportune Consensus on the use of Contributions to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statements for Faculty Recruitments UC Davis: The UC Davis Pilot Study to Prioritize Academic Excellence in Research and Contributions to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion / Phase 2: Institutionalization $500,000
- UC Davis: Creating an Inclusive Campus Climate through Enhanced Academic Review and the Creation of Faculty Learning Communities
- UC Davis: A UC Davis Pilot Study in Centrally Co-led Open Searches to Prioritize Academic and Educational Excellence

https://diversity.ucdavis.edu/advancing-faculty https://academicaffairs.ucdavis.edu/faculty-recruitment-and-climateretention-initiatives

The Implementing the Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Vision, or D&ISV, seminar introduces the D&ISV and helps participants get started on their own implementation journey. In the 2021-22 academic year the seminar reached more than 90 different departments and groups at UC Davis. The 15 sessions (impacting at least 90 different groups and departments) assists departments in developing their own D&ISV implementation plan.

Administrative Advisory Committees submit annual reports to the Chancellor, which are published on their websites. Annually, members of the committees have the opportunity to meet with campus leaders to share their findings and learn what changes are being made.

DEI staff and leadership regularly meet with campus leadership groups, including the Chancellor’s Leadership Council, the Provost’s Leadership Council, the DEI Executive Leadership Team, and the joint Academic Federation and Academic Senate Committee on Affirmative Action and Diversity, among others. The Vice Chancellor also sits on the University of California systemwide committee for chief diversity officers.

DEI creates a series of reports, including an annual report, which are disseminated on eScholarship, a platform that supports international open access and citation.

DEI hosts coffee chats, which serve as a forum for communicating with campus stakeholders on a variety of initiiatives.

https://financeandbusiness.ucdavis.edu/bia/i-a/surveys/ucues

https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/about-us/information-center/UCGSES-survey

https://academicaffairs.ucdavis.edu/faculty-satisfaction-survey-reports-coache

https://hr.ucdavis.edu/staff-experience-survey

HR and FOA's Business Intelligence have developed a Workforce Diversity Dashboard that will provide employee demographic information at the school, college, and division level. The dashboard will provide valuable insights for schools, colleges and divisions to assess current state and measure the progress of diversity, equity and inclusion strategies. Data will be aggregated to protect confidentiality. Access to this new dashboard will be provided in the near future following the completion of a final security review.

Additional links for diversity and equity assessment reports and summaries:

https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9t79h0z4

https://diversity.ucdavis.edu/dei-strategic-investments

https://financeandbusiness.ucdavis.edu/bia/i-a/surveys