Valuing Black Lives
The Valuing Black Lives Initiative (VBL) is rooted in the acknowledgment that anti-Blackness is detrimental to our mission as a public research university, which echoes the vision of people first and anti-oppression and liberation for all in the OEDI Strategic Framework. Following the murder of George Floyd, the VBL Task Force was created to address our campus community’s petitions and demands, with representation from all stakeholder groups across its five subcommittees. The Task Force’s recommendations led to a memorandum from Chancellor Muñoz and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Camfield, that outlined commitments spanning five years with an approximated $2.5 million financial commitment. OEDI is coordinating the advancement of Chancellor’s and Provost’s commitments, while building out what the larger VBL Initiative will entail as we seek out the best ways to support our campus community.
Equity and Justice Awards
OEDI welcomes individuals and groups who have dedicated their time and effort in championing equity and justice initiatives through the inclusive excellence framework and welcomes any UC Merced affiliates to nominate colleagues whose work and research advances foster inclusion throughout campus. Those who are selected will receive $1000.00 to assist with the implementation of one’s research/initiatives.
Campus Experience Survey Workgroup (CESW)
Consistent with UC Merced’s Principles of Community, we seek to cultivate a campus climate that affirms the dignity and value of members of the UC Merced community and that is rooted in mutual respect and compassion. One way to examine our progress toward this goal is by consistently and strategically administering campus climate/experience surveys to understand the experience of learning and working at UC Merced. To that end, the Campus Experience Survey Workgroup has been charged with developing and implementing a strategic plan for collecting campus climate/experience survey data from the UC Merced campus community.