UC Santa Cruz Review Summer/Fall 1995

From the Chancellor by Karl S. Pister

In the aftermath of the Board of Regents' decision in July to eliminate race, ethnicity, and gender from admissions criteria as well as from hiring and business practices, I want to continue the discussion of actions we at UC Santa Cruz should take. Although we must be guided by the Regental resolutions, whose implementation will be informed by UC's General Counsel and the President's Office, we can and must move ahead, leaving behind whatever anger and disappointment that still reside on the campus and replacing them with purposeful commitment.

As I stated publicly and repeatedly long before the Regents' recent action, affirmative action programs in the university have made important progress in redressing long-standing civil rights injustices which have foreclosed equal opportunity and equal access for generations of people of color. While the programs that are in place might have profited from some changes, their abolishment was clearly not called for. Indeed, in eliminating race, ethnicity, and gender as factors in a set of broadly defined admissions criteria, the board majority rejected the advice of UC President Peltason, the vice presidents, all nine campus chancellors, UC's Academic Council, the UC Staff Association, and elected student and alumni representatives.

As our campus examines admissions practices we should be reminded of the rationale behind the 1988 Regents' policy mandating that UC campuses enroll a student population that encompasses the cultural, racial, geographic, and socioeconomic diversity of the state of California. Why should we continue to embrace this principle of diversity, and how is it linked to the university's long- standing commitment to excellence?

The answers to these questions, in my view, are self-evident. The university's mission of teaching, research, and service to the state and nation cannot be separated from the society and the people who constitute it. As a university "of the people and for the people of California," it is inconceivable to me that education of the leadership of the emerging majority of people of color in our state is not central to our mission. Accordingly, if we are to measure the quality of performance of our mission, appropriate measures of diversity of our campus's faculty, staff, and students as well as our programs are essential components of evaluation.

How can we continue to build diversity in the student body on our campus? Let me begin by observing that our current regular admissions process will be unaffected by the Regents' action. At this time, because UCSC is a young campus, we are able to admit all UC-eligible applicants for admission. No supplemental criteria enter into these admissions decisions. A limited number of special action admissions do involve consideration of supplemental criteria. The process involving this class of admissions will be reviewed by the appropriate committee of the Academic Senate for compliance with the new policy and modified so as to continue to support the achievement of diversity in the entering classes of students.

What can this campus do as it faces the future? We can and will vigorously pursue the goal of increasing the UC-eligibility rate of underrepresented students through our Early Academic Outreach Programs. Earlier this year, together with the support of vice chancellor for student affairs Francisco Hernandez, we submitted a proposal to the Office of the President to double the outreach capability of UCSC's Fresno Early Academic Outreach Center. I will continue to pursue this goal. This summer we added a new middle school outreach program for students from Seaside, and we are currently developing a plan for the establishment of a Central Coast Mathematics and Science Achievement (MESA) Center at UCSC. To these efforts we must join all campus constituencies together to develop plans and programs to establish a stronger presence in communities from which we draw students from underrepresented groups. We must carry the message that students of color are welcome at UCSC and ensure that our programs, courses, curricula, and daily interactions support this message.

In the longer term the real issue rests with the people of California and their elected representatives. Will we continue the serious underinvestment of state resources in education at all levels, but particularly the K-12 schools, the consequences of which are disproportionally borne by families and children at the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum in the state? Can we afford to remain 40th among the 50 states in per-pupil expenditures and 50th in class size? Can this nation-state remain stable and compete in the next century under these conditions? How could we possibly expect to broaden the base of UC- eligible students under such circumstances? What kind of a society will emerge under these conditions? The answers are sobering indeed. A lowered standard of living for many--along with an increasing number of incarcerated citizens--are likely consequences.

I am hopeful that the people of California will demonstrate once again, as they have in the past, their understanding of and support for a more appropriate level of investment in education in our state. The future for our children, and their children, is at stake. I urge each of us to take responsibility for action.