Projects

Letter to Faculty

Letter to UCSB EEMB Faculty with Demands Toward Racial Equality

During the month of June, we composed a letter and associated petition to EEMB faculty with a list of demands and several appendices of information and resources. Over 30 EEMB graduate students collaborated on this letter. The petition was made available for signing on July 1, 2020, and was formally sent to faculty on July 3, 2020.

Letter to EEMB Faculty, Staff, and Administration from Black Graduate Students

An additional letter was written by the Black graduate students of EEMB (sent June 30, 2020) and is fully endorsed by the authors of the DEIW petition. We ask that the EEMB department prioritize these demands over the full suite of actions listed in our petition.

Faculty Response

Read the initial faculty response (sent July 10, 2020) here.

Here is a point-by-point breakdown of their response vs. our demands:

Our Demands vs. Faculty Commitments

Related Efforts at UCSB

  • Bren School of Environmental Science & Management: Black graduate students sent a letter to Bren faculty, staff, and administration on June 10, 2020. CLICK TO VIEW

  • College of Engineering: In response to a letter from Dean Alferness, Black graduate students wrote a letter and petition sent June 19, 2020. CLICK TO VIEW

Related Efforts at Other UC Campuses

  • UC System: UCSB undergraduate alum Kayshaliya Sharma wrote a letter to former President Janet Napolitano, Chancellor Yang, and the UC Community with an associated call to action on June 6, 2020. CLICK TO VIEW

  • UC Berkeley, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management department (ESPM): The department's Graduate Diversity Council called for anti-racist action from its faculty in a petition posted June 8, 2020, followed by a letter of support from ESPM alumni. CLICK TO VIEW

  • UCLA, Department of Physical Sciences: Undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral scholars addressed the lack of diversity and called for anti-racist action in their division in a petition posted June 10, 2020. CLICK TO VIEW

  • UC Davis: Dr. Tessa Hill, Associate Vice Provost for Academic Programs in Public Scholarship and Engagement, faculty at Bodega Marine Lab, and UCSB IGPMS alum, has begun compiling a resource list for faculty to begin doing the work of anti-racism within their own labs and classrooms. CLICK TO VIEW

Related Efforts Across the US

  • Carleton College: CLICK TO VIEW

  • Colorado University Boulder: Chancellor Philip DiStefano promised to immediately start work on a collection of anti-racist actions, and to update the campus community on progress monthly, in an announcement on June 18, 2020. CLICK TO VIEW ARTICLE

  • Drexel University: CLICK TO VIEW

  • Lehigh University: 2,385 faculty, staff, students, and alumni signed an open letter to Lehigh President John Simon and Board of Trustees Chairman Kevin Clayton, delivered June 2, 2020. The letter demanded immediate action dismantling racism at Lehigh, and draws on the frustration of past efforts that have been ignored by Lehigh administration. CLICK TO VIEW LETTER

  • Open Letter from Faculty of Color: Dr. Paul Barber (UCLA) and Dr. Tyrone Hayes (UCB) published an open letter to university STEM faculty, outlining meaningful actions that must be taken to combat systemic racism in higher education. CLICK TO VIEW

  • Princeton University: over 350 faculty urged administrators to prioritize demands for anti-racist action at the university, faculty, post-doc, graduate, and undergraduate levels in a letter delivered July 4, 2020. CLICK TO VIEW

  • University of Arizona: CLICK TO VIEW

  • University of Houston: Students from the Graduate College of Social Work denounced the University's role in gentrification and demanded actions "to address the great inequities that continue to exist" in a racist America in a petition posted June 1, 2020. CLICK TO VIEW

  • University of Massachusetts Amherst: see the Racial Justice Coalition's list of demands and sign in support

  • University of Rochester: CLICK TO VIEW