TO MEMBERS OF THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY:
Every fall, as the new academic year begins, it has been our custom to send out two, key messages to the campus community. One is traditionally about our dedication to building an inclusive and diverse workforce, and a working environment where people feel welcomed. The other is focused on the importance of our Principles of Community, and how the values enshrined in those Principles intersect with our support for free speech and expression.
This year I want to combine them, in order to emphasize how the issues, values and principles connected to these distinct obligations are also deeply connected to each other. It is no small undertaking to take on the importance of building a real sense of community, while also sustaining a workplace and a learning environment where every single person feels valued and respected. As I have noted before, a strong, supportive community is what makes it possible to take risks; it is our safety net as we explore new ideas, engage with new people and perspectives, and seek to translate our beliefs and commitments into tangible form. Beyond that, our public mission obliges us to lead by example, to create here on campus a model for the sort of diverse and inclusive society we are striving to build.
The Workplace
We aspire to be a workplace and an institution of learning that embraces the value and importance of diversity, in every sense of the word. As a federal contractor, we are legally obligated to follow Affirmative Action & Equal Employment Opportunity guidelines. As a public institution, we believe it is not only our legal obligation but also our moral and ethical responsibility to provide opportunities for underrepresented groups. We want to be a leader in creating a workplace free of harassment and discrimination.
Each year, the campus makes available our staff and academic affirmative action plans by posting them online. This year's Staff Affirmative Action Plan 2015-16 is available at http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/diversity/plan-placement and the Academic Affirmative Action Plan 2015-16, is available at http://ofew.berkeley.edu/academic-affirmative-action-plan. Both plans contain information that is helpful to campus managers striving to increase the diversity of our workplace by reaffirming our commitment to making UC Berkeley the destination of choice for faculty and staff alike, regardless of their ethnicity, gender, disabled or veteran status.
If you have questions about the Staff AA Plan, contact Staff Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Compliance at staffeeo@berkeley.edu. If you have questions about the Academic AA Plan, contact the Office for Faculty Equity at admin.ofe@berkeley.edu.
The Principles of Community
If the affirmative action and equal opportunities expectations are focused on the workplace, our Principles of Community apply to every member of the campus community. Developed through an extraordinary collaboration among Berkeley staff, students, faculty, and alumni, these principles are rightly described as “fundamental to our mission of teaching, research and public service,” and as essential to, “ensuring freedom of expression and dialogue that elicits the full spectrum of views held by our varied communities.” Crucially, the authors also make clear that, “Every member of the UC Berkeley community has a role in sustaining a safe, caring and humane environment in which these values can thrive.” In the context of that appropriate and important emphasis on individual responsibility and accountability, I would urge everyone to take a few minutes in order to review and consider what is one of the bedrock documents for the Berkeley campus community http://berkeley.edu/about/principles.shtml. In this context, it would also be appropriate to use this reminder to review our “Time, Place, Manner” guidelines which both govern and protect our right to protest, as well as the rights of those who choose not to: http://chancellor.berkeley.edu/principles-guiding-accountability-violati.... Everyone at Berkeley should respect these guidelines, and the administration is committed to their enforcement.
I want to offer my sincere appreciation to all of you who care so deeply about these values and principles, and work so hard to give them meaning and substance on our campus, whether it be in the residential halls, the workplace, the lab or the classroom.
Sincerely,
Nicholas Dirks
Chancellor