The four ethnic research centers at UCLA will unveil a proposal
today asking the university for additional faculty to help the
centers keep pace with California’s growing minority
population.
The Faculty Diversity Initiative calls for an additional 24 jobs
out of some 200 new teaching jobs granted to UCLA to handle an
expected enrollment increase of 4,000 by the end of the decade.
The new jobs would be divided evenly between the four centers,
resulting in six new positions each for the African American, Asian
American, Chicano and American Indian Studies Centers.
Carlos Manuel Haro, assistant director of the Chicano Studies
Research Center, said the centers realize that everyone is hurting
from recent budget cuts. But they feel the centers should get
priority during distribution of the new jobs.
The initiative states the increase in systemwide enrollment is a
direct result of California’s increasing minority population.
Therefore, the allocation of new jobs should reflect the reason the
jobs were granted in the first place.
“We see this as not only a good possibility for UCLA to be
the premiere institution of ethnic studies research, but for the
University of California system to deal with demographic changes in
state,” Haro said.
The directors of the four research centers submitted the
proposal to Chancellor Albert Carnesale for review last week. It
highlights the positive effects the research centers have had on
educating an increasingly diverse UCLA student body.
“Indeed, these faculty members have increased both
enrollments and majors within their departments, and they have
often played significant leadership roles within their departments
and schools,” the directors wrote in the proposal.
The initiative seeks to increase minority representation in the
UC system, citing minority groups make up 64 percent of college-age
adults in California but only 19.1 percent of UC ladder-rank
faculty.
The plan also emphasizes a need for a “critical
mass” of faculty in ethnic studies research to “provide
an intellectual environment that can attract, nurture and prepare
all students” to study the changing demographics of the
state.
Haro said this critical mass is necessary to expand research,
teaching and faculty retention in ethnic studies. He added that
additional faculty support in the centers will create a productive
atmosphere conducive to this expansion.
The centers plan to share the proposal with alumni, community
leaders and colleagues at other UC campuses, and eventually UC
President Richard Atkinson.
Even though the organization of ethnic research is different at
each UC campus, Haro said the opportunity to utilize resources in a
different way is a universal concept.
The public is encouraged to attend today’s town hall
meeting on the initiative. Directors from each of the centers will
be present along with students, faculty and community leaders.