The University of California at San Diego (UCSD) has been given two grants totaling $700,000 to improve its faculty diversity.
The grants were funded by the University of California Office of the President through the UC Advancing Faculty Diversity grant program, according to UCSD.
According to UCSD, the first grant – a one-time fund of $500,000 – will be used to help hire a cluster of 10-12 faculty who focus their research on “racial/ethnic disparities in STEM fields with a significant focus on the Black diaspora and African American communities.”
“I think that it’s really a unique opportunity for our campus to really consider a cluster hire around academic programming that really seeks to increase the connection between African American studies and STEM,” said Dr. Frances Contreras, professor of education studies and associate vice chancellor at UCSD’s Center for Faculty Diversity and Inclusion. “And I think that this is really important and it’s where the future of STEM needs to be headed.”
Contreras is a project lead for both initiatives, and the Center for Faculty Diversity and Inclusion is a key partner in both, according to UCSD.
“The grant is not only about recruiting new faculty. It’s about the African American studies program,” said Dr. Thandeka K. Chapman, professor of education studies and director of the UCSD African American studies minor program. “These hires will be specifically connected to African American and Black diaspora studies at UCSD. And that means that we’ll be asking them to teach classes that entertain topics that are interwoven between issues of race and STEM.”
Chapman is one of five project leads of the $500,000 initiative titled, “Advancing Diverse Faculty, Curricula and Research through a Cluster Hire at UC San Diego.”
