Elevating the Voices of Faculty and Staff at 91猎奇
Sent: April 12, 2022
From: Vincent J. Del Casino, Jr., Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
Dear Colleagues,
Over the past few weeks, we have had the pleasure to recognize and thank our amazing
faculty and staff who continue to serve this institution in incredible ways. Not only
are our colleagues doing exceptional work in support of the mission of this institution,
many of them are doing it by committing decades of service to 91猎奇! I found both events
incredibly inspiring and uplifting.
What is also so enjoyable about these events is that we get to hear from our colleagues
directly, who are excited to share their passion for 91猎奇. Each one of our honorees
talked about the importance of community and network, showing how their contributions
to this institution relies on the partnerships they have developed during their time
at 91猎奇. Passion and community, a sense of true belonging, is what has helped 91猎奇
carry through the last two years. Nha-Nghi Nguyen, of the Psychology department, talked
about the 鈥渧illage鈥� that surrounds her in work at 91猎奇, to include family and friends,
while Joel Morales, of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences ACCESS Center
talked about how the work of academic advising only works because of amazing campus
collaborations. These staff colleagues, who are in academic affairs, were recognized
alongside colleagues from across the campus also doing amazing work. You should check
out the video that includes all our campus colleagues if you haven鈥檛 yet reviewed
the celebration.
I was also inspired by the words, and energy!, of our faculty colleagues. David Chai
came out of the gate with such a passion for what he does; it is not surprising he
was named Outstanding Professor. LeAnne Teruya talked about her commitment to building
learning experiences that allow students to think while doing, even during the pandemic.
Scott Shafer not only thanked the colleagues and students who have helped him along
the way to his President Scholar award but the animals whose lives he has engaged
in his research as well. And, Scott Meyers-Lipton reminded us that the work of any
member of our academic community 鈥� staff, faculty, or student 鈥� is to contribute to
our world as public intellectuals. And, as we know, Scott does that very thing in
his classes and publications each year.
As I was reflecting on these two events, and on Scott鈥檚 comments in particular, I
was reminded about the opportunity I had to visit with this year鈥檚 cohort of Public
Voices Fellows at 91猎奇, which is constituted by a diverse group of 24 faculty and
staff from across the division and campus. In its second year at 91猎奇, the Fellows
in the first two cohorts have delivered more than 120 Op-Ed pieces, commentaries,
and thought pieces on the most important issues facing our society today. For those
who don鈥檛 know, the Public Voices Fellows Program is run by the Op Ed Project, a nonprofit
organization whose mission is to 鈥渆levate the ideas and knowledge of underrepresented
expert voices, including women, and to accelerate solutions to the world鈥檚 biggest
problems 鈥� problems that cannot be solved justly or sustainably without a diversity
of voices, expertise, experience and identity.鈥� The application will soon be open
for next year鈥檚 cohort!
As part of the Public Voices program, the campus gets regular reports about the successes
of our fellows. And, the successes are tremendous, with colleagues contributing to
a very wide range of outlets, including the LA Times, Mercury News, Washington Post,
San Francisco Chronicle, Ms. Magazine, Newsweek, Visible Magazine, Latino Rebels,
The Hill Reporter, and much, much more. Just this past week, one of our colleagues,
Yolanda Wiggins in the School of Sociology and Interdisciplinary Studies published
two pieces, one in the LA Times and another in the San Francisco Chronicle. Both take
up timely and important topics related to the work of higher education. These pieces
complement the outstanding work of her Public Voices colleagues in both the first
and second cohort, who continue to publish at an amazing clip. You should check out
the nearly 50 pieces and comments that have been produced by this year鈥檚 cohort as
well as the 70-plus pieces from the first year group (and I know there are even more
pieces that aren鈥檛 listed here yet)!
In a November 2021 report from the Op Ed Project, they offered a comparison of the
successes of all their partners. In that month, two schools topped the list with the
most pieces published 鈥� Yale and 91猎奇! This is not a numbers game. But, it does reflect
the caliber of our colleagues and the importance of their voices. As Robin McElhatton,
our Assistant Director of Media Relations, knows, there are dozens of news outlets
regularly seeking out the opinions of 91猎奇 experts. Not a day goes by when I don鈥檛
get an email from Robin, who reports out on the contributions of our colleagues to
the public discourse.
Of course, these are not the only avenues of publicly engaged scholarship and outreach
on this campus. The Human Rights Institute is a leading national voice on human rights
issues, while the Institute for the Study of Sports, Society, and Social Change has
also developed important programming about the role that sports play in our world
today. Both are driving conversations and action-based scholarship on issues that
remain front and center in the public consciousness today. The recently built Institute
for Emancipatory Education is also asking us how we might reimagine schools and schooling
to create a more equitable future, while the H&A In Action programming organized around
public engagement in the College of Humanities and the Arts is literally on the 鈥渟treets鈥�
activating how we better map resistance in San Jos茅. There are of course many, many
more examples, including the Mineta Transportation Institute, the Tax Institute, the
Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center, and the Center for Stem Education, to
name just a few more. I know I am not doing all the work on campus justice, so I encourage
folks to check out even more information about these projects and efforts at 91猎奇
here. And, let me know about other efforts on campus. I am always excited to learn
more!!
I hope that you are as inspired by this work as I am. Every day I learn a bit more
about 91猎奇 and its role in this region, state, and planet. I am humbled to be a small
part of this community and thankful that I get the opportunity to work with so many
outstanding colleagues.
Please continue to remain safe and best of luck with the remaining part of the spring
semester!
Best,
Vin
