Department Values Statement
The Department of Psychology at UC Davis is committed to creating and sustaining a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment as an essential element of excellence in science and education. To do so, we actively work to identify, disrupt, and dismantle policies and practices that stem from the history of our society and academic institutions, which were built to cater to a small subset of people and which therefore marginalize many others along interlocking dimensions of exclusion and oppression. In place of exclusive systems, practices, and policies, we work to create new ones that enable an inclusive and antiracist departmental culture where diverse students, faculty, and staff can survive and thrive.
As a department, we commit:
(1) To explicitly value and compensate the important work necessary to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (e.g., through the diverse mentoring initiative to compensate graduate students for labor that advances diversity and inclusion, through carefully assessing job candidates’ past and planned contributions to diversity and inclusion and weighing them in hiring decisions, and through explicitly valuing diversity and inclusion work in merit and promotion discussions, consistent with university policy).
(2) To regularly solicit and hold ourselves accountable to feedback about inclusivity and potential problems in our policies and practices (e.g., through annual climate surveys and our feedback and reporting system).
(3) To be clear and transparent about expectations for advancement (e.g., through our Faculty-Graduate Student Mentoring Agreements and through annual faculty meeting presentations from our Mentoring and Personnel Advancement Committee on criteria for merit and promotion decisions).
(4) To incorporate inclusive practices in our courses and to train our students to be thoughtful and compassionate leaders who can make positive contributions to science and society (e.g., through annual teaching workshops and by training students to recognize and disrupt oppressive systems in science).
(5) To maintain a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) committee that will support, facilitate, and provide resources for our department’s collective work toward diversity, equity, and inclusion goals. The committee’s efforts are informed by (a) student and faculty input, (b) the campus strategic vision for diversity and inclusion, and (c) evidence about what works to promote meaningful and sustained progress (e.g., meta-analytic evidence on policy effectiveness, audit data and case studies from similar organizations). The committee adopts an intersectional approach grounded in an understanding of the history of our country, state, and university; this history highlights the ways in which our institutions were built to cater to affluent, White, Western, cis male people, often by oppressing and marginalizing anyone deemed non-White, especially Black and Indigenous people. We position DEI—with a particular focus on disrupting White supremacy culture—as central and essential to every aspect of our department, including the work of each department committee.
We recognize that creating and sustaining a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment in our department will require a sustained, broad, deep, and multi-pronged effort. We welcome input and questions on this important work at any time.
The Department of Psychology is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion and creating an antiracist and inclusive community.
How do I?...
Find my community and support systems?
Report bias, discrimination, or a concern related to DEI?
Change my name in campus systems?
Suggest an idea for improving the department?