Students and employees with disabilities want to be recognized for the diverse views they bring to the UC Davis campus. New staff and faculty members want to be applauded for the fresh ideas they bring to problem-solving discussions in their departments. And staff members want the faculty to note their contributions to the university, even as the campus faces tough budgetary choices.
These diverse concerns, along with a good dose of other comments, were among those discussed at last week's "Promote Respect" forum sponsored by the Campus Council on Community and Diversity.
New campus administrators Virginia Hinshaw - who started work as provost and executive vice chancellor in July - and Rahim Reed - who came on board in September as associate executive vice chancellor for campus community relations - hosted the discussion, using it to explain their views on achieving a respectful campus community, and hearing the perspectives of others.
About 75 faculty and staff members and university administrators attended the lunchtime gathering in Memorial Union II.
- successful university in the 21st century is a diverse university, Hinshaw said. UC Davis has an edge on many institutions because of the tenets of the Principles of Community and the makeup of the campus's student body - 52 percent of which are members of ethnic minority groups.
But based on administration surveys, students from different ethnic groups still wrangle with how to get along. Faculty and staff, too, feel as though they receive mixed messages about each group's attitudes toward one another. And those messages can grow more strained as employees speculate on how the university will handle its budget deficit.
"It's a pivotal time to be talking about respect and how we are engaged in that," Hinshaw said.
Reed asked the audience's help in creating a structure for his brand-new office, the first of its kind in the UC system. It's an office with a purpose of serving all campus community members, he said, not just ethnic minorities - as many perceive its purpose.
The audience had wide-ranging suggestions on how to create a respectful campus climate.
Patricia Johnson, a captain and assistant fire marshal for the UC Davis Fire Department, pleaded with longtime campus employees to better appreciate the views of newcomers interested in challenging ingrained university culture and seeking new ways to get things done.
"I find that in the process of making decisions you are slammed or ignored for trying to lead people in a direction for their betterment," she said.
Keltie Jones, director of the Disability Resource Center, urged university leaders to also consider disabled people in their celebration of campus diversity. No matter their ethnic background, disabled students and employees offer a special perspective because of the challenges they've faced, she said.
Joaquín Galván, a retention coordinator at the Learning Skills Center, challenged the university to hire some Latino and Chicano administrators at the university's highest levels. There are none at the executive level now, he said, despite the fact that one in three Californians are from that background.
"I think we are a little behind in that," Galván said. "I hope that more attention can be paid there."
Rosie Hall, a member of the Staff Diversity and Affirmative Action Advisory Committee, asked what she and others could do if they found a campus member violating the Principles of Community.
Reed and Hinshaw agreed that the campus can't "legislate niceness," but employees and students can educate one another on the guidelines.
"When the majority lets these things go, it magnifies (the problems) and makes them seem like they are everywhere," Reed said. "But if we confront them, we can minimize their impact on the campus community."
Reed said the Campus Council on Community and Diversity, which advises the Provost's Office on community-building issues, will review the feedback it received at the forum to help develop new programs. He, too, will use the discussion to help build a mission for his new post.