Office of Inclusive Excellence Spring 2020 Newsletter - UC Irvine Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor

Apr 2, 2020

Dear Campus Community

As we live through this global pandemic, it has quickly caused a wave of disruption across every aspect of our lives. No one is left unaffected. Every member of our campus community is adapting to new ways of teaching, learning and working. The fabric of our lives and those of our families have been stretched in surprising ways. Even our hopes about the future may now be called into question by a novel virus that poses an existential threat to nearly everything that we value.

While this is not the new year or the new decade that we hoped for only a few short months ago, I am inspired that so many of us have chosen to rise to this challenge as a community. Our response has been nothing short of miraculous. As the spring quarter begins, I want to thank you for ensuring that UCI’s mission as a public research university continues to serve as a beacon of hope for our community, nation and world. I want to acknowledge the critical work of our staff in supporting the university enterprise in Irvine and Orange; the enduring commitment of our faculty in scaffolding the success of our students; the resilience of our undergraduate and graduate students in adjusting to a new student experience and learning environment; and the entire Anteater nation for serving as inspired ambassadors of hope in southern California and beyond.

There is no better expression of UCI as a beacon of hope than the collective efforts of the individuals of UCI Medical Center and the Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences. These dedicated health care professionals, scientists, staff and students are on the front lines of confronting the Coronavirus. They are doing so much for so many–educating the public about how to mitigate exposure, staffing testing sites and analyzing the results, treating patients, conducting clinical trials for new treatments, and developing vaccines to prevent the spread of the virus. Their efforts have benefitted from generous contributions from you and the wider community, ranging from personal protective equipment and other medical supplies to childcare and warm meals.

This moment serves as a powerful reminder that at the core of our mission is people. Now more than ever, let us all act for inclusion. As you review the spring quarter newsletter, I want to urge you to embrace the pillars of community, thriving and wellness to build greater capacity for social solidarity for all.

#ActforInclusion

Douglas M. Haynes (Pronouns: he/him/his)
Chief Diversity Officer
Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Office of Inclusive Excellence | inclusion.uci.edu
Director, ADVANCE Program | inclusion.uci.edu/advance
Professor of History | www.humanities.uci.edu/history

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