The 2025 Operational Strategic Plan, and in particular the topic of Community Cohesion, outlines the College’s strategies for putting goals into action:
In May 2018, Chancellor and Dean David Faigman created the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Working Group (DEIWG) and appointed staff, faculty, and student members. DEIWG is charged with recommending and planning initiatives to “… foster diversity, equity, inclusion, and cultural competence in order to attract, retain, and support diverse community members, foster an environment that promotes excellence and learning, and enrich the individual and collective learning and work experience.” Their activities range from programming and events, information and data collection, and offering advice to campus leaders, including regularly reporting to the Chancellor and Dean.
UC Hastings is committed to ensuring that our stated values of diversity, equity, and inclusion are infused into every aspect of the College’s operations. This includes asking that each department commits to continual review of their practices and procedures, setting actionable and measurable goals for supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion.
In fall 2020, a working group convened to launch the first Community Experience Survey project at UC Hastings. Although we have and will continue to collect experiential data through annual student surveys, the Campus Climate Survey project will be the first to ask a set of standard questions around experiences and feelings of inclusion and respect for students, staff, and faculty at UC Hastings. The survey has an expected rollout for Spring 2020.
Extensive time and energy has gone into understanding and reconciling with the history of Serranus Hastings. As stated in a September 2020 report of Chancellor and Dean David Faigman, “Our founder, Serranus Clinton Hastings, promoted and financed Indian hunting expeditions in the 1850s in the Eden and Round Valleys of Northern California. These expeditions resulted in the deaths or dislocation of 100s of Yuki Indians, and the enrichment of Serranus Hastings, who took possession of large parts of these lands. He later became the first Chief Justice of the State’s Supreme Court and, in 1878, founded the first law school in the state, Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.” College representatives have met with members of the Round Valley Indian Tribes (RVIT) and are working to establish a long-standing trust and relationship. Under the leadership of an advisory board, the College is implementing several initiatives to build partnerships with the RVIT and Yuki tribe to restore justice to those living decedents impacted by our founding Dean.
Every employee at UC Hastings is expected to align their work with the College’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and many lead projects and initiatives to that end. The following staff also have specific job responsibilities to help lead campus efforts in this space.