Faculty Affairs and Academic Programs
The University of California Faculty Writing Initiative: Writing Communities to Improve Climate and Enhance Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
UC Irvine| UC Berkeley| UC Santa Barbara, 2023-2024
Project Principal Investigator
Ilona Yim
Project Abstract
COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted faculty from underrepresented minority groups in academia, widening existing disparities. Writing communities represent a promising tool to re-engage faculty, build an inclusive climate, and give back to a group of faculty that has been particularly burdened. This project will capitalize on the strengths of three existing writing communities in the UC system - U See I Write at UC Irvine, Write to Unite at UC Santa Barbara, and FOCUS, a multi-campus initiative run out of UC Davis, to host multi-campus, multi-day faculty writing retreats involving Senate and non-Senate faculty from across the UC system. The project will also begin to build local writing communities at campuses across the UC system. Scaling the successes of these programs to the UC system while also beginning to build inclusive cross-campus faculty communities promises to improve the work experience of all faculty, but in particular those from minoritized backgrounds.