Initiatives

Letter from Chancellor France A. Córdova to the Campus Community

August 17, 2004

Members of the Campus Community

Dear Colleagues:

I am pleased to refer your attention to two documents. The first, “Principles of Community,” is a document developed by a group of faculty, staff, students, and administrators to promote a welcome and inclusive climate for our campus community -- one that is grounded in respect for others, is nurtured by dialogue between those with differing perspectives, and promotes civil interaction among all community members. The second, “A Framework for Diversity,” is a comprehensive set of observations and recommendations made to me by Dr. Yolanda Moses, Special Assistant to the Chancellor for Excellence and Diversity. This document is based on wide-ranging interviews she conducted and her observations during the 2003-04 academic year. It builds on our vision to make UCR a premier research university that values and promotes diversity and excellence at all levels of the University.

Dr. Moses, one of Riverside's own distinguished alumnae, is a recognized expert on cultural change in higher education and cultural diversity and public policy issues. Moses is trained as an anthropologist, having received her masters and doctorate with highest honors in Anthropology from the University of California, Riverside in 1976. Before returning to UCR in 2003-04, she completed a three-year term as president of the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE), the oldest national organization dedicated to the advancement of higher education, based in Washington, D.C., and composed of faculty, administrators and graduate students. She served as President of The City College of New York/CUNY from 1993 to 1999 where she also held the position of professor in the Graduate Department of Anthropology. She joined CCNY from California State University, Dominguez Hills where she was Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of Anthropology, a position she had held from 1988. From 1982 to 1988, she was Dean of the College of the Arts and Professor of Social Science (Anthropology) at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

I invite you to review each document and to submit suggestions to strengthen them, including new recommendations or actions that should be included. You may submit your comments via email to yolanda.moses@ucr.edu.

Thank you for your efforts in this regard.

Sincerely,
France A. Córdova
Chancellor