Signaling that the UC Board of Regents is serious about improving faculty and student diversity across the system, the board last month appointed 18 people to a high-level study group. The panel was charged with identifying “best practices” in faculty hiring and retention; student preparation, recruitment, and admissions; and efforts to create an inclusive campus climate.

Among its duties, the Study Group on University Diversity will survey campuses’ climates for diversity and inclusion; report recent trends in regard to diversity within UC’s undergraduate, graduate and faculty populations; and recommend “actions that the University and its individual campuses can take, respecting federal and state laws, to increase diversity and inclusiveness” at UC.

Co-chair for the diversity panel are Regents Chairman Gerald L. Parsky and UC Provost and Executive Vice President Rory Hume. They will have the assistance of six other Regents; four chancellors, including UCSB’s Henry T. Yang; the two top systemwide Academic Senate faculty representatives, including Vice Chair Michael T. Brown from UCSB; and other representatives of students, alumni, and UC administration.

For more information about diversity at UC: <www.universityofcalifornia.edu/diversity>.