Inclusive Excellence

Despite the difficulties imposed by the pandemic, particularly in terms of holding in-person events and strategy sessions, from November 2020 to June 2021, the Hispanic Serving Institution Phase 2 Implementation Task Force took up the challenge of advancing the goals of the 2019 report, Investing in Rising Scholars and Serving the

State of California: What It Means to be original task force.

The University of California, Davis (UC Davis) has yet to reach 25% Latinx undergraduate fulltime enrollment, the threshold necessary to formally become a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Nonetheless, the campus’ commitment to its HSI initiative and vision stands apart from any official U.S. Department of Education (ED) designation. For more than three years, UC Davis has vigorously developed and pursued its own HSI vision of institutional transformation. Together, campus staff, faculty, students, and alums conceptualized the opportunity at hand and articulated HSI priorities at UC Davis in a path-breaking 2019 report, “Investing in Rising Scholars and Serving California: What it Means for UC Davis to be a Hispanic-Serving Institution.” This brief will highlight the momentum leading to the report as well as what has occurred afterwards in terms of implementation.

In June 2018 Chancellor May invited twenty-nine distinguished scholars, administrators, community members, and students to serve on a task force to help UC Davis define what success should mean for a research intensive, public land-grant, Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) in California. The Task Force was charged with examining and making recommendations to continue to improve the success and well-being of all our students, including our Latinx and Chicanx students, and to identify the resources and reforms necessary to achieve these goals. The task force report was released in 2019.

Within a few months of 2020, we’ve experienced challenges that have grasped the world, the nation, and UC Davis, e.g., the COVID-19 pandemic, greater attention to loss of Black lives to violence, and greater recognition of the incidence and impacts of ongoing racism. These challenges continue, and our community has been traumatized—seeking answers and ways to cope. However, despite these difficulties, there is strength, resilience, and a continued—indeed a collaborative—commitment to equity and justice. Ensuring that justice is served is not limited to the work of a few, it is up to all of us to join in and work together.

The University of California, Davis (UC Davis) has yet to reach 25% Latinx undergraduate fulltime enrollment, the threshold necessary to formally become a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Nonetheless, the campus’ commitment to its HSI initiative and vision stands apart from any official U.S. Department of Education (ED) designation. For more than three years, UC Davis has vigorously developed and pursued its own HSI vision of institutional transformation. Together, campus staff, faculty, students, and alums conceptualized the opportunity at hand and articulated HSI priorities at UC Davis in a path-breaking 2019 report, “Investing in Rising Scholars and Serving California: What it Means for UC Davis to be a Hispanic-Serving Institution.” This brief will highlight the momentum leading to the report as well as what has occurred afterwards in terms of implementation.

The Community Equation is a conceptual framework developed to illustrate how UC Davis engages, equips, empowers, and elevates its diverse community. Grounded in the Principles of Community, the model represents the campus as a collective whole (C), composed of distinct groups and identities (ci) that contribute to the university’s shared mission. By expressing the balance of attention and resources (α) needed for each group—from rising scholars and employees to patients and community partners—the framework underscores the importance of inclusive excellence in advancing student success, faculty achievement, health, and community well-being. The Community Equation highlights how intentional support across multiple segments strengthens the collective, ensuring opportunity and belonging for all.