UCLA Department of Art
Plan of Action
against Systemic Anti-Black Violence, Bias, and White Supremacy
and for Anti-Racism, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Following the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 and the following social and political uprisings in response to systemic racism and anti-Blackness, the UCLA Department of Art began work on developing specific and measurable actions to address systemic anti-Black violence, racism, bias, and white supremacy within our Department and to promote anti-racism, equity, diversity, and inclusion.
The Department affirms its solidarity with the movement for Black lives against systemic anti-Black violence, bias, and white supremacy and is committed to making the Department a safe, equitable, and supportive environment for all students, faculty, and staff.
The Department also supports the School of the Arts and Architecture (UCLA Arts) strategic plan, developed by the school’s Anti-Racism, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (AEDI) Commission, of which the Department was a contributing member.
Action 1: Demand an end to UCLA relationships with police
Demand that UCLA ends its relationship with the Los Angeles Police Department and other security agencies and defunds the UCLA Police Department.
- August 4, 2020—Art Department Faculty Letter to Chancellor Block and EVC Carter
- Draft letter outlining these demands to be signed by all Department faculty —COMPLETED and sent to Chancellor Block and EVC Carter on August 4, 2020.
- Advocate for Cops off Campus and Divest/Invest movements —ongoing.
Action 2: Gather feedback on our current environment
Gather feedback from alumni, current students and visiting faculty on the Department’s current environment as it relates to anti-Black bias, white supremacy, and equity, diversity, and inclusion.
- Conduct a survey of alumni and former visiting faculty on their experiences with the Department —COMPLETED.
- Establish anonymous feedback and suggestion mechanism for students, faculty and staff —COMPLETED.
Access anonymous form HERE - Host a Town Hall for current students to gather feedback —COMPLETED scheduled for 2/18/21, 5:30pm PST.
- Promote and participate in UCLA Arts AEDI Commission school-wide climate survey —in process.
Action 3: Establish Department of Art AEDI Action Council
Establish Department of Art AEDI Action Council made up of 2 M.F.A. alumni, 2 UG alumni, 2 Visiting Faculty, 1 UG Council rep and 1 Grad rep to advise the Department on its efforts to create a safer and more equitable and supportive learning environment.
- Survey alumni and former visiting faculty for interest in participation —COMPLETED.
- Establish priorities, selection criteria, duration of commitment and compensation —in process.
Action 4: Establish Student Councils
Establish student councils and representatives to facilitate student engagement with the Department leadership and play an active role in the ongoing development and implementation of AEDI initiatives.
- Establish Undergraduate Advisory Council —COMPLETED.
- Engage Graduate Area Representatives in addressing AEDI through quarterly all-grad meetings and participation in the AEDI Action Council —in process.
Action 5: Review and revise curriculum
Review and revise curriculum to ensure that courses and course material do not contain anti-Black bias and white supremacy and that classrooms are welcoming and supportive of Black and Indigenous students of color and all students.
- Establish mandate and provide support for the faculty Curriculum Committee to undertake curriculum review —COMPLETED.
- Revise syllabi guidelines to require acknowledgement of our presence on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples —COMPLETED.
- Revise Art 132 Survey of Critical Thought course description and create sample syllabus to center anti-racist and emancipatory theory —COMPLETED.
- Revise program requirements to require Art 132 —COMPLETED, effective for students entering Fall 21 and later.
- Develop undergraduate upper division studio courses with AEDI focus for each area of study —COMPLETED.
- Revise program requirements to require at least one upper division studio courses with AEDI focus —COMPLETED, effective for students entering Fall 21 and later.
- Create a repository of AEDI course resources for faculty —in process.
- Revise syllabi guidelines to require a description of group critique method used in class —COMPLETED.
- Provide faculty with guidelines, resources, and support to ensure that group critique methods create a safe space for all students --in process.
Action 6: Establish funding and scholarships to support equity and diversity
Establish priorities for need-based scholarships that support contributions to equity and diversity.
- Task faculty Scholarship Committee with developing a framework for need- and diversity-based scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students —COMPLETED.
- Review and approve proposal by Scholarship Committee to allocate 60% of all undergraduate scholarships towards students from cultural, racial, linguistic, geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds that are currently underrepresented —in process.
- Establish funding for Summer Art Institute scholarships designated for high-school students from cultural, racial, linguistic, geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds that are currently underrepresented —in process.
Action 7: Actively recruit Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) applicants
Establish criteria and strategies to actively recruit Black and Indigenous applicants of color to undergraduate and graduate programs by developing relationships with Cal State Universities, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Community Colleges and partnering with UCLA and non-UCLA, community-based organizations focused on Black and Indigenous people.
- Participate in UCLA/CSU Diversity Fair —COMPLETED.
- Host Fall 2020 Faculty Student Panel and promote with CSUs —COMPLETED.
- Create online videos on the undergraduate application and portfolio process to broaden our reach and accessibility —COMPLETED.
- Participate in Graduate Division recruitment events at HBCUs and Community Colleges --in process.
- Partner with existing and newly established programs at UCLA focused on Black and Indigenous students ---in process.
- Partner with non-UCLA, community-based organizations focused on Black and Indigenous communities —in process.
- Develop outreach and recruitment strategy to Black-majority high-schools in the Los Angeles metro area for participation in the Summer Art Institute —in process.
Action 8: Include equity and diversity as a criterion
Establish methods to include equity and diversity as a criterion in undergraduate and graduate admissions, considering artistic and research interests, values, and life experiences and develop rubric for review of supplemental applications.
- Draft framework for UG admissions review —COMPLETED.
- Draft general criteria for M.F.A. admissions review —COMPLETED.
- Develop question/prompt for contributions to AEDI for Fall 2022 UG supplemental UG application —COMPLETED.
- Consider question/prompt for contributions to AEDI for Fall 2022 M.F.A. application —in process.
Action 9: Review and revise hiring practices
Review and revise Departmental searches and hiring practices to ensure that all new ladder faculty, staff, and visiting faculty demonstrate a contribution to AEDI and to ending anti-Black and other bias and white supremacy through research, teaching, service, values, and life experiences.
- Develop internal policies and procedures on departmental search process to include contributions to AEDI —in process.
Action 10: Review and revise training
Review and revise faculty, staff and TA training requirements to attend workshops and trainings on anti-Black racism and other bias.
- Coordinate with the UCLA Arts AEDI Commission, the Academic Senate, and Central HR on establishing these trainings as requirements for all personnel —in process.
- Establish mechanism for training and workshop suggestions and feedback —in process.
Action 11: Review all faculty and TA evaluations
Establish process to review all faculty and TA evaluations quarterly to identify anti-Black and other bias and white supremacy in the classroom and address concerns and complaints through active intervention, referrals to workshops and trainings, and future hiring decisions.
- Schedule quarterly review of faculty and TA evaluations — COMPLETED.
- Participate in UCLA Arts AEDI Commission's faculty evaluation pilot including the addition of an AEDI question —in process.
Action 12: Advocate for campus-level changes
Advocate for campus-level changes in personnel, demanding central campus human resources revamp its hiring processes and train managers about unconscious bias and inclusive interviewing practices and demand assessment of UC hiring and payment systems to ease payments to foreign citizens and undocumented individuals and their inclusion in academic programs.
- Develop departmental-level priorities —in process.
- Advocate through Dean's office and UCLA Arts Faculty Executive Committee —in process