Building a Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Division

The Division of Arts and Humanities is committed to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive space for teaching and learning at UC Berkeley. Whether we're working towards appointing and fostering faculty leadership, supporting engaged and inclusive students, or creating community and facilitating resources for justice and change, the Division's Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is guiding new initiatives and maintaining our strengths. 

Dean Sara Guyer in partnership with Assistant Dean of Diversity, Alberto Ledesma, has initiated a multi-year plan to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion within the division. To help implement goals and take action, the division has elected a steering committee to help prepare annual reports and recommendations in order to track the division's process and progress. Below, we invite you to explore the themes around which the division is currently focused. 

Divisional Spotlights:
Departments and Programs that are Making it Happen

Arts Research Center: Reclamation and Language Revitalization

ARC has initiated a year-long exploration of the theme Reclamation in its Poetry & the Senses program, including 12 new fellows for spring and collaborations between UC Berkeley, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and the Nez Perce writer’s group luk’upsíimey.

Philosophy Dept Chairs Succeed in their Effort to Unname Moses Hall due to Racist Namesake

The unnaming, said Alva Noë, the chair of philosophy, “is an act of affirmation of the values of love and respect that are today the guiding principles of life here at the university.”

English Department Expands Required Undergraduate Course Offerings

New courses "World Literature in English" and "Literatures in English" include literatures in Southeast Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, or other Anglophone locations/cultures, LGBTQIA+ literature, and disability studies.

2022-2023 Divisional Priorities and Goals

Students: Community and Belonging 

  1. Support students by increasing access to the arts and humanities at Berkeley through communications, community, curriculum, and advising.
  2. Offer innovative and expanded curricula that provide a diversity of perspective and knowledge.
  3. Continue to support transfer students in their pursuit of education in the arts and humanities. 
  4. Facilitate and nurture inclusive community and belonging. 
  5. Build towards UC Berkeley's goal to become a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as presented by the HSI Task Force. 

Faculty: Embrace and Support Diverse Perspectives and Voices

  1. Appoint and foster inclusive faculty leadership at the department, center, and committee levels. 
  2. Advocate for funding and resources to support faculty needs, research, and teaching.
  3. Build a global arts and humanities future that preserves and elevates indigenous arts and knowledges and African humanities. 
  4. Preserve excellence in at-risk areas of study. 

Teaching and Research: Innovation and Diversity

  1. Invest in and support new methods and ideas around teaching and research. 
  2. Encourage and support innovative and diverse curricula. 
  3. Improve communication, collaboration, and fundraising in support of diverse and innovative research in the arts and humanities. 

The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within the Division of Arts and Humanities initiatives and goals.