Better Together: Diversity Matters

Creating an Environment Where Everyone Can Succeed

A core value of Housing, Dining & Auxiliary Enterprises (HDAE) is promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. HDAE puts this value into action through our communications and by actively engaging with the campus community. Included below are some of the ways in which HDAE has initiated and supported working toward encompassing and embracing these important principles.

• Residential & Community Living (R&CL) supports BIPOC and LGBTQ+ students by offering Living Learning Communities (LLC) centered on culture and identity. Resident Assistants participate in training that centers on diversity and the ways in which they can create an inclusive community and experience for all residents. Since June 2020, a Call to Action (C2A) group has been meeting regularly. The group was initially formed to identify tangible action items for R&CL to effectively address systemic racism, anti-Blackness and inequities, and to support students and staff. The group evolved and has come to comprise several work groups all focused on different aspects of diversity, equity, inclusion, social justice and belonging (DEISJB) in relation to R&CL. C2A is composed of employees at all levels of R&CL.

• The Collaborative Leadership Forum brings together employees at all levels across the Administrative Services division to participate in a yearlong training program focusing on leadership development and collaborative building. While this program has been put on hold during the pandemic, we look forward to the launch of our next Collaborative Leadership Forum.

• Each spring, HDAE hosts the Deepening Understanding: Respecting & Understanding Differences conference. This conference brings together employees from across HDAE, Administrative Services and campus to participate in workshops and discussions around topics of diversity, inclusion, representation and community. It is the goal of this conference to create an environment where the rights and dignity of others are respected, and to equip our employees with the tools and understanding to create a thriving living and learning environment. We also strive to address issues that are currently taking place. In May of 2021, we hosted a workshop that was developed from conversations that started at the Deepening Understanding conference. The workshop was Our Time to Act: Standing Up for the APIDA Community. The timeliness of this workshop was vitally important as the APIDA community was experiencing an alarming rise in hate related altercations and crimes. The workshop was held in May, which is Asian/Pacific American or APIDA Heritage Month, and was paired with bystander intervention training followed by a debrief and discussion among HDAE colleagues.

• To ensure access for our Spanish speaking employees, we offer many classes in Spanish. This includes ESL, computer literacy courses, frontline leader training, Retirement 101 classes and Deepening Understanding workshops, as well as our eight-week long Professional Competency Program. Interpretation is available at our Town Hall Meetings and in our Open Enrollment labs, as well as a translation option on our staff newsletter, The Compass, and the staff intranet, HomeBase. Spanish translation is provided for written materials such as the Substance Abuse Policy and our WE CARE values booklet. 

• We recognize that our work to support students and families begins even before their arrival at UCSB. We make sure student interpreters are available at UCSB’s Open House Housing Fair to ensure that parents of prospective students who are comfortable speaking languages other than English are receiving the information they need about housing at UCSB. HDAE would also regularly donate meals in the Dining Commons to Student Initiated Outreach Programs to expose pre-college students from underrepresented communities to the college experience. 

• Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, Campus Dining tapped into the food experience of cultures from around the world by offering themed meals once per quarter in each dining commons. These meal journeys have taken students to Argentina, Greece, Korea, Morocco, Korea and beyond. The dining teams look forward to offering theme meals again in the future.

Diversity, equity and inclusion is a centerpiece of the work in our division, and these initiatives are rooted in a genuine desire to support and learn from others.