January 2022
Dear Arts Community,
Welcome to the Winter Quarter and our first newsletter of 2022!
In the face of so much uncertainty, so many share worry and anxiety as well as low morale. I am thankful for all the resources we have on campus to help all of our faculty, staff and students. Thank you to all for contending with the sudden reorganization that the prioritization of safety at UCSC entails. I send encouragement to our Arts community in the hopeful spirit of the new year.
This newsletter contains both the adjustment that comes with the derailment of plans and events, a celebration of our community’s achievements, and the creative ways we offer opportunities in the face of constraint.
In imagining the future, I remind our students that the Arts Professional Pathways Internships Scholarships program and the Arts Deans Fund for Excellence and Equity are now in place for your applications. Our creative industries are known for their inequitable access and long-standing exclusions which we are working hard to change, so we can have better art that comes from inclusion.
This week, along with new Arts Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Professor Karlton Hester, I met with our department leaders as we reviewed the DEI plans for each unit of the division. Our collective efforts are an invitation for everyone to participate. As I shared at our meeting, we will never regret asking people to rise to the occasion of justice. Please join us in our efforts for DEI launching this year!
With hope,
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