Robert J. Birgeneau
Chancellor
Photo: Robert J. Blaustein

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A Message on Diversity from the Chancellor

As the Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, one of my important responsibilities is to advocate for the principles that guide and support public education. One such principle is inclusion — racial, cultural and economic.
 
Inclusion is a public good, not a private benefit. Indeed, Juan Ramón de la Fuente, the president of the University of Mexico, once said to me that the single most important skill for the 21st century which a student must learn is what he termed “intercultural competence.” It is only through experience with and appreciation of other cultures that our citizens will be able to navigate successfully in today’s globalized society.

 As leader of one of the nation’s premier public teaching and research universities, I am committed to fulfilling that challenge. We are making special efforts to recruit and admit excellent students who reflect both California’s and our country’s demographic tapestry. We are extending graduate fellowships to students whose educational backgrounds and life experiences will contribute to the rich diversity of our teaching and research community. We have created a special research initiative and are hiring new scholars to investigate and study diversity and multiculturalism, including the effects of public policy measures that have affected efforts to make campuses more inclusive. We have also created a new senior leadership position and appointed a Vice Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion to ensure that diversity and inclusion are broadly reflected throughout our campus environment.
 
All that we are doing underscores our commitment to excellence and to the creation of a welcoming and supportive environment for all ideas and people who come to share those ideas.
 
Robert J. Birgeneau
Chancellor