Statement Regarding Passage of Prop. 209 by Henry T.
Yang, Chancellor, UC Santa Barbara
- November 6, 1996
- Dear Campus Community:
- Yesterday, the voters of California decided the outcome of Proposition
209.
- Our campus is now facing the challenges of compliance with recent
Regental
- Policies concerning admissions, contracting and hiring, as well as
policies
- mandated by Proposition 209.
- As with the public vote, our campus may not be together on the proposition.
- However, I have confidence that we share a common belief in the value
of
- diversity in an intellectual community such as ours. Thus, our commitment
to
- the twin goals of excellence and diversity remains unchanged and reaffirmed.
- Let us set aside the possible legal challenges to Proposition 209.
An
- important question facing us now is how to reach our twin goals.
- Ever since Proposition 209 was placed on the ballot last spring, I
have had
- deep concerns. My colleagues and I have studied and discussed this
issue
- extensively. We have been concerned about its potential impacts. We
have asked
- questions and sought answers on how to implement the measure, if passed,
and
- at the same time achieve the twin goals which mean so much to the
future of
- our campus.
- Some of these important questions concern the potential impact the
passage of
- this proposition may have on our existing programs. To answer these
questions,
- the Office of the President has issued a series of fact sheets on
- undergraduate admissions, financial aid, outreach, hiring and contracting,
and
- the implementation of UC Regental Policy SP-1. These fact sheets are
available
- on the World Wide Web at http://www.ucop.edu/ucophome/uwnews. Copies
are also
- available at the Information Desk in the lobby of Cheadle Hall. In
addition,
- our own Public Affairs Office will publish a special Proposition 209
edition
- of 93106 on Friday, November 8. I suggest you read these informative
- documents.
- Another important question concerns how to reach out to increase the
diversity
- of the pool of academically eligible students so that UCSB reflects
the rich
- diversity of California's population. As an immediate step, I am appointing
a
- Chancellors Advisory Task Force to advise me closely on how we can
work
- together to achieve our common vision of a diverse, world-class university.
- This Task Force will also serve as a clearinghouse for information
regarding
- the impact of Proposition 209 on our campus.
- With these challenges ahead of us, I would like to seek your input.
Please
- share any ideas you may have regarding how to achieve our goals with
me and my
- administrative colleagues. I pledge to you my firm commitment and
dedication
- to meet these new challenges. We will work together; we will work
within
- Regental policy and the new law; and we will work aggressively to
achieve our
- goals.
- Sincerely,
- Henry T. Yang
- Chancellor
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- Carl Gutierrez-Jones,
- Department of English
- University of California
- Santa Barbara, CA 93106
- E-mail: carlgj@humanitas.ucsb.edu