UC Davis has begun discussions with representatives from the Los Angeles-based Museum of Tolerance to explore how the university can live in better accord with its Principles of Community.

Rahim Reed, associate executive vice chancellor who leads the Office of Campus Community Relations, welcomed museum representatives to the campus earlier this week for an all-day meeting about the university’s possible collaboration with museum staff to create professional development and educational training activities for faculty, staff and students.

Such programs would focus on re-establishing trust and building a more welcoming and inclusive campus community.

The campus called upon the museum before, in 2010, after a series of hateful incidents, including swastikas spray-painted on sidewalks and carved into a Jewish student’s dorm room door, and anti-gay graffiti on the exterior of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Resource Center.

In April of that year, Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi led a campus delegation to the museum, a place that challenges visitors to understand the Holocaust in both historic and contemporary contexts, and confront all forms of prejudice and discrimination today.

As Katehi said at the time: “We cannot be hopeful about defeating intolerance unless we are talking about it.”

Reed, who was among those who traveled to the museum with the chancellor, gave the background for this week’s meeting with museum representatives.

“As you know, our campus community has been challenged over the last couple of years by several incidents of hate and bias. Also, the pepper-spraying incident of Nov. 18 adversely impacted our police-campus community relations.

“For many members of the campus community, we have not been the welcoming and supportive community that we aspire to be in accord with our Principles of Community.”

For his Jan. 18 meeting with museum representatives, Reed brought in undergraduate, graduate and professional students; Academic Senate and Academic Federation faculty; staff from the Davis and Sacramento campuses; and police.

“We look forward to continuing the dialogue and working with the Museum of Tolerance professional training staff in this important endeavor,” Reed said.

Online

Principles of Community

Museum of Tolerance

“Museum of Tolerance sparks outrage, inspiration,” Dateline UC Davis (April 29, 2010)

“Campus reaffirms Principles of Community,” Dateline UC Davis (April 23, 2010)

“UC eyes diversity action in wake of hate,” Dateline UC Davis (April 2, 1010)