San Jose State University
PA-5: Diversity and Equity Coordination

The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion that is a part of the Office of the President and is lead by our Chief Diversity Office, Dr. Kathleen Wong(Lau).

San Jose State is unique in its storied and long history of student civil rights activism, service to first-generation student populations, racial and ethnic diversity, and location in the vibrant cultural communities and robust economy of the Silicon Valley of California.

The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI) is dedicated to the standards of inclusive excellence, which view San Jose State's mission of academic excellence as inseparable from our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. The ODEI seeks to build organizational capacity to support and grow meaningful and collaborative working relations to provide opportunities for all members of our campus community to further their education and development as lifelong learners within their arena of work or schooling.
Through its leadership and work, the ODEI encourages civic and communal responsibility for diversity, equity and inclusion amongst its students, faculty, staff and administrators.

The mission of the Gender Equity Center (GenEC) is to advocate for social justice, respect, and safety for all members of the San José State University community, by educating on issues experienced by people because of their gender, gender identity, and/or their perceived gender/gender identity, through an intersectional lens.

The mission of MOSAIC Cross Cultural Center is to provide a safe and welcoming environment that honors and celebrates diversity. We offer support, advocacy for historically underrepresented groups, leadership opportunities, and intentional programming that focus on critical thought, social justice, and cultural empowerment for the SJSU community.

The mission of the PRIDE Center is to support the LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, Questioning, Asexual, Nonbinary, etc.) students of San José State University. Through dynamic programming and educational outreach the PRIDE Center seeks to improve the campus climate for LGBTQ+ students and advocate for the respect and safety of all members of the campus community. In collaboration with other campus programs the center works to meet the needs of students to promote the successful completion of their educational goals.

We also have several diversity committees on campus:
Campus Climate and Belonging Committee
AS Committees
Faculty Diversity Committee
Veterans Advisory Committee
Committee to Enhance Equity and Diversity (CEED) in the School of Health and Human Sciences
Diversity Committee in the School of Information

The various campus offices and committees listed above provide trainings and coordinate campus-wide events:

Gender Equity Center http://www.sjsu.edu/genec/events/
MOSAIC: http://www.sjsu.edu/mosaic/events/
Pride Center: http://www.sjsu.edu/pride/events.programs/
A list of trainings activities conducted by the Office of Diversity and Equity are listed here: http://www.sjsu.edu/wasc/portfolio2017/appendices/4.9%20ODEI%20Trainings%20AY%202016%2017.pdf
Faculty training is listed here: https://www.sjsu.edu/diversity/facultystaff/facultyrecruiting/index.html

The ODEI’s work is guided by knowledge and theoretical frameworks that set the foundation for 1) understanding differences, 2) acceptance of differences, 3) exploring different perspectives and 4) productive, healthy, and respectful relationships. The ODEI works to create an engaged campus climate and organizational culture that encourages a collective focus on providing an educational experience for our students that prepares them for an ever-changing diverse and global society.

The ODEI provides leadership, consultative support and collaborative connections for the development of cognitive/non-cognitive skills and knowledges that are cross-curricular, applied, transferable, intercultural, facilitative and alliance building — all necessary for diversity and innovation in competitive and resilient communities and economies.

In 2015, diversity awareness programming was added to new-student orientation, student leadership development and residence hall staff training, to increase every student’s sensitivity to others’ perspectives and differences.

In addition to the committees listed above, the campus has organizations that focus on faculty and staff:

The mission of African American Faculty and Staff Association is to form coalitions throughout campus and the San José community to identify issues of concern to the San Jose State African-American community and to unify efforts to address those issues.

The Asian Pacific Islander Caucus' mission is to provide a safe and supportive network for Asian Pacific Islander (API) students, staff, and faculty at San Jose State. The goals and objectives of APIC is to serve as an advocacy group in facilitating the campus climate and educational equity efforts for the API campus community; to advocate the recruitment and retention of API students, staff and faculty; To promote the advancement and success of API faculty, staff and students; To serve as a resource to the campus community on issues relating to the API community; To sponsor educational and social programs that advance the interest of APIC.

The mission of the Chicano/Latino Faculty & Staff Association is to advocate and support opportunities for Latino students, faculty and staff at San Jose State. The goals and objectives of CLFSA are to ensure that the university increases access, retention and graduation rates of Latino students; Recruits, retains, promotes and tenures greater numbers of Latino faculty and staff members;
Provides increased opportunities for faculty and staff members to advance to administrative and policy-making positions; Reflects the Latino experience throughout the curriculum; Improves its connections with and service to the Latino community.

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Faculty & Staff Association is open to all faculty and staff members interested in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender topics. The goals and objectives of the LGBTFSA to serve as an on-campus resource for all faculty and staff; To provide a forum for art and scholarship that addresses lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues;
To encourage the development and inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender content and perspective in the curriculum and in co-curricular activities; To provide spokespersons on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues; To advise and consult with the Academic Senate and administration on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues.