Diversity Requirement Debate Returns

The question of a diversity requirement for undergraduate students in the UCLA College of Letters and Sciences is back on the agenda, this time apparently heading for a vote of the entire UCLA faculty. Last October, faculty in the College of Letters and Sciences voted to adopt an undergraduate diversity requirement, and the measure was approved by the Senate Legislative Assembly. According to a January 26 email to Legislative Assembly members, in December, a group of 59 faculty members petitioned Senate Chair Joel Aberbach asking him to set aside the votes under a little used provision of the Senate Bylaws, which he did. The College Faculty Executive Committee has protested saying, among other things that Aberbach’s interpretation of Senate bylaws,

essentially renders meaningless any action taken by the Legislative Assembly since less than 2% of the faculty can overturn any and all of its actions and send them to a vote of the entire faculty; it also sets a troubling precedent, as it fundamentally undermines the long-held privilege of Faculties to determine the curricula for their students.

We’ve posted the entire email to the LgA members on the news feed: http://uclafaculty.org/2015/02/05/text-of-college-fec-letter-to-senate-lga-members/