[WFA*] Candidate statements and open office hours

[Dylan Rodriguez]

Dear WFA Colleagues,

I extend my appreciation to the WFA leadership for inviting me to provide a
statement to the membership. I wanted to send a brief reminder that I will
be holding another in a series of open candidate office hours today from 9
a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Don't hesitate to drop by! Just use this link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81174548734

For your convenience, i have also attached my statement to the WFA as well
as  the complete version of my Senate candidate statement below.

Peace
dylan


*Candidate statement to WFA membership*

Underrepresentation of women among UCR faculty, along with the persistence
of informal, unrecognized barriers to promotion and long-term retention,
are distressingly *normalized* in our institutional culture. This is both
reprehensible and unsustainable. I have consistently worked with and in
support of women faculty at UCR to address these issues in direct,
collective ways. Colleagues can attest to my principle, consistency, and
integrity on these issues during my time as Chair of Ethnic Studies, term
as President of the American Studies Association, two previous terms as
Senate Chair, and current position as Co-Director of the Center for Ideas
and Society.



A recent and current example of my commitment and seriousness on issues
regarding gender equity: since Fall 2021 i have been co-leading (with Prof.
Donatella Gallela) a directed strategic discussion on recruitment and
retention of women, LGBTQ+ and other underrepresented faculty through the
Faculty Commons project at Center for Ideas and Society. We are building a
collective analysis of the problems at stake, which include (but are not
limited to):

   - Maldistribution of departmental, college, and university service onto
   women faculty and other underrepresented faculty members at all levels, but
   particularly at the Associate Professor levels;
   - The stubborn, ongoing institutional crisis of women faculty at the
   Associate Professor rank being asked/compelled to assume various burdens
   (including numerous “unrecognized” forms of institutional labor/service)
   that inhibit their progress to Full Professor;
   - Lack of robust dialog and information at the administrative level
   (including Deans and the Academic Personnel office/VPAP) regarding the
   complex, nuanced conditions that both 1) inhibit the advancement of women
   faculty at UCR and 2) result in departures by women faculty for positions
   at other research universities (often with promotions to Full Professor);
   - Resultant lack of a large pool of senior women faculty who could serve
   on CAP; and
   - The need for *full transparency *regarding salary equity within and
   across ranks in every college and school.

Importantly, the effort i’m describing has formulated a strategy that will
culminate in a series of directed conversations with the VPAP (Dan Jeske)
and Provost this Spring. We are pushing for changes to The Call as well as
a more substantive, long-term agenda to address the problems WFA has been
raising and addressing, among many others. I am committed to making use of
the office of Senate Chair to think and plan alongside WFA to accelerate
institutional changes that center, rather than marginalize, the experiences
and concerns of women faculty at UCR. And, my track record shows that when
i commit to something, i follow through!


*Full version of Senate candidate statement*

Dylan Rodríguez
candidate statement for Chair of UCR Academic Senate

        I embrace the possibility of serving you as Chair of the UCR
Academic Senate with a sense of urgency and gravity. My record of
leadership and service stretches across the campus (2+ terms as a
department chair, Co-Director of Center for Ideas and Society), UC
systemwide (former Senate Chair, Chair of UC-HBCU Initiative, former member
of UC Press Editorial Committee) and national contexts (most recently,
2020-2021 President of the American Studies Association). My work thrives
on an unshakeable commitment to defending and advancing the interests of
faculty and students in the face of institutional trends that threaten our
collective well-being as well as our ability to fulfill our potential as a
one-of-a-kind, top tier public research institution.

Over the course of 20+ years as a faculty member here, i have learned to
appreciate that our Senate Chair is charged with representing the interests
of the UCR faculty to the entire University of California system, including
the the UC Board of Regents, UC President and Provost, systemwide UC
Senate, and Senate Chairs from every other UC campus. Fulfilling this
responsibility requires a strength of principle and commitment that
transcends individual disciplines, builds coalitions and collaborations
across colleges and schools, and reflects the creative and scholarly
distinctiveness of our faculty and students.

These characteristics define my institutional leadership skill set, built
and earned over more than two decades at UCR. I will enjoy every
opportunity to place my skills at your disposal.

During times of institutional growth and internal tension, the Chair of the
UCR Senate must fully accept the obligation to defend and advance a strong,
practical, consistent interpretation of “shared governance.” The Senate
faculty (that’s us!) must play a primary (rather than corollary or
superficial) role in shaping UCR’s immediate future, including:

●       responding to administrative plans for significant undergraduate
population growth at UCR—approximately a 50% increase to “35,000
undergraduates by 2035” (see p. 32 of the 2021 UCR Long Range Development
Plan);
●        reviewing and legislating new undergraduate majors, graduate
degree programs, and departments, including the proposed Department of
Black Study and Department of Environment, Sustainability, and Health
Equity;
●        improving UCR’s graduate student support and funding
infrastructure;
●        addressing inferior, unhealthy, and sometimes decrepit classroom,
lab and building conditions;
●        meaningfully consulting on administrative reviews and hires;
●        rigorously interpreting and practicing UCR’s diversity and equity
mission;
●        vigorously defending academic freedom; and
●        fulfilling the University of California Academic Senate’s
obligation to “exercise direct control over academic matters of central
importance to the University.”

I believe the Academic Senate must be leveraged by the faculty to address
the foundational crisis in our midst: UCR is a top tier public research
university where the research mission is under duress, due in large part to
structural inequities in the University of California system. Addressing
this foundational problem will require 1) the strongest possible advocacy
from our Senate Chair, 2) sustained faculty empowerment and 3) strategic
collaboration with our campus administration, including our Deans, Provost,
and Chancellor.
I am well prepared to undertake this work and cherish the possibilities of
expanding faculty involvement in shaping our collective institutional
conditions.

Finally, i invite you to drop by any of my upcoming candidate office hours
(held via Zoom) on the dates and times listed below. This way, you can feel
free to ask me direct questions about anything you like, and i will respond
with full transparency, as has been my consistent leadership practice.

Please use this link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81174548734

Wednesday, March 23, 10:00-11:30 am
Thursday, March 24, 10:00-11:30 am
Friday, March 25, 9:00-10:30 am
Monday, March 28, 1:00-2:30 pm
Wednesday, March 30, 10:30-11:30 am
Friday, April 1, 9:00-10:30 am
Monday, April 4, 10:00 am-12:00 pm
Tuesday, April 5, 10:00 am-12:00 pm
Thursday, April 7, 9:00-10:30 am

Until i meet you again, i hope you will take the opportunity to vote in
this UCR Senate election with our collective progress in mind.

Peace
dylan



Dylan Rodríguez
Co-Director, Center for Ideas and Society
Past President, American Studies Association
Professor, Department of Media and Cultural Studies
University of California at Riverside
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