UC-Berkeley Creates New Chair in Equity and Inclusion

The University of California at Berkeley has announced the creation of a new faculty chair dedicated to research and teaching on equity and inclusion in society:

The chair will form part of a campus-wide initiative for equity and inclusion launched by Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau and is considered unprecedented in the UC system because it will launch research and teaching across UC Berkeley on these issues.

The Robert D. Haas Chancellor’s Chair in Equity and Inclusion is being established in large part through a gift from the Levi Strauss Foundation. It honors Haas, a UC Berkeley alumnus who recently stepped down as chief executive officer and chairman of San Francisco-based Levi Strauss & Co., where he built on the company’s tradition of progressive workplace practices. …

In addition to research and teaching, the new chair will aim to generate specific policy prescriptions in California and nationwide for business, government, and communities that will draw on the strengths of diverse demographics and reduce ethnic and racial disparities in areas including education, the workplace, and health.

See a university press release for more information.