Dear Colleagues:

We write today with important news. As President Drake announced in a letter to the UC community issued this morning, the University of California has launched a new Systemwide Office of Civil Rights (SOCR), an umbrella office that will “provide systemwide leadership, guidance and support on issues related to protecting civil rights at our 10 campuses, medical centers, national labs and the UC Office of the President”.

In form and function, the SOCR is very similar to the UCLA Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Civil Rights Office (EDI-CRO), which was established in 2020, and which supports all of UCLA’s campus and UCLA Health. EDI-CRO ensures that UCLA remains in compliance with applicable federal law, state law and UC policy concerning protections under Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and equal employment opportunity and affirmative action obligations.

In addition to the launch of the SOCR, today is also significant because it marks the issuance of the new UC Anti-Discrimination Policy, which will further strengthen UCLA’s ability to advance equality for all members of our community. The new policy applies to all UC employees as well as undergraduate, graduate and professional students, and third parties (which includes patients at UCLA Health). Pursuant to the policy, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Civil Rights Chandra Bhatnagar has been designated UCLA’s Local Implementation Officer to oversee implementation of the policy. As a reminder, if you have experienced discrimination or harassment at UCLA or if you are aware of another member of the Bruin community who has experienced discrimination or harassment, please contact us via the EDI-CRO Report an Incident page to share your experience.

Sincerely,

Mitchell Chang
Interim Vice Provost for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Chandra Bhatnagar
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Civil Rights