Santa Clara University

On June 29, 2023, Santa Clara's President issued a statement in response to the Supreme Court's ruling on race conscious admissions which reads in part as follows: "Santa Clara University is deeply disappointed in today’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, which effectively outlaws the consideration of race in university admissions nationwide...Our diversity, including race, is a part of our human identity. Today’s decision therefore places a substantial burden on our freedom to recognize aspiring and current students as 'whole' human beings...True to our mission, we will continue to actively pursue all legally permissible avenues to build the diverse and accomplished student body our campus and our world needs."

SCU is committed to the "education of the whole person in the Jesuit tradition through support for the recruitment, retention, and success of a diverse community of faculty, staff and students..."

The Cowell Center at Santa Clara University offers a BIPOC Students Support and Empowerment Group which includes topics such as “micro aggressions, imposter syndrome, race-related stress and trauma, family concerns, and other issues related to being a person of color in this sociopolitical climate and university environment.”

The Office for Diversity and Inclusion "coordinate[s] education and training opportunities for members of the Santa Clara University community" on such topics as "Difficult Dialogues" and "Safe Space Workshop[s]." The office also provides faculty development training.

SCU's 2030 Strategic Plan states that its liberal arts program is a "touchpoint for all students through core classes in religion, social justice, critical thinking and diverse cultures..."

On April 20, 2023, SCU's President issued a message titled "Commitment to Serving Underrepresented Students" in order to "strengthen the campus environment for our students of color..." As part of that commitment, SCU will be "[i]ncreasing diversity components in the SCU Core Curriculum" and the "Office of the Provost will soon be leading a comprehensive revision and revitalization of the Core Curriculum..."

SCU's core curriculum requirements include the "Diversity: U.S. Perspectives" program which has the following learning objective: "Analyze differences in power and privilege related to race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, age, language, citizenship, religion, class, sexual orientation, or physical ability."

The College of Arts and Sciences outlines its "Inclusive Excellence Strategic Goals for 2022-2024" which includes the following goal: "Review and update curricula across the College to reflect disciplinary innovations in social justice and diversity of perspectives."

SCU states that it is "dedicated to addressing and responding to incidents of bias and harassment in a timely manner" and provides various ways that community members can submit a bias incident report.

The university is promoting inclusive hiring and recruitment practices.

The Department of Human Resources facilitates "Inclusive Search Training[s]" for its staff members which includes "a discussion of implicit bias to ensure an inclusive search in all stages of the recruitment process." Hiring managers and search committee chairs "must renew their training every three years."

The Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship's Director stated, "We have long been cognizant of and worked to avoid the “top-down” power dynamics that are reminiscent of colonialism and white-saviorism, but only in the last couple of years have we articulated a focus on locally-led enterprises. In the last quarter of CY2020, 113 social entrepreneurs graduated from our programs with 62 local leaders or 55%. I would like to see Miller Center reach at least 75% by 2025."

The Ethnic Studies program allows students to "critical[ly] examin[e] race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class, and intersecting modes of inequality particularly as manifest in the experiences of historically marginalized populations."

The Office for Diversity and Inclusion provides "Diversity Grants" of up to $5,000 for the "recruitment of underrepresented minorities to faculty positions" and for the "enhancement of an inclusive campus climate through curricular or co-curricular programming."

The Office for Multicultural Learning offers "Multicultural Learning Grants" of up to $1,000 which "focus on collaborative efforts to enhance multicultural learning and education at SCU and on SCU campus."

The College of Arts and Sciences hosts the "Black Justice Studies Collaborative" which "serves as an intellectual and creative hub for faculty and students working at the intersection of Black Studies and Justice Studies." The BJSC also "provide[s] research opportunities for students and host[s] a mini-conference in its first two years."

Santa Clara University offers Spark Seminars, which are “open to all undergraduate students at SCU” and “provide opportunities for students to explore social justice topics that capture their imagination.”

Santa Clara University has a program known as SCU Unity which is “designed exclusively for our multicultural and first-generation admitted students” and is “intended to both celebrate your admission and your identity, while giving you space to explore how your various multicultural and social identities intersect and thrive on our campus.”

The Undergraduate Student Council on Inclusive Excellence at SCU "serves in an advisory capacity to the Council on Inclusive Excellence" in order to "ensure action regarding the student body’s voice on issues related to diversity, multicultural learning and inclusive excellence..."

SCU's library offers "Antiracist Teaching Resources for Writing and English Studies" which includes links to Black Lives Matter activism and anti-racist teaching practice resources.

SCU's Campus Ministry provides anti-racism resources and states that it is "committed to Social, Racial, and Climate Justice" and that there are a "number of different justice issues where you may feel called to learn more and engage in solidarity and activism."

University administration apologized on behalf of a campus safety officer for the display of a Blue Lives Matter emblem.

In a March 2021 Fireside Chat with President Kevin O’Brien, S.J., Ford Foundation president Darren Walker discussed "disruption[s] in power structures [as] key to creating an anti-racist society."

The Department of Ethnic Studies within the College of Arts and Sciences released a statement following the death of Tyre Nichols, stating, “The work that we do recognizes the relationship between the history and systemic racism we study and the continued eruption of violence in our present moment. Even with our knowledge of this violence, the continual act of bearing witness to its repetition weighs deeply and heavily. And we recognize your hurt and pain as well, and the need to come together as a community to care for each other, affirm our desire for transformative justice and a reciprocal human recognition that could guide toward collective healing and radical hope.”

The Office for Multicultural Learning at SCU is "committed to promoting social justice, building bridges across diverse communities, and celebrating the differences of students at SCU."