DEIB

1. Optometry Class of 2028 students Ana Sanchez, Jazmine Solorzano, and Mikayla Wong at their White Coat Ceremony, August 2024.
2. Lauren King, Optometry Class of 2025 (center) playing a team-building game with classmates at New Home Night, May 2024.
3. Mai Nguyen, Optometry Class of 2026 (right) performing an eye exam on a patient in Jamaica, July 2023.
4. Vicki Hughes, Optometry Class of 1978, at the school's Centennial Celebration, July 2023.
5. Optometry Class of 1970, taken late 1960s.

UC Berkeley sits on the territory of xučyun (Huichin), the original landscape of the Chochenyo speaking Ohlone people, the successors of the sovereign Verona Band of Alameda County.

This region continues to be of great importance to the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe and other familial descendants of the Verona Band. We recognize that every member of the Berkeley community has, and continues to benefit from, the use and occupation of this land, since the institution’s founding in 1868. Consistent with our values of community, inclusion and diversity, we have a responsibility to acknowledge and make visible the university’s relationship to Native peoples.

As members of the Berkeley Graduate Division community, it is vitally important that we not only recognize the history of the land on which we stand, but also, we recognize that the Muwekma Ohlone people are alive and flourishing members of the Berkeley and broader Bay Area communities today.

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We are committed to increasing recruitment efforts specifically for people who identify as Black, Latinx, and American Indian. Our goal is for both the optometry and vision science programs to have student, faculty, and staff bodies that are reflective of the local, regional, and national communities we serve.

We realize that tackling the issue of diversity also requires creating an inclusive and welcoming environment to improve the long-term success of both recruitment and retention efforts. Belonging can be thought of as the feeling of security and support when there is a sense of acceptance, inclusion, and identity for a member of a certain group. Campus Climate includes the experience of individuals and groups in a campus and the quality and extent of the interaction between these various groups and individuals. The goal of a healthy campus climate is to improve the real and perceived quality of interpersonal, academic, and professional interactions in the school. A healthy climate is grounded in respect for others, nurtured by dialogue between those of differing perspectives, and evidenced by a pattern of authentic interactions among community members.

Creating a diverse, inclusive, and welcoming campus requires ongoing training for all constituents. The goals of this subcommittee are to work closely with the Continuing Education and Curriculum Committees to produce quality educational opportunities featuring diverse speakers.

Our goal is to improve and increase our internal (optometry and vision science), university-level, and external relationships with community members in both professional and non-transactional ways. Non-transactional, or transformational, relationships are ones where one group does something without any desire or expectation for reward, which helps to establish trust and create authentic and lasting relationships within communities.

Ruth Shoge, OD, Chair
Clyde Oden, OD, Alumni representative
Cristen Adams, OD, Alumni representative
Marlena Chu, OD, Faculty representative
Angela Shebazian, OD, Faculty representative
Samantha Zepeda, DAR representative
Liza Shevchuk, Marketing & Communications representative
Mike Hoffshire, ASAO representative
Sandra Pena, Clinical staff representative
Lauren King, OD student representative
Leah Johnston, student representative

We are excited to announce that CooperVision, a global leader in contact lenses, has generously awarded a $270,000 grant over three years to support our Vision Science Undergraduate Research Program (ViSUR).

ViSUR is a groundbreaking initiative designed to introduce historically underrepresented undergraduate students—such as Black, Hispanic/Latinx, American Indian, and first-generation students—to the exciting and impactful field of vision science. This 8-week summer program provides participants with an immersive research experience. The grant will cover all program expenses, including a $5,000 student stipend, housing, and travel costs. We are deeply grateful to CooperVision for their invaluable support in helping us foster the next generation of vision science leaders.

At the National Optometric Association (NOA) annual conference this year in Philadelphia, our very own Dean Flanagan received the organization’s Dean of the Year award. Each year, the NOA selects the Dean from those nominated for their commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Dean Flanagan has consistently demonstrated an exceptional commitment to mentorship, sponsorship, and the promotion of diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice.

Under his leadership, Dean Flanagan established the Chief Diversity Officer position at Berkeley's School of Optometry & Vision Science and specifically recruited Dr. Ruth Shoge to the inaugural position. Together with our dedicated team at Berkeley, we have significantly increased the application and enrollment of underrepresented students, particularly Black and Latinx individuals, in our optometry program.

Dean Flanagan's unwavering support has enabled us to advance our DEIB strategic plan and improve student and faculty recruitment, retention, and curriculum development efforts. As his Deanship draws to a close, being recognized for his contributions by being awarded with the NOA's Dean Award has been a fitting tribute to his impactful leadership.

Restorative Practice (RP) is an approach to building and maintaining healthy relationships by promoting accountability, empathy, and open communication. RP focuses on resolving conflicts and harm through dialogue and mutual understanding. They help to support a positive and safe climate.

A Restorative Circle is a facilitated group discussion aimed at building community or addressing conflict. It involves participants sitting in a circle and sharing their perspective equally, creating a space for dialogue, understanding, and healing.

A Restorative Conference is a more structured and formal process typically used after a specific harm or conflict has occurred. It involves the wrongdoer, the person harmed, and others impacted by the situation. The goal is to discuss the harm, take accountability, and collaboratively develop a plan for repairing relationships and making amends.

Please note that if you are experiencing harassment or discrimination, then you should contact the Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination directly.

RP Request Form

The Division of Equity & Inclusion provides services, opportunities, and support through a wide range of programs available to students, staff, and faculty.

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The University of California, Berkeley is deeply committed to issues of equity and inclusion, and has long worked to fulfill its mission of supporting full access and success for California’s diverse population.

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The UC Policy on Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment and the UC Anti-Discrimination Policy prohibit discrimination and harassment based on a protected category, including sexual violence and sexual harassment. You may also report hate/bias incidents to Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination (OPHD). Click here to learn more.

Read, Watch, Listen, Engage is a resource where you will find books, articles, documentaries, podcasts, conferences, performances, and more on topics related to diversity, inclusion, equity, belonging, and justice.

Click here to learn more.

For more information on campus DEIB initiatives, please visit:

https://diversity.berkeley.edu.