Action Groups

On June 24, a group of over 50 Cal-Bridge scholars, faculty, and administrators met to follow up on our meetings of June 10 for the Strike for Black Lives. The group met for 2 hours and came up a large number of actions the Cal-Bridge community and program could take to combat anti-black and other forms of racism. Of those, the six below stood out for the level of enthusiasm and energy they evoked as well as for having the most people interested in working on them. Subsequently, we shared this list with the broader Cal-Bridge community and invited them to join one of these action groups. To date, over 40 people have signed up to join one or more of these action groups.

The Cal-Bridge community is committed to carrying out the actions listed here. We will be reporting periodically on our progress through pages on this website. As an organization, Cal-Bridge intends to make anti-racism a more central, core tenet of the program. We invite others in academia and society in general to join us.

Grad admissions, inclusion, and hiring
	Summary & Statement of Purpose
	Coordinate efforts across UC to make the graduate admissions and faculty hiring processes more equitable. We aim to increase the number of Cal-Bridge students accepted to UC programs and the number of alumni working as faculty & postdocs at all Cal-Bridge institutions.
Current Accomplishments		Future Plans/Goals
Met with 9 UC grad admission chairs in an effort to improve information exchange between different schools and programs		Continue to have meetings and working with chairs to create more inclusive admin procedures and practices while g etting input from grad students and applicants to help improve these procedures and practices

HBCU Partnerships
	Summary & Statement of Purpose
	Establish robust collaborations with HBCU programs and faculty to increase HBCU student participation in summer research, seek funding through the UC-HBCU program as part of collaborative multi-campus program. Establish processes and resources that support HBCU undergraduate and graduate students in UC/CSU programs
Current Accomplishments		Future Plans/Goals
Applied to UC-HBCU initiative 500k potential budget Partnered with 6 HBCUs Dillard FAMU Fisk Morehouse Morgan St Spellman Partner with peer mentoring 2-3 scholars per UC campus 3 years 10 students/yr Will find out in July if approved Summer REU mentors would continue to be mentor throughout undergrad HBCU-UC faculty exchange Funding for mentor professional development		10 HBCU scholars come to UC campuses for 8-week summer REU Made Cal-Bridge affiliates Able to attend workshops Have Cal-Bridge mentors

Community College / High School Outreach
	Summary & Statement of Purpose
	Coordinate efforts across UC to make the graduate admissions and faculty hiring processes more equitable. We aim to increase the number of Cal-Bridge students accepted to UC programs and the number of alumni working as faculty & postdocs at all Cal-Bridge institutions.Coordinate efforts across UC to make the graduate admissions and faculty hiring processes more equitable. We aim to increase the number of Cal-Bridge students accepted to UC programs and the number of alumni working as faculty & postdocs at all Cal-Bridge institutions.
Current Accomplishments		Future Plans/Goals
2 efforts CCC visits by CCC alumni Visited one CCC so far Continued contact with that CCC and many students attended workshop series Workshop series for CCC students and lower div students Grad student panel Attendance 26 Cal-Bridge Info session Attendance 110 Summer research info session Attendance 57		Future of CCC (virtual) visits by CCC alumni Take advantage of the high number of CCC alumni in Cal-Bridge and recruit volunteers Continue to hold workshop series and expand topics Collaboration with Latino Community Stage Focus more on CS representation

Mental Health
	Summary & Statement of Purpose
	Support groups for Cal-Bridge scholars and alumni; invite mental health experts to guide workshops for faculty mentors and scholars, mental health awareness through Cal-Bridge community and compilation of information/resources.
Current Accomplishments		Future Plans/Goals
Ran two peer mentorship workshops led by mental health professionals Mindfulness and Wellness by Dr. Phong Loung Physical Activity and Nutrition by CalFresh Program at CSUN Attendance around 20 per workshop Surveyed scholars to gauge interest for workshop topics Connected with mental health professionals to develop a network Google sheet of resources Go on website under resources Go on mentorship handbook		Resources google sheet Expand resources to beyond CSUs and UCs to all Cal-Bridge attended universities Add more resources for underrepresented communities Have monthly workshops Have student led discussions about mental health

BLASAR
	Summary & Statement of Purpose
	The BL ack A cademic S upport and A dvisory g R oup ( BLASAR ) is a networking apparatus created for the purpose of facilitating the success of Black academics in STEM related fields.
Goals
Serve as an environment for black scholars to feel comfortable sharing experiences and discussing issues most relevant to the black “academic” identity Act as a source of prioritized information about good education/career opportunities to help black scholars because more aware of their options Become a hub which can connect people for collaborative relationships, especially mentors and mentees Take time as a group to highlight and celebrate member achievements and support members who are struggling Host events for development of personal skills and professional relationships (workshops, conferences, dinners, etc.)

Science By Diverse Scientists
	Summary & Statement of Purpose
	Showcase future career paths for Cal-Bridge scholars, show contributions/role models of scientists of color (including CalBridge alumni) and give students opportunity to interact with them, discuss anti-racism and experiences of scientists of color, provide seminar experiences for campuses that don't have one
Current Accomplishments		Future Plans/Goals
9 speakers during spring Attendance Ronnie Shepherd: 28 JC Holbrook: 86 Rocio Ng: 32 35 26 34 34 54		Fall schedule Improve student chats with speakers Renewed funding from RCSA Host seminars in person and show through Zoom Advertise at conferences Offering extra credit to boost attendance Letter to editor or article in journal CS speakers