Academic Affairs

About the FEA Program

The Faculty Equity Advocates Program (FEA) was initially funded by the UC Office of the President and fully implemented in the fall of 2022. Composed of faculty with tenure, FEAs play an important peer leadership role at UCSC by promoting the recruitment, retention and engagement of faculty from historically excluded groups, including identifying relevant pathways to leadership and improving outcomes.

There are 10 FEAs, 2 per Division, with one typically focused on faculty recruitment and one focused on faculty retention (although these roles can be more flexible). One FEA per division leads “Fair Hiring Trainings” for faculty involved in searches, working closely with Deans, department chairs, search committees, and the VPAA to identify and implement best practices for equitable searches and hiring. The second FEA per division focuses on identifying and implementing best practices to promote faculty retention, including coordinating with other offices and committees on campus to communicate, modify or more consistently apply resources that foster mentorship, leadership, and community among faculty. For example, a goal for the retention group this year and next is to identify evidence-based best practices for equitable professional assessments during promotion/tenure reviews, with the goal of designing and presenting “Fair Review Trainings” for an equitable review process, similar to the Fair Hiring Trainings.

Both recruitment and retention FEAs also develop plans and priorities for future FEA work, ensuring continuity and institutional memory, and design assessments of the program, guaranteeing its efficacy. The ultimate and long-term goal of the FEA program is to recruit, nurture, retain and provide a pathway of leadership for a diverse faculty that reflects the people of the state of California and improve climate, retention and belonging outcomes for Senate faculty at UCSC. FEAs typically serve in two-year appointments (they can be extended to 3 years) and are compensated with one course release per year. 

Application Process

Applications are currently closed.

Questions?

If you have questions about the program, or application process, please reach out to one of the following divisional representatives:

Last modified: Nov 18, 2024