Dear Alumni and Friends,
Congratulations to the Class of 2016!
The end of the academic year marks a special time when we recognize the achievements of our graduating students. It was exciting to see them honored during the community graduation celebrations hosted by the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity (OMA&D), the Kelly Ethnic Cultural Center (ECC) and other campus partners. Equally fulfilling was seeing our graduates walk across the stage at Husky Stadium to receive their diplomas during UW Commencement. We are so proud of all of them and greatly look forward to seeing what they will accomplish in the future.
As we turn the corner into summer, it also means that my tenure as interim vice president and vice provost for OMA&D will soon be coming to an end. On Aug. 1, I will return to my former position as associate vice president of Student Services and Academic Support Programs when Rickey Hall takes over as the new vice president. I am excited to welcome Rickey to OMA&D and look forward to continuing our collective work to broaden college access, support student success and cultivate diversity-related teaching and learning across campus.
I want to thank President Ana Mari Cauce and Provost Jerry Baldasty for entrusting me with the important responsibility of serving as the interim VP for the past 10 months. I have learned a lot and grown as a leader during this period, and I feel extremely blessed to have had the opportunity. I am also grateful for the support I have received from all of you, our valued alumni and friends. Thanks to your generosity and engagement, as well as the outstanding efforts of the OMA&D staff, we have accomplished much together and I am very proud of the work we have done over the last year.
Our college access efforts continue to cultivate a pipeline of talented students who will join our campus community, and our entire team looks forward to welcoming a new class of diverse Huskies in the fall. We have ramped up fundraising efforts to support our students and programs. We have expanded our support and visibility of resources for undocumented students at the UW. We passed the one-year anniversary of wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ Intellectual House which in just a short amount of time has established itself a special space at the center of campus.
The latest edition of OMA&D eNews highlights some of our recent accomplishments as well.
Supporting the UW Race & Equity Initiative and building a more inclusive campus environment has also been a focus of our efforts this year. The more that we have heard from our students about these issues, the greater the opportunity we have to connect with each other and work together to create positive change. We want them to feel like the UW is supportive and validating of their social identities. Through our efforts, and the efforts of the initiative, we want to encourage and cultivate a vibrant intellectual community free of bias and prejudice.
Like I mentioned in my remarks at Celebration last month, we understand that there is still much more work to be done. However, I remain optimistic about the future of this institution and our work to support diversity, equity and inclusion. We owe it to our current students and those who will be joining us in the years to come.
Sincerely,
Gabriel Gallardo
Interim Vice President for Minority Affairs
& Vice Provost for Diversity