Kick off the day with opening remarks, a brief overview of the event, and framing for the conversations and sessions ahead.

A motivating morning address to open the day.

From Aspiration to Infrastructure: Key Learnings from CREEO’s Visiting Scholars Program on Black Faculty Advancement

Black faculty, particularly those at R2 institutions, MSIs and HBCUs, often face structural barriers to tenure, promotion and sustained scholarly productivity. The challenges are intensified by inequitable access to R1 infrastructure, limited mentorship networks, insufficient protected time for research and the material realities of cost prohibitive academic spaces such as the Bay Area. Addressing this requires a leadership driven and institutionally anchored solution.  

This session examines the CREEO Visiting Scholars Program at UC Berkeley, a R1 institution, led under the direction of Faculty Director Travis J. Bristol, Ph.D., as an equity-centered professional development and leadership intervention designed to reduce financial, logistical and institutional barriers to Black faculty advancement from R2 and other underresourced institutions. 

The program provides a cohort-based community, structured mentorship, protected writing time, housing and travel support and access to R1 resources and faculty mentors. A core component of the program includes guided support for tenure and promotion preparation. Each visiting scholar develops a draft research, teaching and service statement and receives individualized feedback to strengthen clarity, alignment and scholarly narrative.  

Drawing on lessons from the pilot and ongoing recruitment for a second cohort, the session demonstrates that addressing systemic underfunding, particularly at HBCUs and MSIs, requires more than financial aid. The model emphasizes access to intellectual and institutional capital, academic networks and sustained postprogram support. Participants will reflect on barriers in their own institutions and identify strategies to build sustainable faculty support that strengthens the Black academic presence across the UC system. 

Jacquelyn Ollison, CREEO, Director, UC Berkeley

Travis Bristol, Associate Professor, UC Berkeley 

Built by Us, Sustained by Us: Black Leadership and Institutional Impact

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) have emerged as vital structures within higher education institutions, serving as spaces for community-building, advocacy and professional development for historically marginalized populations. This presentation will explore the historical origins of ERGs, tracing their development from grassroots affinity groups to formalized organizational partners within complex institutional systems. Participants will gain insight into how ERGs have evolved to align with institutional missions while remaining grounded in collective identity, support and shared lived experience.  

Framed within the University of California higher education system, this session will highlight Black Lives at Cal (BLAC) as an umbrella organization that collaborates with campus-based ERGs to strengthen institutional culture and support Black faculty, staff and administrators. The presentation will examine how coordinated ERG efforts contribute to improved personnel outcomes, including increased retention rates, enhanced job satisfaction and higher levels of engagement and productivity. Through examples and data-informed practices, presenters will demonstrate how ERGs function as critical partners in leadership development, mentoring, onboarding and organizational accountability. This presentation will feature a panel that will also emphasize the strategic value of ERGs as drivers of institutional resilience and workforce sustainability. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of how ERGs not only foster belonging and professional growth but also serve as essential contributors to institutional effectiveness, equity and long-term success across the UC system. 

Ekpeju Ed E-Nunu, Director – Sorority & Fraternity Life, UC Irvine

Victorino Moreira, African Student Programs Black Student Success Coordinator/Senior Academic Advisor, UC Riverside

Dennis McIver, Program Manager, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging, UC Office of the President

Charon Andrus, Associate Chief Information Security Officer, UC Berkeley

Fugitive Acts of Leadership: Lessons in Courage, Strategy and Access

Leadership is often framed as influence, strategy and vision — but what if it’s also an act of resistance? Inspired by Jarvis Givens’ concept of fugitive pedagogy, this workshop explores leadership as a series of “fugitive acts”: courageous, strategic moves that create opportunity and access where none exists.  

Drawing from the ancestral wisdom of Black educators who taught under threat, built schools in hostile environments and passed down knowledge in defiance of systemic barriers, this session reveals how leadership can be an underground tactic to advance ourselves and others. Through real-world examples of innovation under constraint and legacy building, participants will reflect on how their own influence can be used to shift systems, open hidden doors and uplift those historically left on the margins. This is a call to lead with intention, rooted in ancestral wisdom and driven by the quiet power of resistance. 

Jenn Wells, Chief of Staff, UCLA Alumni Engagement, UCLA

Youlonda Gorman, Interim Associate Vice Chancellor, Alumni Affairs and Advancement Services and CFO, UCLA Foundation and Investment Company, UCLA

Leading the Work: How campus strategy and stewardship drive Black Student-Thriving Initiatives 

In this session, participants will hear about the California effort to recognize institutions who intentionally focus on Black students. This effort includes a summary of SB 1348, which designates California postsecondary institutions as Black-serving institutions (BSIs).  

Presenters will provide updates on additional efforts in the state of California as well as highlight campus successes. Specifically, presenters from UC Davis and UC Berkeley will share their strategies and work that earned them the BSI designation in its inaugural year. Best practices and the BSI application process will be included in the discussion. 

Abbie Bates, Director, Academic Success Initiatives, Graduate, Undergraduate and Equity Affairs, UC Office of the President 

Olufemi Ogundele, Associate Vice Chancellor & Dean of Enrollment, UC Berkeley 

Ebony Lewis, Chief Strategy Officer, Inclusive Excellence, UC Davis 

UCLA Campus AI Strategy 

UCLA is advancing a coordinated, campuswide approach to artificial intelligence that balances innovation, responsibility and real-world impact. This session will provide an overview of UCLA’s Campus AI Strategy, highlighting how leadership, governance and practical implementation are being aligned to support students, faculty, staff and the broader university mission. Participants will learn how UCLA is organizing AI efforts across teaching and learning, research, administrative operations and workforce development. The session will cover key elements of the strategy, including AI literacy initiatives, responsible AI principles, tool evaluation and adoption and partnerships across academic and administrative units. Real examples will be shared to illustrate how AI is already improving decision-making, operational efficiency and educational outcomes on campus. 

Designed for campus leaders and professionals at all levels, this session will emphasize actionable lessons that can be adapted across UC campuses. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of how thoughtful AI leadership can drive innovation while maintaining trust, equity and accountability within higher education. 

Chris Mattmann, Chief Data and AI Officer, UCLA 

The New Black Tax: Leadership, Unseen Labor and the Cost of Carrying Broken Systems 

Black administrators, staff and faculty across the University of California system are routinely asked to do more than their job descriptions require — mentoring students in crisis, mediating racial harm, translating institutional processes, holding emotional space and filling gaps left by underresourced systems. This session introduces “The New Black Tax,” a framework that names the cumulative, often invisible labor that Black professionals perform to keep institutions functioning: labor that is rarely compensated, formally recognized or sustainably supported.  

Grounded in research, lived experience and interviews with Black educators, administrators and community leaders, this session examines how structural failure becomes individualized responsibility and how leadership cultures unintentionally normalize extraction rather than accountability. Participants will explore how this tax shows up in workload expectations, wellness outcomes, role strain and leadership burnout. Rather than framing resilience as the solution, this session challenges institutions to shift from reliance on individual sacrifice toward structural care.  

Attendees will leave with:  

• Language to identify and name unseen labor in leadership roles  
• Tools to assess when “going above and beyond” becomes institutional dependency  
• Strategies for setting boundaries without professional penalty  
• A framework for advocating for systemic support, not personal overextension  

This session is designed for Black administrators and allies seeking sustainable leadership models that protect wellness, dignity and longevity while advancing equity in practice, not just rhetoric. 

Sonya Brooks, UC Student Regent, UCLA 

Beyond the Syllabus: Faculty Cultivating Ecosystems of Black Student Success on Campus 

How can UC faculty move beyond traditional pedagogy to actively foster environments where Black students do more than survive, but also thrive? This collaborative session, led by scholars from UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara, explores the faculty’s pivotal role in engineering "ecosystems of excellence" for Black students. Drawing on the presenters’ extensive research in higher education and organizational leadership, this session identifies three critical levers for faculty intervention:  

• Inclusive Pedagogy: Redesigning classroom dynamics to validate Black intellectual contributions.  
• Research as Belonging: Utilizing the research lab as a site for identity development and community building.  
• Proactive Mentorship: Shifting from passive advising to transformative sponsorship.  

Participants will engage in a "Best Practices Exchange," sharing case studies that highlight successful strategies used across the UC system. We will specifically address the unique challenges of Black faculty and students at UC, offering practical, scalable frameworks that faculty can implement immediately to dismantle barriers. Attendees will leave with example practices to implement back on their campuses. By bridging the gap between research and practice, this session empowers faculty to be architects of Black student success, ensuring that our campuses reflect the excellence we recruit.

Raquel Rall, Associate Professor and Associate Dean, UC Riverside 

Antar Tichavakunda, Associate Professor, UC Santa Barbara 

Rest, Resilience and the Right to Joy: A Wellness Workshop for UC Professionals  —  A restorative, interactive workshop offering practical tools for rest, reflection and joy to support sustainable well-being in UC workplaces. 

Higher education culture often rewards constant output while leaving little space for rest, reflection or joy. Within the University of California, this reality can be especially pronounced for African American professionals who navigate sustained pressure, visibility gaps and expectations of continuous resilience. This interactive wellness workshop reframes resilience by centering rest and joy as essential practices for personal and professional sustainability.  

Building on a resilience workshop originally developed for the UC People Management Conference and delivered through open enrollment and unit-based sessions at UC Santa Cruz and the UC Office of the President, this session offers a refreshed, practical approach grounded in lived experience. Participants will be introduced to the seven types of rest; explore the relationship between rest, resilience, and well-being and reflect on what it means to reclaim joy — not as constant happiness, but as presence, pleasure and vitality.  

The workshop will include guided breathing, brief meditation, reflective writing and participant-led breakout conversations within the Zoom room. Attendees will also be invited to engage in gentle, optional movement, including Zumba-inspired movement via Zoom. All activities are offered as invitations, with options for seated or still participation. Participants will leave with accessible practices they can integrate into daily routines and workplace culture, along with strategies for supporting rest, resilience and joy for themselves and others. 

Adrienne Harrell, Executive Director, UC Santa Cruz Foundation, UC Santa Cruz 

Through the Fire 

The state of Black education is a complex conversation that should be happening outside of the confines of enrollment management. The University of California has continued to hold to the mission of service with HSI and AANAPISI distinctions, along with the new goal of becoming a Black-serving institution (BSI), despite ongoing challenges. Join enrollment leaders from UC Berkeley, UC Riverside, UC San Diego and UC Santa Cruz as we provide an overview of our recruitment and retention efforts around Black students, as well as discuss current legislation that targets African, Black and Caribbean (ABC) student success, enrollment trends and strategic initiatives within the UC system. 

How can we work together to improve enrollment and the Black student experience within higher education? Join us for a thoughtful discussion about current trends and the future of ABC Student enrollment and success in higher education given varying national and campus climate impacts.

Olufemi Ogundele, Associate Vice Chancellor & Dean of Enrollment, UC Berkeley 

Timetra Hampton, Associate Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management and Director of Undergraduate Admissions, UC Santa Cruz 

Azizi James, Associate Director, Undergraduate Admissions, UC San Diego 

Ronald Whitenhill, Associate Director – Recruitment, Undergraduate Admissions, UC Riverside 

We’ll conclude Day 1 with guided reflections, key takeaways, and closing remarks that help bring together insight from the day's sessions.

Welcome back! We’ll briefly recap Day 1 and provide an overview of Day 2, including highlights and key expectations.

Hear from leaders across sectors as they discuss collaboration, challenges, and opportunities for driving impact across institutions.

Empowered Self-Leadership: Thriving from Within

Leadership never begins with a title, permission or external validation. It begins with self-command. Empowered Self-Leadership: Thriving from Within is a grounded, reflective session designed for individuals who are ready to lead themselves with clarity, resilience and purpose, regardless of circumstance. 

This session challenges the idea that leadership is something granted by systems or institutions. Instead, it centers on the disciplined work of understanding who you are, what you stand for and how your lived experiences shape the way you show up in the world. Attendees will be introduced to self-leadership as a practical skill rooted in values, identity, accountability and vision — not motivational slogans or surface-level empowerment. 

The session concludes by helping attendees to begin shaping a personal self-leadership vision, one that is honest, self-directed and sustainable.  Participants will leave able to: 

• Understand what self-leadership truly is and why it is foundational to long-term growth and resilience. 

• Clarify personal values, identity and lived experiences as leadership assets rather than obstacles. 

This is not about performing leadership for others. It is about mastering it within yourself and thriving because of it. 

Ola Popoola, Executive Director, Procurement Strategic Transformation & Operations | Chief of Staff, UC Office of the President 

Governing Trust in the Age of AI and Cyber Risk: A Practical Framework for UC Leaders 

As artificial intelligence accelerates across higher education, UC leaders are being asked to adopt new technologies while simultaneously managing growing cybersecurity risk, regulatory pressure and workforce expectations. Yet most guidance remains either highly technical or overly abstract, leaving administrators without a practical way to govern trust in AI-enabled systems.  

This interactive workshop introduces a human-centered governance framework that helps UC leaders translate AI and cybersecurity risk into clear roles, decisions and operating practices — without requiring technical expertise. Drawing from real-world experience across enterprise, public-sector and regulated environments, the session reframes cyber and AI risk as an organizational challenge rooted in behavior, accountability and decision design rather than on tools alone.  

Participants will explore how trust is built (or eroded) in AI-augmented systems, identify common human failure modes such as over-automation and decision diffusion and learn how governance frameworks like NIST can be applied at the level of everyday practice. Through guided reflection and applied exercises, attendees will map a UC-relevant scenario to a practical governance lens they can adapt to their own campus or unit. By the end of the session, participants will leave with a reusable framework for governing AI and cyber risk, a clearer understanding of leadership accountability in AI-enabled environment and concrete strategies for strengthening trust, resilience and readiness across the UC system. 

Cecilio Fernando Mills, Adjunct Instructor, UC Berkeley Extension 

Insights to Action: Advancing Success Through the Black Student-Serving Institution Designation and the State of Higher Education for Black Californians Report 

Grounded in the Campaign for College Opportunity’s State of Higher Education for Black Californians report, scheduled for release in February 2026, this session examines key disparities in access, persistence and completion for Black students across California’s higher education systems. While the data highlights areas of progress, it also signals a clear call to action for sustained efforts at both institutional and policy levels to achieve equitable outcomes. Black students have made significant gains, including record highs in A-G completion, degree attainment and enrollment in transfer-level community college courses. Yet, equity gaps remain: Black students are overrepresented at costly for-profit colleges with low completion rates, community college transfer rates remain low and graduation gaps between Black and white students exceed 10 percentage points across all sectors.  

This discussion will center the Black Student-Serving Institution (BSSI) designation as a critical opportunity for institutions to meet the moment and accelerate progress toward equity. The BSSI framework offers a roadmap for institutionalizing practices that prioritize Black student success, strengthen accountability and foster systemic change.  

Panelists will explore how the designation can catalyze alignment between campus strategies and student-centered policy recommendations. Featuring members of the Campaign’s research and policy team and a student voice, the panel pairs statewide data with lived experience to reframe challenges as institutional and policy-level issues. Participants will leave with actionable strategies to leverage the BSSI designation, guide decision-making and advance Black student success through collaborative, equity-driven reforms. 

Jewel Bourne, Policy Analyst, Campaign for College Opportunity 

Hair, Community and Belonging: How our Annual Black Hair Care Wellness Event Creates Connection Across Our Campus

What does it take to create a campus event that 97 percent of attendees ask you to bring back? At UC Irvine's Graduate and Family Housing, we discovered the answer: celebrate culture, build authentic partnerships and center community needs. Our annual Black Hair Care Wellness event brings together professional stylists and barbers, educational programming from the School of Medicine, cultural celebrations and community connection. It's a space where hair texture and protective hairstyles are affirmed, where families gather, and where people feel seen. 

The impact has been profound: 92 percent of attendees reported stronger community connections, 82 percent learned something new and 72 percent made meaningful relationships. But creating culturally specific programming comes with questions: Is this allowed? Will people think it's exclusionary? How do we talk about this with campus leadership? When UC updated its Anti-Discrimination Policy in January 2026 to explicitly protect hair texture and protective hairstyles, we saw an opportunity to proactively demonstrate how our event advances institutional equity goals while welcoming all participants.  

This session shares our journey — from concept to implementation to assessment. I'll walk through:  

• How we built partnerships across Graduate and Family Housing Affinity Group, Black Faculty Staff Association, UC Irvine's School of Medicine and the Center for Black Cultures, Resources and Research. 
• Our approach to policy compliance that positions the event as equity advancement. 
• Our actual budget and resource strategies (full event: under $6000).  
• The marketing, volunteer coordination and assessment processes we developed. 
• How we address concerns about cultural celebration and inclusivity.  

I'll share documents and systems we use so you can see what worked for us and adapt what fits your campus. This work matters because it demonstrates how centering Black wellness and cultural affirmation creates a sense of belonging. 

Thais Bouchereau, Associate Director Special Programs, UC Irvine 

Building Your UC Career: Connections, Mentorship and Influence

Are you new to UC or have fewer than five years of experience? Join this informative session focused on leadership, mentorship and the keys to success at UC and beyond. Learn how to intentionally build your network, identify mentors and position yourself to thrive in a complex academic and professional environment.  

Experienced UC leaders will share practical strategies, lessons learned and real-world insights to help you navigate your career path, grow your influence and create meaningful connections that support long-term success. 

Sandra Williams-Hamp, Associate Vice Provost, Outreach and Educational Partnerships, UC Office of the President 

Ebony Lewis, Chief Strategy Officer, Inclusive Excellence, UC Davis 

The Equitable Feedback Model: 10 Methods to Foster Inclusion Across Generations, Neurodiversity and Power Dynamics 

Today’s workforce spans generations, cultures, neurodiversity and communication styles — making feedback one of the most complex but critical challenges facing leaders in higher education. Traditional feedback approaches often fail across these differences, unintentionally reinforcing inequities, fueling imposter syndrome and undermining psychological safety. The Equitable Feedback Model (EFM), developed through years of research at UC Berkeley and applied across nonprofit and private organizations, offers a structured, research-informed framework to navigate these challenges.  

Grounded in inclusive leadership principles, this model equips individuals at all levels to provide feedback that preserves dignity, fosters growth and builds trust across differences in gender, generation, neurodivergence and hierarchical power dynamics. This express talk will introduce participants to the 10 EFM methods: 

• Balanced feedback 
• Positive reinforcement 
• Empathy 
• Growth mindset framing 
• Collaborative discussion 
• Self-assessment first 
• Solution-oriented strategies 
• Objective-based feedback 
• Digital tools 
• Visual feedback 

Together, these methods provide a practical, adaptable toolkit that helps feedback givers honor diverse communication preferences, bridge generational and cultural divides and create an environment where feedback strengthens belonging rather than eroding it.  

Through interactive reflection and application, participants will learn how to reframe inequitable feedback scenarios using these methods and leave with at least two actionable strategies they can immediately implement in their departments or teams. By adopting equitable feedback practices, institutions can expect improved retention, higher net promoter scores and stronger workplace climates that align with the broader mission of advancing equity and inclusion in higher education.

Marco Lindsey, Associate Director of DEI, UC Berkeley

Beyond the Classroom: Informal Learning as a Tool for Black Student Leadership and Empowerment at UC Santa Barbara 

This workshop highlights the Office of Black Student Development’s Vision Fellowship and the Black Student Leadership Retreat as impactful, informal learning models that cultivate leadership and innovative thinking. These programs were designed to address ongoing challenges affecting Black students by centering student voice, community building practices and project-based learning. Through these programs, students are empowered to cocreate unique learning experiences that support their holistic development and cultivate student-led innovation in higher education.  

The Vision Fellowship is a cohort-based program that empowers Black students to design and execute a passion project of their choosing. Fellows receive resources including a stipend, mentorship and professional development while engaging in a project-based learning model that highlights innovation and creativity. The Black Student Leadership Retreat is a cocreated space that brings together student leaders for a weekend focused on wellness, collaboration and community building. Participants engage in workshops, group reflections and team-building activities that strengthen their leadership capacity and deepen collaboration. By positioning students as leaders of their own learning, these programs disrupt traditional approaches to education by providing an unconventional learning opportunity in a culturally relevant space.  

Participants in this session will engage in guided discussions and student testimonies that mirror each program’s structure. The workshop will explore how student-focused programming and community-based learning strengthens program impact. Attendees will leave with implementation strategies, sample program frameworks and evaluation approaches that extend beyond traditional academic metrics. This session offers guidance for educators and administrators seeking to foster Black student engagement, leadership development and retention through innovative, student-centered informal learning spaces. 

Julianna Swilley, Coordinator for Black Student Life, UC Santa Barbara 

Ashlee Priestley, Academic Achievement Counselor, UC Santa Barbara 

Centering UC Campus Black History and Research Strategies 

This session aims to introduce attendees to the rich Black history both known and hidden throughout the University of California system. Centering these stories and spaces encourages engagement with this unique history for all faculty, staff and students at historically white institutions (HWIs), promoting belonging and establishing a permanent record of our presence and contributions at the University of California.  

Through the example of the Black History Walking Tour of UC Berkeley, researched and developed by longtime UC Berkeley staff member and Berkeley Alumna Gia White, attendees will be empowered to conduct their own research on the history of the Black experience at their campus locations and to explore potential collaborations with campus partners to promote and showcase their work. 

The session will begin with a slide presentation focused on the development of the Black History Walking Tour and the ongoing collaboration with the UC Berkeley Library on the Black History at Cal Library Research Guide. UC Berkeley African American Studies Librarian Michele McKenzie will then highlight research strategies and resources available to researchers through the UC library system and beyond.  

Attendees will be guided through search strategies using online databases and websites to explore primary research resources on local public history. Time will also be allowed for Q&A and reflections from attendees. 

Gia White, Administrative Director, Global, International and Area Studies, UC Berkeley 

Michele McKenzie, Social and Cultural Studies Librarian, Liaison for African American Studies, UC Berkeley 

Building Ph.D. Pathways to the University of California: The UCB CREEO–HBCU Program

Across the University of California, Black students remain significantly underrepresented in doctoral programs, reflecting persistent gaps in access to research experiences, mentorship and graduate preparation. The UC–HBCU Initiative was created to address these inequities by strengthening UC–HBCU partnerships and increasing the number of HBCU students entering UC graduate programs. To address this gap, in 2025, Associate Professors Travis J. Bristol (PI) and Tolani Britton (Co-I) and UC Berkeley’s Center for Research on Expanding Educational Opportunity (CREEO), in partnership with Morehouse and Talladega Colleges, received a $500 thousand UC–HBCU award to launch the newly designed UC Berkeley CREEO–HBCU Program — a summer research opportunity that centers HBCU undergraduate scholars interested in Ph.D. pathways in education and the social sciences.  

While grounded in an established UC-wide initiative, this is the first year implementing our program design — one that integrates immersive educational research training, structured graduate admissions preparation, faculty and graduate student mentorship and intentional community-building across institutions. Over the next three years, CREEO will welcome six HBCU Fellows each summer to UC Berkeley.  

In this session, we will share the program model, implementation considerations and early lessons as we learn in real time what it takes to build sustainable, equity-focused doctoral pathways. Attendees will hear from panelists; engage in dialogue around strategy, replication, and intersegmental collaboration and provide feedback to inform future iterations of the program and to support efforts to advance HBCU students’ access and success within the UC system. 

Melika Jalili, CREEO Senior Programs & Operations Manager (Project Lead), UC Berkeley 

Tolani Britton, Co-Investigator, UC Berkeley 

We will close out the event with reflections on Day 2, shared takeaways, and final remarks as we look ahead to next steps and continued engagement.