I. Council for Affirmative Action (CAA) Mission and Responsibilities

The CFA Council for Affirmative Action is dedicated to promoting and supporting diversity within the CSU and within CFA. The CAA is committed to protecting faculty from discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, age, disability, or veteran’s status.  The CAA’s responsibilities include being vigilant, assuming leadership, organizing, and taking action to ensure CSU and CFA goals toward the promotion of diversity and affirmative action practices.

II. Goals and Objectives

A. Advisory Role

The CAA Chair serves on the CFA Board of Directors (BoD) as Associate Vice President for Affirmative Action. Two members of the CAA also serve on the CFA BoD.

The CAA has an advisory role to the CFA BoD, President and General Manager.

The CAA advises the CFA Membership and Organizing Committee regarding recruitment of CSU underrepresented faculty for membership in CFA and in the CFA leadership.

Based on the annual census taken at the CFA State Assembly, the CAA advises the CFA BoD regarding representation on the State Assembly with regard to ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and disability, and seeks to balance representation in order to maintain equity.

The CAA advises the CFA BoD with regard to legislative and policy positions that affect underrepresented groups.

B. Education, Promotion, Support of Affirmative Action Policy and Implementation

The CAA educates faculty regarding the meaning and importance of Affirmative Action, non-discrimination and diversity, including their legal/political aspects.

The CAA engages with other committees and other groups to provide CSU
faculty with education and information, through active participation of faculty, e.g., diversity and leadership conferences and local activities.

The CAA monitors and supports student equity programs and successes, and may provide funding to support leadership/organization activities related to diversity issues affecting students; assists students in obtaining full funding from CSU for student diversity programs on campuses.

The CAA develops, supports, and promotes local and statewide diversity events to advocate diversity and Affirmative Action practices related to CSU faculty and students.

The CAA provides direct assistance to individuals from underrepresented groups seeking positions within the CSU, through the development of pre-hire flyers, advertising on websites, updating CFA information and publications, etc. regarding availability of CSU positions; develops a bank of potential candidates to increase ongoing recruitment and develops effective means and strategies of recruiting.

The CAA actively promotes efforts to recruit diverse faculty into CFA leadership positions within the organization and works to create a climate that encourages participation among underrepresented faculty.

C. Analysis and Education

The CAA evaluates the record of campuses to ensure adherence to Affirmative Action policies and practices; creates methods for calling attention to campuses that support Affirmative Action; takes positive steps to ensure fairness, nondiscrimination and equity for all faculty, through such means as the creation of a scorecard or report card for Affirmative Action/diversity efforts; and calls attention to campuses that fair well/fair poorly with regard to Affirmative Action/diversity efforts.

The CAA publishes accomplishments of underrepresented faculty, demographic information and other statistical information by campus; promotes the idea that excellence and diversity are not mutually exclusive; publicizes the obstacles faced by diverse and underrepresented faculty, such as in the report, Racism in the CSU: Faculty of Color Speak Out.

The CAA analyzes Affirmative Action policy and practices with regard to
membership and personnel; addresses and analyzes CSU Plans and the Master Plan on Higher Education with regard to Affirmative Action policy, diversity issues, and issues of equity, and under-representation.

The CAA gathers critical data, studies and information regarding issues of
diversity that have a high impact on CSU faculty and students.

The CAA supports faculty research on issues affecting diversity and
underrepresented faculty on CSU campuses.

D. Advocacy Role

The CAA advocates diversity and equity among faculty to promote positive responses and reactions to faculty diversity and Affirmative Action policies.

The CAA advanced bargaining proposals that address faculty diversity/Affirmative Action issues. We advocate and support recruitment of underrepresented candidates for faculty and other academic positions.

E. Public Relations

The CAA establishes positive relations with outside organizations and groups to promote Affirmative Action issues, e.g., CCA, CTA, NEA, AAUP, APC, SEIU and others.

The CAA conducts ongoing “summit” meetings with the CSU joint labor management committee to deal with issues of non-discrimination and with other Affirmative Action and diversity issues.

The CAA published newsletters, articles, reports and other information for the California Faculty and other CFA publications that highlight Affirmative Action efforts and the excellence demonstrated by diverse faculty.

The CAA ensures that all CFA Affirmative Action policies and activities reflect California’s diverse population in CFA publications and in other media outside of CFA.

F. Organizing

The CAA develops coalitions with student organizations, university, staff and community groups with regard to diversity and Affirmative Action issues.

The CAA develops coalitions with other unions on issues of diversity and Affirmative Action and participates in activities and functions of other organizations to promote Affirmative Action policies and practices such as CTA and CCA Diversity Conferences.

The CAA organizes Affirmative Action/Diversity Committees on each campus, and establishes a network of local contacts to strengthen ties to community groups involved in diversity and Affirmative Action issues.

The CAA develops partnerships with groups such as caucuses within CFA for the purpose of addressing and promoting issues of diversity, equity, and access within CFA.

The CAA organizes and sponsors conferences, workshops, educational institutes, training, etc., for the purpose of developing leadership among ethnic minority and underrepresented faculty on campuses and in the CFA leadership.

The CAA promotes, develops and encourages leadership leading to activism
among ethnic minority and underrepresented faculty at all CFA and campus levels.

G. Leadership

The CAA advances bargaining proposals to address the faculty
diversity/Affirmative Action issues; establishes a strong and effective liaison between the CAA and the CFA Board; introduces policy that allows for changes in CFA bylaws in order to promote Affirmative Action policy and positive changes in the organization relating to Affirmative Action and diversity, such as appointment of the CAA Chair or his/her representative to sit on the Hiring Committee, Bargaining Strategy Committee, the Board, the Contract Development Committee, etc.

The CAA initiates, develops and lobbies for programs that support, expand and refine non-discrimination and Affirmative Action efforts.

The CAA pursues remedies to deal with the deleterious effects of discrimination and the failure to implement Affirmative Action policies.

The CAA proposed policy to the CFA Board and State Assembly in order to create, improve, and/or change practices with regard to the improvement of Affirmative Action policy, both at the CFA and the CSU.

H. Internal Organization

The CAA reviews, monitors and, when necessary, develops CFA’s internal policies and procedures regarding non-discrimination and Affirmative Action practices.

The CAA ensures that all CFA activities, committees, transactions, policies and publications reflect California’s diverse population.