Mission

The mission of the Shared Table Perspective (formerly the Deconstructing Diversity Initiative) is to provide students with the education, training and experiences needed to help them realize their power to reduce community tension based on differences and to create more inclusive environments.

Vision

The Shared Table Perspective (STP) aims to:

• Prepare students to engage in a diverse environment by providing opportunities for meaningful intergroup interactions and promoting a deeper understanding of diversity issues central to U.S. society.
• Enhance knowledge of identity formation, structural inequalities, historical context, and current debates through meetings with research and community experts.
• Strengthen students' skills at navigating important – and often controversial – topics with sensitivity to the diverse narratives through travel experiences. Students will learn how to incorporate sensitivity into their own interactions both on campus and in the broader community.
• Develop leadership by equipping students to be agents of change on their campus and personal communities.
• Promote positive cross-difference interaction and increase cultural empathy by raising awareness of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Facilitate introspection to better understand and respectfully articulate one’s own worldview and that of others.

Program History and Model
The program was founded in 2015 with seed money from the UC Irvine Chancellor’s Advisory Council on Campus Climate, Culture & Inclusion to address concerns about the campus's racial climate. The program was inspired by the experiential learning model which combines in-class learning with travel experiences, and Intergroup Contact Theory, which aims to break down emotional barriers, navigate power dynamics, and foster structured, empathetic communication to improve cross-difference understanding, foster empathy and promote inclusivity.
 

• Overview

  Program Overview

  STP is a year-long program that combines learning and dialogue along with travel to sites of historical and contemporary importance to race, diversity, equity and inclusion in America. The program offers participants the opportunity to investigate institutional and contextual forces and power differences that are at the heart of societal and community tension based on race, ethnicity and diverse identities. STP helps students identify strategies to be considered in developing and implementing strategies for improving diverse relations and promoting community cohesion.

  A cohort of students is chosen each year to take part in an intensive graduate-style discussion-based seminar series and then to travel to sites of historical and contemporary importance to the experience of equity and belonging in America. By pairing classroom learning with travel experiences across the United States, STP provides college students the education, training and experiences that enable them to better understand diverse communities and to negotiate societal tensions based on race and identity, and to promote equity and inclusion.

  Program Description

  Upon being accepted to the program, STP participants attend seminars presented by UCI faculty, staff, and community leaders to explore critical issues that are impacted by race and diversity relations in America. A sample of topics includes: psychological approaches to identity formation; structural approaches to race and diversity; intersectionality and privilege; equity and inclusion implications in education; diversity initiatives; allyship and solidarity; immigration and citizenship; labor; gender; art as resistance; resilience.

  Participants go beyond in-class learning to partake in staff-led trips across the U.S. to sites of historical and contemporary importance to diversity, equity and inclusion in America. They meet with community members, leaders, policy makers, and organizers spanning a range of political opinions from nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, religious organizations, and government entities to provide insight into the varied experiences and efforts of people addressing diversity and equity issues in their communities.

  Students return to campus with a more nuanced understanding of contemporary issues. They reflect on their experiences and develop events for the campus, relaying what they have learned. Additionally, they create capstone and implement projects to address an issue they have identified as important for their own communities.

  The combination of seminar learning, dialogue, experiential learning, and leadership development, STP provides students with the education, training and experiences needed to become inclusive leaders and community members.better understand, negotiate and resolve issues of race. STP participants are encouraged to become leaders of campus programs and community organizations, and they serve as mentors to high school students in the Empathy, Connection and Human Outreach (ECHO) Project.

  Benefits of Joining STP

  • Raise your awareness of diversity, equity, and inclusion through in-class/experiential education around societal and regional issues in the U.S.
  • Network with students, faculty, and community
  • Build confidence to engage in difficult dialogue and navigate issues of race, diversity, and equity
  • Gain essential leadership experience for working in diverse environments
  • Take your scholarship and research to action as community change-agents
     

  Participation Requirements & Time Commitments

  Attendance is required for all three components of the program.

  • STP seminars: variable Wednesdays from 3:00-5:00pm (approximately 4 or 5 times per quarter).
  • ECHO mentorship: variable schedule, based on your availability (approximately 4 per quarter).
  • Travel: If funding allows, up to three trips are planned and will be paid for students who meet attendance and participation requirements. Locations may include; San Francisco/Oakland; Chicago; Atlanta; Montgomery; new Orleans, Washington D.C.
     
• How to Join
  Qualifications & Prerequisites:

  • No major requirements — all students, regardless of major, are encouraged to apply.
  • Desire to improve equity in your community.
  • Interest in mentoring high school youth.

  Application Deadline:
  Not accepting applications at this time. Please check back with us regularly.

 

Contacts

Teresa Neighbors, Ed.D., Director | ddi@uci.edu

Student Interns

Eden Britton | enbritto@uci.edu
Political Science, Environmental Science and Policy
President of Earth System Science Club

Isabella Franquez | ifranque@uci.edu
Political Science and Management
Vice President of Anteaters Engaged in Building Constitution

Mina Shin | minas4@uci.edu
Major: Political Science and Urban and Regional Planning
Campus Involvement: Residential Advisor, UCI CCAP (special collections and archives), Irvine Barclay Theater

Lauren Viliamu | lviliamu@uci.edu
International Studies and Global Sustainability Minor
Pacific Islander Student Association (PISA) Board, UCI Club Volleyball, and Campus Rec

 

 

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