Cal State LA is committed to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in our University community. This website is a gateway to resources, information, events, and programs related to DEIB on campus.

Celebrating Our Diversity

Two students smiling while studying with a laptop

Our Values

Our goal is to nurture a welcoming and inclusive campus where students, faculty, and staff thrive, and community is honored and cultivated. Cal State LA is a Hispanic-Serving Institution, Minority-Serving Institution, and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution. We celebrate having one of the most diverse student populations in the nation.

Hispanic-Serving Institution

We are deeply proud to be a Hispanic-Serving Institution, as defined by the U.S. Department of Education. Cal State LA has been an HSI for over three decades. 

At A Glance

#1  IN UPWARD MOBILITY

#4
Most Diverse Faculty in Nation

70%
First-Generation Students

4
Identity-Based Student Centers

DEIB in the Colleges

deborah Won

Equity Coordinators

Equity coordinators are dedicated to advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in their fields and at the University. They serve as advocates and collaborators within their colleges to promote DEIB practices, including in faculty recruitment, hiring, and retention, to lead conversations, and to develop college DEIB councils.

 

Guiding Principles

Cal State LA's guiding principles help lead the University's commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging.Explore the Guiding Principles

 

Staff

Juneteenth Symposium Poster

Staff Working Group for Belonging, Community, and Diversity

The Staff Working Group for Belonging, Community, and Diversity develops and facilitates programming, events, and resources to foster a collaborative and inclusive working environment for staff and administration at Cal State LA. 

Faculty with a microphone speaking from a stage.

Staff Dialogues

Events throughout the year provide opportunities for staff to engage in authentic dialogue about our campus, with a focus on equity, inclusion, and belonging. 

Staff in a classroom during an event

Staff Resources

Find details about staff resources, services, and information on equity, inclusion, and belonging.

 

Students

Cultural dancers at La Raza Grad Celebration

Cross Cultural Centers

The Cross Cultural Centers at Cal State LA encourage student learning and foster an inclusive campus environment that challenges racism, sexism, heterosexism, and other forms of oppression. The CCC offers a wide variety of programs and services that explore the shared and unique experiences, histories, and heritages of our diverse community. The CCC includes four identity-based student centers: 

Group of students from RISE outside in masks

RISE Peer Mentoring

The RISE Peer Mentoring Program (Retention through Interpersonal Student Engagement) aims to positively impact the experience of Black students and their allies who are either first-time freshmen or transfer students during their first year by pairing continuing students with new students to help them successfully settle into university life. 

Gold background with black and gold designs. The Network: A Program for Men of Color

The Network: Men's Success Initiative

The Network supports the development of undergraduate students of color who self-identify as men and their allies by offering culturally relevant and engaging campus services, academic resources, and a supportive community that reflects them. 

News

Two male students walking with I Serve L.A. t-shirts

Cal State LA receives 2022 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award

INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine selected Cal State LA for demonstrating an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. 

King Hall with a tree in the front right side of photo

Department of History receives 2022 Institutional Equity Award

The American Historical Association gives the Institutional Equity Award to institutions that have achieved excellence in recruiting and retaining underrepresented racial and ethnic groups into the historical discipline.

Cal State LA faculty recipients of the NSF grant

Cal State LA receives National Science Foundation grant to create a pathway to diversity program

Cal State LA has been awarded an $880,000 grant by the National Science Foundation to increase diversity in STEM fields through recruiting and training the next generation of molecular simulation scientists.

Olympic mural

Cal State LA establishes first College of Ethnic Studies in U.S. in 50 years

The College of Ethnic Studies houses the departments of Pan-African Studies, Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies, and Asian and Asian American Studies. It is the first College of Ethnic Studies established in the United States in five decades. 

Celebrations and Events

An Asian female student dancing in a lion costume

Throughout the year, areas across the University host activities and programs to spotlight and celebrate the histories and contributions of different communities through cultural, heritage, and awareness activities, as well as events that spark important discussions.

Land Acknowledgement

Ramona site illustration

With great respect, Cal State LA acknowledges the Tongva people as the traditional caretakers of Tovaangar (TOE-von-gar) - The Tongva World - including the Los Angeles Basin, South Channel Islands, San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys, and portions of Orange, San Bernardino, and Riverside Counties. Cal State LA is located within these lands. As an institution located on unceded Tongva land, we pay our respects to the ancestors, elders, and our relatives/relations, past, present, and emerging.  

Consistent with our values of community and diversity, we have a responsibility to acknowledge and make visible the University's relationship to native peoples. By offering this land acknowledgement, we affirm indigenous sovereignty and will work to hold Cal State LA more accountable to the needs of American Indian peoples.

Prepared by Dr. Kimberly Robertson (Mvskoke) and Tongva Elder Julia Bogany, 2020

Connect with us

If you have a question, want to get involved, or know of a valuable resource or event that should be included on this website, please get in touch.