Confronting Extremism Reworking

In 2016, more than 11,000 acts of terror based on extremist ideologies were reported in the world,[1] clearly affecting our global community in terms of physical and mental harms. Schools – expected to be environments for supportive learning – have been the locations of violent deaths and nearly 800 hate-motivated crimes at U.S. colleges and universities.[2] Individuals or groups who bring extremist conflicts to the campus require our deliberate actions to ensure that UCI remains a conducive learning environment and champion of social justice for our diverse students, faculty, staff, and public members.

As a land-grant institution that serves more than 32,000 students, faculty, and staff members, as well as local, national, and international communities, UCI has a mandate to excel in its tripartite mission of pioneering research, transformative teaching, and engaged service.  Our strategic goals guiding the campus into the next millennium recognize that ‘diversity of experience and thought is a precondition for productive deliberation, an essential component of our fundamental scholarly and research mission’. [3]

UCI Confronting Extremism aims to:

• forge new dialogues and actions to critically examine proactive and response measures that support social justice efforts on campus in the face of extreme narratives;
• support development of constructive research and pedagogy to support critical dialogues and inquiries about free speech and relationships to national and local social narratives to confront extremism and support inclusive communities;
• identify uses of evidence-informed approaches to dialogues and practices in research, teaching, and public service, which interrogate the nature and types of extremism.

Collectively, this initiative fortifies the values of inclusive excellence: equity, diversity, inclusion and free speech, accomplished through three pillars:

The Provost Initiative on Understanding and Engaging with Extremism asks faculty members to explore contemporary topics such as ideological and cultural extremism and relationships to the civil, political and human rights of communities based on disability, ethnicity, gender, immigration status and nationality, race, religious beliefs, and sexual orientation, gender expression, and other categories. Find out more

The OC Confronting Extremism for Inclusion uses partnership series and developmental events at a range of venues to stress the values that we share: expect equity, support diversity and practice inclusion.