Preparing students to succeed in a workforce that’s increasingly diverse and global gets to the heart of our mission at UC Davis. So, it’s incumbent that we remove barriers for students who have been historically excluded from higher education and create additional opportunities for these populations.

We are guided by the University of California’s mission to make higher education accessible to all, with campus populations that reflect the state’s wide diversity.

Still, there’s no question that much work needs to be done. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, Black student enrollment on college campuses declined by 22 percent between 2010 and 2020. At UC Davis, about 4 percent of undergraduate students are Black, a rise of one percent over the previous year. Comparatively, 35 percent of our students are Asian and 25 percent identify as Hispanic/Latino(a).

SB 1348 is a much needed step to increase equity in California higher education. The bill would designate institutions that enroll high numbers of Black students and demonstrate a commitment to supporting them as Black-Serving Institutions (BSIs). The designation would occur when a California college or university has a Black student population of at least 10% or 1,500 students and meets other requirements such as offering co-curricular learning opportunities or campus affinity centers for Black students.

A BSI designation will serve a seal of excellence, one that lets current and prospective students know these campuses are explicitly committed to supporting them. All students would benefit from such a designation, both in terms of cultural competency and academics. One recent study found that all students achieve higher grades in STEM courses when classes are more diverse.

I know firsthand how much representation matters in the classroom. When I finished graduate school at UC Berkeley, I was one of only about 30 African Americans in the entire country who earned a doctorate in the field of engineering.

It was sometimes tough to not feel like an outsider when I as the only person of color in the lecture hall or laboratory, an experience that too many students still experience today. A BSI designation helps reassure Black students that they are in a place of belonging, with peers they can relate to and institutional support in place to help them achieve their academic goals.

Collectively, establishing BSIs is part of a systemwide effort to improve equity in higher education. I’d like to applaud our neighbors at Sacramento State for being honored in June as California’s first Black Serving Institution. UC Davis’ longstanding support of underrepresented students is part of this regional momentum.

That includes the 2015 founding of our Center for African Diaspora Student Success, which supports students with everything from academics and mentorship to health, well-being and professional development.

Through UC Davis’ African American Retention Initiative, we’re focused on recruiting and retaining African and African-American students. We organize events to help build community, like our annual Black Convocation that bring students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members together.

Such efforts are moving UC Davis in the right direction. Last year, enrollment of African Americans rose by 22.5% and they accounted for 4.7% of new California undergraduates. Our graduation rates for Black students have increased dramatically. For freshman and first-year students, four-year graduation rates for Black students have increased from 30% to 52% over the last 20 years

I urge Gov. Newsom to sign SB 1348 into law. It would show the nation that California is at the forefront of advancing social equity and student success on our campuses.