Food for Thought engages faculty, staff, and students in exploration of equity, inclusions, and connections

​Throughout the 2020-21 academic year, the UCI School of Education Climate Council developed ways to keep faculty, students, and staff connected and engaged with one another while working and studying remotely.
 
One inspiration, organized by doctoral student Qing Zhang; Geneva Lopez, director, Ph.D Program, and Assistant Professor Brandy Gatlin-Nash, is Food for Thought, which used cooking as the medium to create a friendly, casual, and safe space for the School of Education community to learn about each other’s diverse experiences and perspectives while engaging in healthy discussions around equity and inclusion.

“The idea underlying Food for Thought was to support groups that cut across our various workplaces and units to learn and work together toward anti-racist goals,” said Elizabeth Peña, professor and associate dean of faculty development and diversity and co-chair of the School’s Climate Council. “I think that we can learn a lot from each other, but we have to make the space to listen and act.” 

“I have to credit Ph.D. student Qing Shang for being the mastermind behind Food for Thought,” Gatlin-Nash said. “She came up with the idea and did most of the work behind writing the grant and organizing the virtual meetings. It was a fun and, at least for me, safe space to talk about issues of diversity and equity. We learned so much about one another’s cultures and realized we have way more in common than we originally thought.”
 
Three Food for Thought events, held during the fall quarter, generated broad participation from across the School of Education community, including undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students, postdocs, as well as faculty and staff members. The discussions addressing equity and inclusion emphasized respect for other’s viewpoints were introduced by activities designed to engage participants in reflective thinking.

Associate Professor June Ahn prepares to cook at home following recipe for collard greens provided by Assistant Professor Brandy Gatlin-Nash

During the first week’s word cloud activity, participants shared their understanding of various terms associated with equity and inclusions, such as open-mindedness, empathy, redistribution, and justice. The second week activity included a discussion of how brains are hard-wired to recognize patterns and ways in which patterns can be disrupted. For the final session, small groups identified ways to create an open and inclusive community and then shared their perspectives in the larger group.  ​

“The discussions are always engaging, respectful, and thought-provoking,” Zhang said. “Participants frequently express their appreciation to this format as it helps them learn more about people from all affiliations in our community in a congenial environment.”
 
“It was so nice to see our community come together and engage with each other over the one thing we all enjoy – good food,” Lopez said.
 
Food for Thought was one of three programs funded as part of the School of Education Open Spaces: Advancing Ideas initiative. The initiative solicited proposals that would provide opportunities for participants to come together as a community to identify tensions, develop equitable practices and interaction, and lead to specific recommendations for change and improvement. In addition to Food for Thought, the initiative funded the Center for Educational Partnership Book Club, and Undergraduate Student Support Hub Mentorship Program

Undergraduate student Pamela Lopez prepares ingredients for cooking undergraduate student's Young Ku's Gochujang Sausage Stir Fry

​A second Advancing Ideas initiative is planned for fall quarter 2022.
 
September 17
Guest chef: Assistant Professor Brandy Gatlin-Nash shared her recipe for Southern Style Collard Greens and Cornbread (access recipe here)
Discussion topic: Exploring the meaning of equity and inclusion
Discussion facilitator: Doctoral candidate Qing Zhang
 
October 15
Guest chefs: Undergraduate Victorya Vargas, shared her Pozole de Pollo Verde recipe (access recipe here), and undergraduate Young Ku shared her recipe for Gochujang Sausage Stir Fry (access recipe here)
Discussion topic: Understanding power, privilege, implicit bias, and marginalization
Discussion facilitator: Assistant Professor Gatlin-Nash
 
November 19
Guest chef:  Patricia Anderson, Assistant Director in the Center for Educational Partnerships, shared her recipe for of Chicken Adobo and Sinangag (garlic fried rice) (access recipe here)
Discussion topic: Creating an open, authentic, equitable, and inclusive community
Discussion facilitator: Geneva Lopez-Sandoval, Ph.D. Program Coordinator