In 1990, UC Davis published the UC Davis Principles of Community, an aspirational statement that embodies our commitment to living as a diverse intellectual community and serves as a basis for our shared vision of the campus community. It thus shapes interactions of faculty, students, and staff on our campus. 

The summer program orientation, held jointly with orientations for UC HBCU and other research outreach programs, will include a reading and discussion of the UC Davis Principles of Community as part of a conversation about campus wellness resources and behavioral expectations of all summer research students and their mentors. These expectations also are specified in the program handbook, which we distribute to all scholars and mentors.

We will hold part of the 4EC orientation at the UC Davis Native American Contemplative Garden to introduce the UC Davis Land Acknowledgement, which formally recognizes and pays respect to the Patwin people who lived where UC Davis stands today. Our Land Acknowledgement was written with members of the Patwin community and approved by councils of the three Patwin tribes from the region. Because the statement recognizes the relationship between indigenous peoples and the land, we will also ask scholars to learn about indigenous lands in their communities