Santa Clara Athletics Commits to Racial Reawakening

Athletic Department believes newly formed committee will enact real change

After several months of reflection, weeks of meetings and hours of discussions, members of Santa Clara University Athletics are ready for change. 

On Monday, the department revealed their newly formed Athletic Committee for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to address the much-needed racial justice reform on campus. The committee is made up of several coaches, athletic department staff members, eight current student-athletes and two alumni whose aim is to deconstruct systemic racism within Santa Clara’s athletic community. 

“This group can and will generate change,” Director of Athletics Renee Baumgartner said. “We are excited and hopeful that we have an opportunity to make a difference.” 

The committee designed core values with the acronym “CURE”—Celebrate, Unite, Represent and Educate. The goal is to implement concrete initiatives that will hopefully honor underrepresented student-athletes, create a diverse culture, uplift marginalized community members and motivate others to change. These values provide a plan of action and a sense of accountability for the department moving forward. 

The assistant athletic director Carl Reed explained how feedback from student-athletes themselves helped formulate additional initiatives. Liyah Lopez from softball and Zach Litoff from cross country and track and field generated ideas for a book club which now includes 40 student-athletes and 20 staff members.

An affinity group for Black, Indigenous, and people of color student-athletes, coaches and staff members has also been established, as well as diversity training for all student-athletes. There is also an emphasis on voter registration resources for the upcoming election. Additionally, there are ideas for marketing the CURE acronym in hashtags on social media, on Bronco merchandise and in promotional videos.

“The time and effort that the committee has taken to go deep versus wide has been key,” Reed said. “We could’ve easily come out with something in July, but we truly felt that that would’ve been just checking a box. We wanted to take some time to really dig deep, or as Renee likes to say ‘peel back the onion’ [so we can] change the culture and climate.”

Another goal of this committee is to include as many voices as possible so that Santa Clara as a whole can move forward together. Anyone will be invited to participate in meetings and join discussions when they occur. The group will also work closely with Margaret Russell, the Associate Provost for Diversity and Inclusion, and Raymond Plaza, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion Director, so that CURE aligns with the university’s plan of action. 

“We’re not working in an isolated box,” Baumgartner said. “We’re working under the umbrella of Santa Clara to enhance the whole of the university, not just athletics.”

The group plans to meet at least once a month via Zoom, with the CURE values serving as a framework for meeting discussions. While the committee leaders recognize the time it will take for the culture to shift, they remain hopeful that they can become agents of change immediately.

“It’s time to CURE the many injustices that have been present in our society,” Baumgartner said. “Our group has laid the foundation, but it’s up to everyone now to do their part and make a difference.”