Student Affairs has launched a new African American Initiative that will enhance outreach, recruitment and retention efforts for African and African American students.

As we consider the most pressing challenges to increasing and enhancing the presence of African American undergraduate students at UC Davis, a three-fold approach is demanded:

• Grow and strengthen the pool of competitive applicants through strategic recruitment
• Increase the number of admitted students who choose to enroll at UC Davis through effective and impactful yield efforts
• Implement strategies that will support retention and persistence among enrolled African American students

As part of the initiative, the UC Davis Center for African Diaspora Student Success was opened fall 2015. Dionica Bell, director of Strategic African American Retention Initiatives, is the Center's director.