DECADE- Graduate Mentoring Communities
DECADE- Graduate Mentoring Communities
Diverse Educational Community and Doctoral Experience (DECADE) is a joint program overseen by the Office of Inclusive Excellence and Graduate Division. Faculty Mentors and graduate student Representatives collaborate to improve Ph.D. and terminal M.A. program climate, equity, and diversity.
Graduate students:
To learn about DECADE resources and events, visit Graduate Division DECADE.
Mentors:
• Share best practices in graduate admissions and work with programs to recruit students who contribute to UCI’s diversity
• Serve as an additional resource for graduate student concerns
• Collaborate with graduate students to put on professionalization workshops and community-building events that focus on equity and inclusion
• Work with other Mentors and Equity Advisors to address systemic inequities impacting graduate student success in their units
Contacts in OIE:
• Associate Vice Chancellor Angela Jenks (ajenks@uci.edu) – Primary contact for DECADE Program
• Josh Block (jablock@uci.edu) – Project and Policy Analyst, Secondary contact for DECADE Program
Fall 2025 DECADE Mentors
Claire Trevor School of the Arts
Vitor Luiz De Souza Santos
Dance
vluiz@uci.edu
Rajna Swaminathan
Music
rkswamin@uci.edu
Juliette Carrillo
Drama
juliette.carrillo@uci.edu
Jibade-Khalil Huffman
Art
jibadekh@uci.edu
Charlie Dunlop School of Biological Sciences
Katrine Whiteson
Cellular and Molecular Biosciences Program: Molecular Biology & Biochemistry and Cellular & Molecular Bioscience
katrine@uci.edu
Nancy Aguilar-Roca
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
nmaguila@uci.edu
Liz Chrastil
Neurobiology & Behavior / Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program
chrastil@uci.edu
Sha Sun
Developmental & Cell Biology and Cellular & Molecular Bioscience
shasun@uci.edu
The Paul Merage School of Business
Mingdi Xin
The Paul Merage School of Business – Schoolwide
mingdi.xin@uci.edu
School of Education
Asli Sezen-Barrie
School of Education- Schoolwide
asli.sezenbarrie@uci.edu
The Henry Samueli School of Engineering
Quinton Smith
Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
quintons@uci.edu
Wenlong Jin
Civil & Environmental Engineering
wjin@uci.edu
Hung Cao
Electrical & Computer Engineering
hungcao@uci.edu
William Bowman
Materials Science & Engineering
will.bowman@uci.edu
Haithem Taha
Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
hetaha@uci.edu
Rónkẹ́ Ọlábísí
Biomedical Engineering
ronke.olabisi@uci.edu
School of Humanities
Alicia Carroll
Comparative Literature/ East Asian Studies
alicia.carroll@uci.edu
Annalisa Coliva
Philosophy/ German
a.coliva@uci.edu
Sri McCall
English
srimayeb@uci.edu
Sohail Daulatzai
Visual Studies/ Film and Media Studies
sdaulatz@uci.edu
Rasul Miller
History
rasulm@uci.edu
Rajapolan Radhakrishnan
Spanish & Portuguese and Culture & Theory
rradhakr@uci.edu
Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences
Sharad Mehrotra
Computer Science; Network Systems; Transportation Sciences
sharad@ics.uci.edu
Volodymyr Minin
Informatics & Statistics
vminin@uci.edu
School of Medicine
Marcus Seldin
School of Medicine- Schoolwide
mseldin@uci.edu
Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing
Sanghyuk Shin
Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing – Schoolwide
ssshin2@uci.edu
School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Lauren Albrecht
School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences- Schoolwide
l.albrecht@uci.edu
Joe C. Wen School of Population and Public Health
Nicole Sparks
Joe C. Wen School of Population and Public Health – Schoolwide
nrsparks@uic.edu
School of Physical Sciences
Greg Weiss
Chemistry
gweiss@uci.edu
Brett Walker
Earth System Science
brett.walker@uci.edu
Alessandra Pantano
Mathematics
apantano@uci.edu
Physics & Astronomy
DECADE-physics@uci.edu
School of Social Ecology
Doug Houston
Urban Planning and Public Policy
Houston@uci.edu
Ana Muñiz
Criminology, Law & Society
anamuniz@uci.edu
Jason Schiffman
Psychological Science
jason.schiffman@uci.edu
School of Social Sciences
Samar Al-Bulushi
Anthropology
salbulus@uci.edu
Alyssa Brewer
Cognitive Sciences; Language Science
aabrewer@uci.edu
Yingying Dong
Economics
yyd@uci.edu
Christopher Harris
Global & International Studies
christopher.paul.harris@uci.edu
Toby Meadows
Logic and Philosophy of Science
meadowst@uci.edu
Ann Hironaka
Sociology
hironaka@uci.edu
DECADE Targeted Activity Award
Starting in 2023, the Office of Inclusive Excellence will offer competitive awards to current and former DECADE Mentors to implement a specific plan to improve equity, diversity, and inclusion in their graduate program(s). Below are the funded projects:
Spring 2023
Professor Annalisa Colivia
Department of Philosophy
Mentoring Women and Marginalized Groups in Philosophy Summer Camp
The Philosophy Summer Camp aims to improve the pipeline into Philosophy graduate and PhD programs, especially for women and marginalized groups. Multiple faculty will lead the camp, and prospective applicants will be paired with current PhD students to provide an insider’s view of graduate education.
Associate Professor Simona Murgia
Department of Physics & Astronomy
Addressing Student Retention in Physics and Astronomy at UCI
This proposal will include a systematic review of available data on PhD student retention in Physics & Astronomy with attention to underrepresented student populations. Reviewers will develop a plan to track students’ paths, assess emergent issues, and address them to create a more inclusive and equitable graduate experience for all students..
Professor Alessandra Pantano
Department of Mathematics
Improving Student Satisfaction and Retention for Diverse Students in the Math Graduate Program at UCI
This proposal will revamp the “Jump-Start” program for incoming students to establish a strong foundation for courses and camaraderie with the upcoming cohort. Additionally, it will expand the peer-mentoring program to include affinity group meetings of Math and MCSB students with a common shared identity, such as underrepresented, women, and first-generation students.
Associate Professor Sanghyuk Shin
School of Nursing
Peer-Mentoring Program for Underserved Nursing Students: A Pilot Pipeline Development Project
This Peer-Mentoring program aims to increase enrollment of students from underserved backgrounds into the UCI Nursing PhD program. It creates pipelines with local nursing schools in Southern California through a five-month peer-mentoring program that includes on-site recruitment, peer-mentoring, career development and seminar series meetings.
Director Jason Schiffman
Department of Psychological Science
Proposal: Diversifying Clinical Psychology: Recruitment Event Series
Diversifying Clinical Psychology Weekend information sessions will be held over the next two years to recruit individuals from historically marginalized and underrepresented backgrounds. Attendees will hear from faculty and graduate students in the PhD program, learn about application requirements, career development, and how to obtain research experience. Networking opportunities include 1 on 1 work with graduate student mentors.
Spring 2024
Professor Yingying Dong
Department of Economics
“Research/Career Advice Speed-Networking Sessions”
This program organizes a series of rapid one-on-one meetings between graduate students and faculty. Faculty will receive quick updates from students and provide guidance to students they may not otherwise interact with. This awareness allows for better faculty support and expanded social networks.
Professor Hung Cao
Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
“Enhancing diversity and PhD student experiences in EECS”
This project provides networking opportunities and support through mentorship programs and pairing PhD students with an informal advisor. Participants are given the opportunity to supervise capstone projects to improve leadership and management skills and to travel to local schools to network and recruit potential researchers.
Professor Rajagopalan Radhakhrishnan
Department of English
“Peer-Led Recruitment Program: Strengthening DEI in the Spanish and Portuguese Department”
UC Irvine graduate students will lead recruitment activities at various MSIs, targeting graduating B.A. and M.A. Spanish students with the goal of increasing doctoral applications. Activities include campus visits as well as Zoom Q&A and application assistance sessions.
Professor Juliette Carrillo
Department of Drama
“Using Graduate Student-Led Webinars to Drive Equity-Focused Outreach to and MFA Application Number Increase from Diverse Californians”
This program aims to strengthen recruitment through graduate student-directed webinars to be shared with undergraduate sound & scenic design students in California and nationwide. After the webinars, UCI faculty and graduate students will maintain communication with undergraduate participants to share news and seed future MFA positions.
Professor Liz Chrastil
Department of Neurobiology & Behavior
“NBB Culture Club Lunch Hours”
This project creates space where the department can both interact in a casual setting and engage in guided conversations about DEI issues in a safe setting. The discussions center on scientific research articles related to bias, mentoring, or the academic environment.
Professor Andrea De Vizcaya Ruiz
School of Population & Public Health
“Embrace: Cultivating Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging in UCI Public Health”
This program hosts quarterly cross-departmental programs to help build a cohesive community in the new Wen School of Population & Public Health. Additionally, it will support inclusive research activities and career development for all Ph.D. students and generate a Toolbox for doctoral students to navigate their experience in the school.
History of DECADE Graduate Mentoring Communities
Founded in 2010 by Graduate Dean Frances Leslie, DECADE was originally funded through a Department of Education grant. The grant combined student programming with faculty mentorship into a comprehensive program aimed at improving the overall climate in graduate education at UCI. Provost Enrique Lavernia institutionalized the DECADE program in 2015. In 2016, the Office of Inclusive Excellence appointed Professor Roxane Cohen Silver to direct the DECADE Faculty Mentor Program. Starting in 2021, Sharon Block, Associate Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, oversees the DECADE Faculty Mentors. In September of 2023, Associate Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Angela Jenks began leading the DECADE Faculty Mentors.
Since its inception, DECADE has involved more than two hundred faculty Mentors and hundreds of graduate student Representatives. It has hosted a variety of programs, including lecture series, a book club, and numerous workshops.