Passionate Advocate to Chair
UC San Diego Diversity Council

Continetti brings focused leadership,
comprehensive experience, and inspired vision to Council

February 4, 2009

By Jan Jennings

Robert Continetti, chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego, has been named chair of the university’s Diversity Council, an advisory group to Chancellor Marye Anne Fox.

Robert Continetti

Continetti is a passionate advocate for the need for diversity on the UCSD campus and campuses nationwide. As chair of the Diversity Council he will lead a group made up of faculty, staff and students as well as representatives of the San Diego community.

“As chair of a physical sciences department and a former chair of the Graduate Council of the Academic Senate, I am keenly aware of the need to increase diversity across the campus,” said Continetti. “To continue the amazing trajectory taken by our institution in the nearly 50 years since its founding, it is essential that we learn how to involve all Californians in our programs.”

Continetti has focused his research on the physical chemistry of reactive intermediates in combustion and atmospheric chemistry. As chair of the Diversity Council, he succeeds Robert Cancel, an associate professor of literature. Cancel is credited with strengthening the council’s relationships both with the campus community and with the San Diego area. Continetti said he will strive to further strengthen the strong relationships Cancel has helped nurture.

“With his myriad personal and professional commitments to his home and family, to his science and scholarship, and to his department and this university, Continetti is also ready to roll up his sleeves and work on the Diversity Council,” said Sandra Daley, UC San Diego associate chancellor and chief diversity officer.

Daley said diversity is integral to the university’s achievement of excellence.  “It enhances the ability of the university to accomplish its mission and broadens and deepens both the educational experience and the scholarly environment,” she said.

“Particularly in these tough economic times it is essential that we do not lose sight of this imperative,” Continetti said. “I look forward to working with the entire campus community to continue the important work of the Diversity Council in advising the chancellor on how to effectively create a more diverse campus community.”

Daley said that “because the core mission of the University of California is to serve the interests of the state of California, it must seek to achieve diversity among its student bodies and among its employees. Access to the University of California is possible for talented students, staff, and faculty from all groups.”
Continetti said he has enjoyed teaching at all levels at the university, will continue that, and looks forward to making a positive impact on the diversity challenges at UC San Diego.

Diversity at UC San Diego refers to the variety of personal experiences, values, and worldviews that arise from differences of culture and circumstance. Such differences include race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, language, abilities/disabilities, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and geographic region.

Media Contact: Jan Jennings, 858-822-1684