The Roy L. Brooks Distinguished Lecture Series was established in response to the social unrest of 2020 and demonstrated by calls from students, alumni, staff and faculty to actively take a stand against anti-Black sentiment. Specifically, the 2020 Black Faculty letter, asked for the establishment of an annual lecture series that would bring an African American scholar to campus. While the establishment of this lecture series is in direct response to that request, it also signals the University's commitment to listen to and improve the experiences of Black Faculty on campus. The award is named after Professor Roy L. Brooks who has been a long standing member of our community, an award-winning and engaging teacher, broadly recognized legal scholar, prolific author of legal books and articles, and a respected and distinguished member of the legal profession and community. This year's Roy L. Brooks Distinguished Lecture Series will feature Dr. Renetta Garrison Tull, the University of California Davis' inaugural Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Join us for Dr. Tull's talk titled, "Getting What You Came For: How to Position Yourself as a Changemaker Through Mentoring, Perseverance and Agility" where she will share her journey to where she is today. This will be followed by an interview with Dr. Regina Dixon-Reeves on 4 key themes: (1) Mentoring (2) Being the only one or one of few (3) Persevering in the face of inevitable disappointments (4) Being strategic while remaining nimble and taking advantage of opportunities as they arise. Dr. Tull will also weave in stories of how she became interested in her career, steps she took, experiences she had, and what she might have done differently, if she had known differently.
