Growing up in East Los Angeles, Anita Madrid saw firsthand the educational disparities between the rich and poor, and at an early age, dedicated herself to educational equity and to serving and helping others. This dedication has shaped her professional career path that began as a K-12 teacher and later in 1973 when she became a member of the UC Berkeley Staff. During her 28 years at Cal, Anita held multiple positions including: admissions officer, recruitment counselor, associate director of the Academic Senate’s Professional Development Program, Senior Management Analyst under the Vice Chancellor for Business Administration, director of campus’ Staff Ombuds Office; and lecturer, teaching “Multi-Cultural Conflict Resolution” in the Peace and Conflict Studies Department.
In 1995, Chancellor Chang-Lin Tien invited Anita to lead UC Berkeley’s response to CA Proposition 209, the abolishment of Affirmative Action in California, and Special Policy 1 (SP1), the UC Regents’ decision to eliminate race, ethnicity, and gender from consideration in student admissions by 1997. “The Berkeley Pledge” was Chancellor Tien’s Initiative to fulfill the University’s historic promise to maintain diversity while preserving excellence. To launch the project, the chancellor committed $1 million of his discretionary funds.
Beginning Fall 1995 and through the next five years, Anita would enlist the cooperation of programs from a broad spectrum of campus academic, administrative, and outreach units, and work jointly with K-12 District leaders in San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland, and West Contra Costa Unified School Districts to develop and implement strategies that would preserve diversity at Berkeley and assure highly qualified graduating high school seniors of all races and ethnicities. Strategies focused on the five goals of “The Pledge”: (1) help strengthen K-12 schools, (2) enhance campus recruitment efforts, (3) keep Berkeley affordable, (4) create an environment that will foster student success, and (5) inspire undergraduates to pursue graduate studies and professional careers.
Just one year after implementation, the Pledge posted impressive K-12 gains using multiple performance assessments. During the 1996-97 school year, Pledge students made significant improvements in mathematics. In the 1997-98 school year, Pledge literacy programs were offered. In the 1998-99 school year, students made marked improvements in three areas – mathematics, reading, and writing.
As a result of these gains, the Pledge was hailed as a “National Model.” In the State of Education address (February 1998), U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley heralded the Pledge’s outreach efforts as “an example of how a great university can raise standards, open the door to college to those who have been excluded, and encourage racial conciliation…If you set high standards for everybody, you have to keep them. At the same time, every effort ought to be made to help people meet those standards, and this is especially true for those Americans who have never had a history or a chance to rise up.” The Berkeley Pledge “Model” subsequently influenced the direction of outreach efforts announced by the University of California President’s Outreach Task Force, as well as foundation and corporation funding guidelines for grants to schools and universities.
Following Secretary Riley’s visit to Adams Middle School in Richmond, The US Department of Education sent representatives to Berkeley to better understand the contributing factors underlying the Pledge’s remarkable success. After several days of campus and K-12 site visits, interviews and focus groups, the factor identified as most critical was Pledge director, Anita Madrid, and her ability to inspire and motivate. As a result of this visit, the Pledge was a model for the development of the multi-million dollar federal “GEAR UP” program, still operating today, which allotted five and six year grants to build school partnerships with universities and organizations throughout the country. Later that year, Anita was invited to work with the US Department of Education, and The National Center for Urban Partnerships selected her to join an elite team of education leaders who hold national training sessions to help colleges and schools build partnerships.
The Pledge also had an international impact. The Ministry of Education in Japan sent a representative to consult and observe Pledge activities and it was instrumental in the development of a five-year university partnership project developed in Ireland at the University College Cork.
That same year, Chancellor Robert Berdahl announced his continued support stating, “Through its associated programs and the impressive dedication of its staff and volunteers, the Pledge has shown what we have always believed to be true – that when students of all backgrounds are given an opportunity to excel academically, they will.”
In 2000, Anita stepped down from the Pledge. A testimonial to Anita’s leadership and the impact of the Pledge culminated in the publication of a multi-authored book, “Toward a Collective Wisdom: forging successful educational partnerships” was presented to Chancellor Chang-Lin Tien, and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Carol T. Christ at a reception in her honor.
Upon retirement in 2001, Anita continued to help and serve others as Associate Director of the U.S. Division of Partners for Democratic Change in San Francisco (2001 – 2002); a lecturer in the Peace and Conflict Studies Department at Berkeley (2004 – 2006); and a private consultant, providing training in conflict resolution for non-profit organizations. Ms. Madrid also served as a volunteer member of the East Bay Threshold Choir.
With much gratitude and appreciation, GOALS honorably salutes Anita Madrid for her immeasurable success, and positive impact in leading the campus in its efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion.
