Mission

The Educational Opportunity Program is committed to serving the student body at UC Davis by helping students who are first-generation and low-income strengthen their academic skills to meet the demands of a research university. We strive to maintain a climate of academic excellence and maximize retention by providing peer counseling and other forms of academic, personal, and social support. We affirm our commitment to raising student awareness of current academic, political, and social issues. Through our programs, we recognize the need to appreciate, cherish, and celebrate the richness of our diversity.

History

The social upheaval and new consciousness of the 1960s brought significant changes to college campuses throughout the United States. The Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) was born as a response to the lack of support and advocacy for underrepresented students at UC Davis. EOP developed from a merger of the Urban Crisis Committee (a committee dedicated to the recruitment of students of color) and the Educational Aid Program (a scholarship program to facilitate the matriculation of Chicano, African American, Filipino, Native American and low-income whites on campus). Since then, EOP has remained a staple of the UC Davis campus community and continues to aid first-generation, low-income students by providing academic guidance, student advocacy, personal and social support, and financial assistance. In addition, EOP offers space for students to exchange and enrich their knowledge of the current social, political and educational issues that affect their university experience.

Graphic Element

This graphic element represents the Educational Opportunity Program's commitment to equity, community, and growth for our community of first-generation and low-income students. We acknowledge and honor the legacy of the four student communities; African American, Filipinx, Chicanx/Latinx, and Native American, who advocated for more support for underrepresented students at UC Davis, which birthed EOP. This image symbolizes the imprint of our community's collective effort, past and present, to uphold the mission of EOP for current and future generations of students, who will be the first of many to attend UC Davis.