Hello Carolyn,

Welcome to the Academic Affairs newsletter. Browse updates and announcements, connect to tips and resources, and check out stories from around campus.

Message from EVC Simmons

Dear Colleagues,


I hope that the start of the winter quarter has been pleasant and smooth for each of you. And in that vein, I’m grateful for your efforts to start the new year off well for our students by completing any remaining fall grades; almost 98 percent have now been submitted to the Registrar – and we look forward to seeing the last grades get entered. 


The University has reached historic agreements with the UAW on contracts with the Academic Researchers, Postdoctoral Scholars, Academic Student Employees, and Graduate Student Researchers. We can be proud that our academic appointees will be among the best-supported in the nation. Many of you have been raising important questions about implementation of these contracts. Guidance letters and online FAQs are being prepared by GEPA and ORA, and these will be coming to you as soon as the details are finalized. I anticipate an initial release of critical information about decisions that must be made in the near future and then more widespread discussions among stakeholders about various longer-term issues.


People have also been expressing a desire to work together on strengthening our sense of community within UC San Diego in the wake of the many stressful weeks we have all gone through. Leaders throughout Academic Affairs have been strategizing about how to best promote this kind of healing. We anticipate that the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion will take the lead, likely through a combination of existing campus resources like the Center for Faculty Diversity and Inclusion or the Office of the Ombuds and collaboration with long-time external partners like the National Conflict Resolution Center. As we engage in this work, I hope that we will all refer back to our Principles of Community and to the concrete ways they are put into practice on our campus.


I want to thank each and every one of you for your time, effort, and dedication during the strike and for ensuring the continuity of education, research and our campus community at UC San Diego. 


Best regards,



Elizabeth H. Simmons

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Call for Programs: Women’s Herstory Month 2023


March is Women’s Herstory Month! The Women’s Center invites the campus community to contribute programs for UC San Diego’s 2023 Women’s Herstory Month calendar. The National Women’s History Alliance selects the annual theme which for 2023 is “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories.” The deadline to submit programs to ensure inclusion on the Women’s Herstory Month calendar is Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, at Noon. Programs can be submitted online. Those with questions or who need further please assistance should contact Assistant Director for Education, Hannah Aksamit at aksamit@ucsd.edu.

Upcoming Town Halls


Staff Town Hall

Tuesday, Jan. 31, at 10 a.m.

Register Online



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Attend the 2023 Future of Academic Affairs Forum


Join EVC Elizabeth H. Simmons on Thursday, Jan. 26, for this hybrid event being held in the Great Hall at UC San Diego’s International Center, and online via Zoom, as we begin 2023 by looking forward to new and continuing opportunities as a community, and reflect on the achievements throughout Academic Affairs in support of UC San Diego's goals. Over the last six years, our campus has accelerated its work to erase equity gaps for staff, academics and students, and we've made notable progress. Bringing people, data, and organizational support together through the principles of Collective Impact will make our individual efforts toward these shared goals even more powerful. Please register online for this event by January 24. 

The Teaching and Learning Commons Provides a Wealth of Faculty Programs and Services


UC San Diego’s Teaching and Learning Commons offers faculty a wide range of workshops, trainings, consultations and more on a variety of topics including:


For more information or details, please visit the For Educators section of the Commons website. 

Supporting Students in Distress



This Winter, Case Management Services will be facilitating training sessions for “Creating a Culture of Care: Supporting Students in Distress.” This free and interactive training is designed to assist faculty and staff in recognizing and supporting students in distress. A student in distress is a student whose academic progress or functioning in the university environment is adversely affected due to a number of indicators that are impacting their well-being and/or the well-being of others. This is an excellent training for any UC San Diego staff or faculty member that has high interactions with students.


Upcoming classes will be held:

  • Feb. 16, 2023, 9 - 10:30 a.m. (In-person)
  • March 16, 2023, 9 - 10:30 a.m. (Virtual)


Register on the UC Learning Center and search keyword “Students in Distress.” For more information, please contact Diana Go at dgo@ucsd.edu.

Services Available from the Triton Testing Center (TTC) and Proctor Pool Services



The TTC exists to provide secure and integrous testing services to students who need to take their paper-based tests outside the time and space constraints of the classroom. These might be students with accommodations or students taking make-up tests, but the center can provide the service to any student who is unable to test in the classroom for any reason. For detailed instructions on how to have the TTC host tests this quarter, go the Getting Started page on the Triton Testing website.


The TTC recommends that instructors register the testing dates/times with them by the end of week two even if they are unsure if they will need TTC services or if you haven’t yet finalized all of the conditions for the tests. Instructors can still submit requests to the TTC or Proctor Pool after week two, but they ask that instructors do so at least five business days before the testing date, but as soon as you possibly can.



The Proctor Pool is available to assist faculty with proctoring in-class tests. Individual course instructors can request in-class proctors using this form – https://forms.office.com/r/p11KwVWqEm  For questions, please email tritontesting@ucsd.edu.

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FSAP Support Groups for Neurodivergent Staff, Caregivers of Neurodivergent Kids and Working with Neurodivergence


The Faculty and Staff Assistance Program (FSAP) is now offering several opportunities for those with neurodivergence, and those who provide instruction or care for neurodivergent kids or students, to find support and exchange ideas through group meetings and consultation sessions. Christina Lambert, Ph.D., is facilitating a support group for employee parents and caregivers on Tuesdays in the Winter 2023 Quarter, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., and a group for staff on Thursdays in the Winter 2023 Quarter, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. The consultation hour for faculty is Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. 



For more information about these sessions, or for faculty requesting a private consultation, please contact Christina Lambert at cdlambert@ucsd.edu. 

Virtual Privacy Training Opportunity

The UC San Diego Privacy Office is hosting a 1-hour virtual training for Privacy @ UC San Diego on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023, 2-3 p.m. This fun and informative session will discuss the fundamentals of privacy and how individuals can protect themselves with the personal data they handle. Trainings will also discuss how UC San Diego handles personal data, including data about applicants, faculty and staff, research participants, alumni, online learners, public databases, etc. Attendees should register online via UC Learning. This training is ideal for anyone who handles personal data, IT professionals, managers, researchers, or any students, faculty, or staff who want to learn how to protect their own data. Training is also open to the public for anyone interested in learning more about privacy.

Campuswide Access to the Financial Times Now Available

The Library has partnered with the Rady School of Management to bring access to the Financial Times to all UC San Diego students, faculty and staff, who can now create a free personal account for the Financial Times news via FT.com. The membership license joins similar subscriptions to NYTimes.com and WSJ.com, offering our users direct access to major news publishers’ sites. Financial Times (FT.com) provides in-depth, independent reporting on companies, industries, policy, climate and technology, as well as travel, fashion, food and more. FT.com is one of the most widely-read and continuously-published English-language news sources, recognized worldwide for its journalism. Its daily news covers international business, economics, politics, arts and culture. Recurring features include Best Books of the Week, Climate Graphic of the Week and Special Reports that explain trending topics of-the-day. Visit the Library’s website for your activation link, registration instructions and more background information and register using your UC San Diego email address.

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UC San Diego Strengthens Native American Communities and Indigenous Scholarship

There is an exciting momentum at UC San Diego that is enhancing community spaces for Native American students, advancing research led by Indigenous scholars and inviting the next generation of tribal youth to experience what the university has to offer.

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