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Dear Colleagues,
In the midst of a busy winter quarter, I wanted to make sure you are aware of several recently-shared items that will hopefully answer many of your questions and improve your day-to-day experience.
Future of Academic Affairs Forum: Late last month, I hosted the second annual Future of Academic Affairs forum. This year’s hybrid event featured an overview and visioning for the future, as well as exciting updates from individuals involved with initiatives using the Collective Impact framework. You can see a recording of the event online. We will share more details as working groups continue to be formed and to enhance the great work happening across campus to erase equity gaps for students, staff and academics.
Guidance for dealing with protests: UC San Diego supports the right of all members of the campus community to freely express themselves, as long as that speech or expression does not infringe on anyone else’s rights. We all know that protests have played an important role in bringing about important societal changes throughout history. And, while all members of the university community have the right to free speech, actions that violate university regulations are not protected. Some guidance has been created and shared to help faculty and staff respond to protests and I wanted to share it here also.
GSR, ASE and Postdoc Contract Implementation: Last week, together with the Dean of the Division of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs (GEPA), I issued a summary of the steps the university is taking to maintain the strength of research and graduate education at UC San Diego. GEPA also hosted a town hall to provide additional information and answer questions about the implementation of the newly ratified contracts for these groups. In addition to the recording of this town hall, an extensive FAQ, as well as the slide deck from the town hall, can be found in the labor negotiations section of the university’s Updates website.
I hope to continue sharing this type of helpful information going forward to encourage transparency and collaboration throughout UC San Diego.
Best regards,
Elizabeth H. Simmons
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