Dear Colleagues,

You are probably aware that California has just opened up vaccination availability to include ages 16+ -- which means that our undergraduate students are now eligible, and signing up fast for the first available slots. You’ve been so wonderfully compassionate to students over the many months of this pandemic, as they’ve encountered challenges with isolation, technology, and other stressors. In that same spirit, I hope you can be understanding as some of them experience the short-term but significant side-effects that may follow their vaccinations.  

Last week, when I was walking home at day’s end through the North Torrey Pines Living & Learning Neighborhood, I came across a lovely scene. A pair of students were giving a distanced musical performance from atop the small oval stage at the west end of the neighborhood. Their peers were clustered in well-separated pairs and trios on the adjacent grassy slope, enjoying take-out meals from the new dining areas nearby. The golden evening light, the warm air, the live music, the small groups of friends -- it was such a joyous moment to see them responsibly enjoying the community and campus together.  

It is also a harbinger of better, more connected times ahead for all of us. You’ve already seen announcements about greater access to research spaces and offices for faculty and researchers who would like to do academic work on campus again. Yesterday, we were able to open up opportunities for vaccinated employees to have small indoor masked-and-distanced in-person business meetings (strictly without refreshments) and for small groups of students to study or socialize outside while masked and distanced. In the coming weeks, we’ll also start working together to consider how to thoughtfully transition the work of staff colleagues back to campus settings, in preparation for the opening of a predominantly in-person fall quarter.   

As we begin spending more time together in person, I hope that we will keep paying attention to how we interact with each other so that everyone can feel supported and able to thrive at UC San Diego. Our recent HSI Summit and next week’s Enhancing the Black Student Experience Summit offer concrete ideas about partnerships and allyship to improve campus climate. I expect that the upcoming Commencement Address by UC San Diego Alumna and co-founder of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Alicia Garza will further inspire us on this path.

Wishing you all the best for the spring,
Elizabeth H. Simmons