View as Webpage

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

Keepteaching

Keeplearning

Keepworking

Message from EVC Simmons Congratulations to the UC San Diego Class of 2020!  And a hearty thank you to all of the dedicated staff and faculty who made our virtual Commencement possible. The Commencement website has recordings of the ceremonies, and the university is using feedback from participants to help us improve our online events in the future.  In this post-Commencement week, it was wonderful to see the Regents of the University of California endorsing the repeal of Prop 209 and the passage of ACA 5 . This is just one piece of the work that needs to be done to address structural racism and anti-Blackness in CA and throughout the UC system, as this interview with Athletic Director Earl Edwards reminds us. At UC San Diego, the academic deans of General Campus, Marine Sciences, and Health Sciences have begun working with members of their divisions on plans for reflection and action to combat systemic racism. They will be coordinating their efforts through the university’s EDI Strategic Plan and EDI Accountability Framework, in collaboration with the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.   I hope that everyone is able to take a bit of time to relax and spend time with family, now that the academic year is over -- and before summer session begins. -Elizabeth H. Simmons

Kicking off summer session Thank you again to our faculty and staff who supported the transition to remote summer instruction for our students. Compared to summer 2019, we have  increased the number of summer session courses by over 50% and increased the number of individual students enrolled by over 20% . Notably, this includes substantial participation by our own UC San Diego students from other parts of California. In prior years, they had tended to take (in-person) summer courses at the UC campus closest to their homes; this summer, they are taking advantage of the opportunity to take courses from our own faculty. Summer session and Summer Bridge programs play a critical role in supporting our students’ academic careers, helping them acclimate to the university and complete coursework towards their degrees.

Supporting international students and scholars The International Students & Programs Office (ISPO) and International Faculty & Scholars Office (IFSO) recognize that recent policy changes related to COVID-19 may raise questions among our international community members. Visit the Immigration Policy Updates page for information about the latest immigration policy announcements and advocacy efforts.

Changemaker faculty fellows The 2020 Changemaker Faculty Fellowship supports Senate faculty members who champion community engaged learning (CEL) at UC San Diego with up to $10,000 to integrate CEL into new or existing courses. Individuals or interdisciplinary teams are encouraged to submit proposals by July 24, 2020 . Review the Changemaker Faculty Fellows program overview for details.

Departmental tech liaisons During Spring 2020, the EVC’s Office provided funding for departments to compensate faculty tech liaisons who served as an additional resource to assist colleagues with the transition to remote instruction. In Summer 2020, we have arranged to fund lead tech TA’s in the divisions to serve as technical advisors for instructors during our summer sessions. In fall, we will, again, fund faculty tech liaisons, and provide additional resources and support through the Teaching + Learning Commons to help them collectively support their colleagues with remote instruction.

Fiscal year close and upcoming financial system changes After nearly three years of work as part of the campus ESR initiative, we will replace our campus’s financial systems with Oracle Financials Cloud and Concur on July 1, 2020. The changes will streamline, integrate, and generally improve the financial management of University resources. Before we can move to our new tools, all financial activities must be processed in our legacy systems. Major systems freezes will begin on Friday, June 19. Please review the cutover schedule as well as the campus notices regarding ESR financial system and departmental fiscal closing cut-off date s to make sure your unit is on track to close out the fiscal year and transition to our new systems. Check out the video below for an overview of the Financial Information System (FIS) project, including how the changes will impact faculty and staff.

Collaborative summer budget planning begins The Summer General Campus Task Force on Budget Planning Guidance was recently charged and will be providing guidance on how the General Campus divisions and colleges might handle some aspects of the reduction to campus funding collectively.  Each General Campus division is creating a Divisional Planning Group to meld the collective guidance with local detail and propose how to organize the division’s work within the funding available; the Colleges are jointly undertaking a similar planning exercise. The EVC’s recent presentation to the Chancellor’s Cabinet and the Representative Assembly includes background information and additional details about the planning process.

Landmark Open Access Agreement University of California (UC) and Springer Nature have announced that they have entered into a groundbreaking open access agreement , the first such agreement Springer Nature has established in the U.S. and the largest open access agreement in North America. The agreement enables UC authors who publish with Springer Nature to make their research freely available and includes reading access to more than 1,000 journals in Springer Nature's portfolio. Review the Library's press release for more information about the agreement and an update about ongoing negotiations with Elsevier.

Latest updates about the "Return to Learn" Initiative The Return to Learn Program successfully screened over 1,500 students for COVID-19 between May 11-29 ; fortunately, not a single one of these resident students tested positive for the virus. We are now using feedback from participants to identify ways to improve the screening process moving forward. Visit the Return to Learn websi te for more information.

Tenure clock extension toolkit The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruptions to the University, including the teaching, research, and service responsibilities of UC faculty members. UC San Diego will automatically extend the probationary period by one year for each assistant-level appointee whose appointment began on or before June 30, 2020. Senior academic appointees may choose to defer their academic review for one year. Review the COVID-19 Probationary Period Extension and Academic Deferral Toolkit for details and answers to frequently asked questions.

Keep learning with Extension UC San Diego’s Academic Connections program connects high school students with college courses that represent some of the most exciting fields of research at UC San Diego. This year, all summer courses will be offered remotely from July 6-31. Students who complete the program earn a Certificate of Participation and up to six units of Extension credit. Visit the Academic Connections program website to learn more and register by June 29 .  University Extension is also offering a number of free webinars geared towards faculty and staff. Visit their Eventbrite page to view recordings of past webinars and register for live sessions.

Library offers digital culinary collection As more people are cooking at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, the University Library has granted access to nearly 100 volumes of historic and rare cookbooks, manuscripts, and pamphlets dating back to the early 17th century. Review the press release to learn more about the project or check out the Library’s digital archive to view items in the American Institute of Wine & Food Culinary Collection .

Continuing to improve remote teaching and learning  UC San Diego is committed to building on what we have learned from our remote Spring Quarter to improve remote instructional, support services, and community building activities, as Chancellor Khosla discusses in his Op-Ed in the Union-Tribune . The systemwide Academic Senate has surveyed instructors about their experience with remote instruction during Spring Quarter and received nearly 5,000 responses from academics across all nine undergraduate UC campuses. The Systemwide Academic Senate also partnered with UC Office of the President’s Institutional Research and Academic Planning unit to incorporate questions about remote instruction into the UC Undergraduate Experience Survey (UCUES) that is currently being administered. View the draft report for the preliminary results of the surveys .

Triton Time professional development Staff are welcome to join weekly Triton Time professional development seminars offered by Student Affairs. View their calendar of events or sign up to host a Triton Time session.

Recreation introduces summer classes for whole family Recreation’s Playground is still open and offers a full lineup of classes for adults and young people available June 29 - September 4. Visit Rec Live for the calendar of events and get your free summer Playground pass.

UC San Diego ranked 8th U.S. public university The University of California San Diego has been ranked 8th among public U.S. universities by the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR), which evaluates 20,000 global universities. The campus was listed in the number 22 spot among all U.S. universities and was named 34th worldwide in the rankings. Review the press release for details, including information about outstanding faculty and alumni who help UC San Diego gain worldwide recognition.

Assistant Professor Sonya Neal named Pew Scholar Congratulations to biologist Sonya Neal, who was recently selected to join the Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences. “I am particularly excited about the Pew award due to its commitment to deep biological understanding, medical application and promotion of health,” said Neal. “With the Pew award, we will strive to understand a new emerging class of enzymes known as rhomboids and their contribution to protein homeostasis.” Read more .

Professor and Calit2 Founder Larry Smarr retires After 20 years of service, Professor Larry Smarr will retire effective June 30, 2020. Professor Ramesh Rao has been appointed as the interim director of Calit2, and a search committee will be announced in the fall to select a permanent new director. Review the recent campus notice for more information about the many accomplishments of both of these outstanding faculty members.

To Wear a Mask or Not, Is Not the Question; Research... A team of scientists from the University of California San Diego, Caltech and Texas A&M remotely put their heads together to analyze the transmission pathways of COVID-19. Their study confirms that face coverings determine the pandemic's trends... Read more ucsdnews.ucsd.edu

Visit the COVID-19 News Center

Have an idea for our newsletter? We'd love to hear from you!

Share your ideas