Hello Carolyn,

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

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

CARE at the Sexual Assault Resource Center has coordinated several campuswide activities for Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). This year’s theme, Tritons Take Action, empowers all to find tangible, daily ways to reduce harm in our communities and create healing spaces for the survivors in our lives. The initial goal of SAAM was to raise awareness about the prevalence of sexual violence but has since expanded to focus on community education and violence prevention. SAAM has been recognized at UC San Diego since 2007 and serves as an opportunity for all members of our community to get involved and learn more about our role in creating an anti-violent community. The complete Sexual Assault Awareness Month calendar can be found online.

Celebration of Cesar E. Chavez Scheduled for April

This year marks the 22nd annual community celebration of the life and achievements of César E. Chávez at UC San Diego. A community organizer and civil rights activist, Chávez championed the rights of farm workers and civil liberties for Mexican Americans. All are invited to join in a month-long celebration this April, which will feature numerous free programs centered on the theme “Recordando y Progresando Raíces: Remembering and Progressing our Roots.” Through these events, the campus recognizes the brave leaders who created change and impact for farmworkers and Latinx communities along with their history, challenges and progress in America. To view the month-long calendar of events, please visit the César E. Chávez event page.

Celebrate the 2023 Champions of Integrity



Need a little inspiration or positivity in your life? The 13th Annual Integrity Awards Ceremony will be held in the Student Services Center Multi-Purpose Room on April 19, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. At the ceremony the 2023 Champions of Integrity – members of our campus community who had the courage to put integrity first – will be celebrated. Gregory Patchell, Ph.D. Candidate in Mathematics, is being honored for his volunteer work on academic integrity, and Hema Kopalle, Ph.D. Candidate in Biology, is being honored for her work on addressing bullying in the workplace. Also speaking at the ceremony will be EVC Elizabeth H. Simmons, GEPA Dean James Antony and GPSA President Giulia Corno. For more information on the Ceremony and the Champions, and to register for the Ceremony, go to the UC San Diego Integrity Awards web page.  

Upcoming Town Halls

Staff Town Hall

Tuesday, April 25, 2023, at 10:30 a.m 

Register Online

Faculty and Research Town Hall

Tuesday, May 2, 2023, at 1:45 p.m.

Learn About the Impact of AI

The integrity of the teaching and learning mission of universities is facing a challenge unlike those experienced in the past with the growth of companies and people who will complete academic work on behalf of students and the launch of generative artificial intelligence that provides answers and assignments in a matter of seconds. We cannot keep teaching, learning, and assessing as we did in the 20th century, and we can't ignore our societal obligation to ensure that our degrees are accurate representations of a graduate’s knowledge and skills. A week-long virtual symposium - “The Threats & Opportunities of Artificial Intelligence & Contract Cheating: Charting a Teaching & Learning Path Forward”, April 17-21, 2023 – tackles this vexing issue.

This virtual symposium is divided into three parts: i) outlining the threats and opportunities posed by the contract cheating industry and artificial intelligence; ii) exploring the solutions for responding; and, iii) drafting a best practices document for adoption/adaptation by University of California community members in ensuring academic integrity. The symposium, sponsored and organized by the Academic Integrity Office at UC San Diego, is open to all University of California system members and is free of charge. Attend one or more of the live sessions. For more information and to register, go to the symposium webpage. Any questions should be directed to the symposium organizers at integrity@ucsd.edu.

Admitted Student Portal and Packet Showcase

Application decisions for undergraduate first-year applicants were released on Friday, March 17. Admitted students received their initial offer of admission through their online Applicant Portal, a comprehensive website that includes information on financial aid, welcome messages from campus partners, virtual booths, Admissions events and more. In addition to the portal, students are mailed a beautiful admit packet which features a “You’re In!” folder containing their admit letter, a fold-out banner to share their excitement on social media, a sticker sheet, a checklist of next steps, and the HDH Living on Campus brochure. A new Welcome Class of 2027 video also went live on YouTube featuring current students congratulating our newest Tritons, and a series of exciting Instagram Reels are available for students on the @ucsdadmissions Instagram channel. These projects are the culmination of a true team effort across the Admissions, Creative Services, and Financial Aid and Scholarships teams in Enrollment Management. Application decisions for transfer applicants will be released by the end of April.

A Conversation with Art Spiegelman, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Artist/Illustrator and Author of "Maus"

Join the UC San Diego Library on Wed., March 29 at 5 p.m. for a conversation with Art Spiegelman moderated by Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities, Cristina Della Coletta. Registration is required. Spiegelman almost single-handedly brought comic books out of the toy closet and onto the literature shelves. In 1992, he won the Pulitzer Prize for his masterful Holocaust narrative “Maus” which portrayed Jews as mice and Nazis as cats. “Maus II” continued the remarkable story of his parents’ survival of the Nazi regime and their lives later in America. This event is presented by the UC San Diego Library Author Talk Series in partnership with the Holocaust Living History Workshop, with support from Phyllis and Dan Epstein.

Honoring Grief and Healing After a Miscarriage

Miscarriage is a devastating loss and the emotional baggage it carries is often left unsaid and unaddressed. As healthcare professionals, when our patients experience loss, that is when they need us most. Delivering that message is never easy and a providers’ confrontation with this human suffering and emotional pain can take a toll on their own wellbeing.  To reflect on the emotions that come after communicating a pregnancy loss to a patient and/or experiencing a loss firsthand, join the Sanford Institute’s Center for Compassionate Communication for Hearing Myself Think: "I Never Went Back to Mourn": On Miscarriage. During this workshop, UC San Diego faculty, staff, and trainees have the opportunity to engage with powerful poems written by both providers and patients who have had to navigate the grief and healing process of miscarriage. Participants will be invited to reflect on these meaningful works together via Zoom. This event will be Tues., April 4, from 12 to 12:50 p.m. and those interested should register online. For any questions, email Erin Kinoshita at ekinoshita@health.ucsd.edu.

Bright Horizons Services Available to Employees Through the UC

UC offers Bright Horizons Enhanced Family Supports, a comprehensive web-based resource, to help employees balance work and family responsibilities. The Bright Horizons programs — including Sittercity, Years Ahead and Bright Horizons preferred enrollment — provide information about pre-screened care providers and services. This systemwide program is being offered in place of a previous, limited pilot program that offered some of the same services over the past few years. All employees with full, mid-level and core benefits are eligible for these services.

Summer STEAM Workshops at Sally Ride Science Academy

The Sally Ride Science Academy offers creative, engaging workshops for students in the 3rd through 12th grades. These programs bolster all-important STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) skills and are fun as well. As a bonus, each workshop completed  counts for 1.5 pre-college credits. Parents who register their students by March 31 will receive $20 off each workshop using the promo code UCSD4SRS2. You can explore all SRS workshops and enroll students online.