Dear Colleagues,
As the New Year is a time for reflection and resolution, I am writing to share my thoughts and invite you into a renewed partnership. During 2021, while our university community continues working to resolve the pandemic, I believe we must also renew our determination to eliminate the societal inequities that recent events have thrown into such sharp relief.
In the last year, our university has been widely recognized for tremendous achievements in education, research, and social engagement. In parallel, multiple reviews have emphasized that in order to become a truly inclusive community, we must unify our approaches to making every member of our university feel informed, mentored, valued, heeded, and enabled to do their best work.
We have a common set of aspirations for the members of the university community:
- For every member of our diverse student cohort to succeed academically, engage in research and innovation, enjoy a rich co-curricular experience, be supported in health and well-being, and be prepared for a fruitful career and lifelong engagement with UC San Diego;
- For every member of our diverse faculty and staff to achieve distinction in their varied professional roles and have a sense of agency, belonging, and impact within a mutually supportive community at UC San Diego.
As our university has undergone rapid expansion, various schools and offices have created unique programs that address the needs of individuals in particular disciplines, career paths, or personal circumstances. Yet, these valuable programs cover only a fraction of the university community. If we are to truly erase the opportunity gaps that divide us, we must find ways to reach everyone.
I therefore invite you to join me in “Erasing Opportunity Gaps via Collective Impact” – an initiative to leverage and enhance the disparate mentoring, training, and support systems at our university that have the potential to jointly improve the experience, climate, and performance for all of our students, staff, and faculty.
I’ll be in touch again in the coming days to provide further context, along with opportunities for you to strengthen this joint enterprise with your ideas and energy.
Best wishes for a productive and increasingly hope-filled new year,
Elizabeth H. Simmons
Executive Vice Chancellor
Academic Affairs
