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Dear Colleagues,
The start of a new academic year can be a good time to reflect on foundational elements of our mission as a public research university. A topic that has been receiving significant attention recently is global engagement. UC San Diego’s international colleagues, partnerships, and programs are essential to our ability to pursue the most important intellectual issues of our times and to broadly educate the next generation of scholars, citizens, and leaders. We are currently strengthening our Global Initiatives division to better support international students, scholars and staff and facilitate transformational global research and educational opportunities throughout the university.
Internationalization plays an important role in the preparation of our undergraduate and graduate students. Equipping our students to analyze and quickly adapt in a fast-paced global environment and teaching them the value of multicultural perspectives and varied linguistic and cultural contexts can rarely be conveyed better than when a student is engaged in the high-impact practices of studying or doing research abroad. Broadening access to international academic experiences is thus an important facet of our efforts to close equity gaps between students of different backgrounds – a major element of UC San Diego’s Strategic Plan.
As I discussed in a recent interview with the Institute for International Education Networker, applying the principles of Collective Impact within our Global Initiatives division can promote more equitable educational outcomes. Collaborative work by faculty, staff and senior leaders during our 2019-22 ACE Internationalization Lab has already set the stage for reducing equity gaps. Moving forward, issues like unequal access to study abroad opportunities for underrepresented students can be tackled more effectively when colleagues working on separate initiatives fostering underrepresented students’ academic success resolve to work toward common goals and measure their progress using agreed-upon metrics. By refreshing our definitions of “what counts” as a global academic experience, providing opportunities that are flexible in terms of time commitment and costs, and offering a broad portfolio of international opportunities, we will enable more of our students to reap the benefits of global research and study.
UC San Diego’s dedication to continuous improvement and collaborative engagement through Collective Impact is part of the magic that makes us such a research powerhouse and an amazing educational institution. I look forward to hearing from you about how we can all continue to achieve more by working more closely together.
Best Regards,
Elizabeth H. Simmons
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The easiest way for us to talk is to come in during my office hours. |
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Read the latest EVC blog post...
UC San Diego Appears at the Top of the Rankings, Again
Once again, UC San Diego has risen even higher in several well-known and well-respected rankings.
The 2023 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) has recognized the University of California San Diego as No. 4 among public universities in the United States, rising one spot from last year. UC San Diego also jumped two spots to No. 19 in the world in the latest edition of the annual ranking released by Shanghai Ranking Consultancy.
Our position in the 2023 Academic Ranking of World Universities highlights what so many of us who work here already know – this is a community of scholars focused on thinking further and pursuing discoveries others would not even dream of.
And UC San Diego jumped two spots to be named the sixth best public university in the United States according to the 2024 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings released last month. Overall, UC San Diego ranked No. 28 on the complete list of over 400 of the nation’s colleges, jumping six spots from last year.
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Nobel Laureate Donna Strikland to Speak On Campus
Nobel Prize Laureate Donna Strickland, one of only five women to be awarded the prize in Physics, will speak about her work and winning the Nobel Prize on Thursday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. Strickland, a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Waterloo, will discuss her award-winning work in high-intensity laser physics. Strickland’s talk is one key event planned as part of UC San Diego Department of Physics celebration of the 60th anniversary of Maria Goeppert Mayer receiving the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963. Mayer, one of UC San Diego’s founding faculty members, was the second woman to receive the prize. To register to attend the Strickland lecture, please visit the event registration page.
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Celebrate Latinx Heritage Month
UC San Diego’s Latinx community is growing and the campus is commemorating Latinx Heritage Month through a series of events that will continue into November as part of this year’s theme: "Todos Somos, Somos Uno: We Are All, We Are One." For more information about Latinx Heritage Month, please visit the heritage month website which includes an event calendar and additional resources.
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Fallen Star Open for Public Tours
“Fallen Star”— the tiny blue house that defies gravity — reopened for public tours on September 27. Created in 2012 by artist Do Ho Suh for UC San Diego’s Stuart Collection, the vertigo-inspiring, fully furnished home that sits atop Jacobs Hall includes a rooftop garden with stunning views of the campus. Tours are available on Wednesdays for groups and Thursdays for individuals, from 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., and reservations required. Book your individual or group tour today at stuartcollection.ucsd.edu
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Academic Personnel Initiatives Aim to Improve Transparency, Efficiency and User Experience | |
Academic Personnel is launching a number of initiatives intended to improve the efficiency of the academic personnel (AP) system and provide transparency to faculty and staff alike regarding the status of the academic review process. In addition to these new initiatives, Academic Personnel Services will continue implementation of enterprise systems to support academic personnel processes, and use AI tools to help faculty and staff navigate AP policies and processes. Each initiative being launched is driven data and incorporates pilot testing so end-user feedback will drive further improvement. A memo detailing these initiatives is available for review and EVC Elizabeth Simmons will be addressing the initiatives at the October 10 Representative Assembly meeting.
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Reminder to Complete the 2024 Summer Programs Inventory
While it may seem early to start thinking about next summer, it is essential to begin collecting preliminary information about all of the invaluable research, pre-college, enrichment, and new student programs taking place this upcoming year. In order for the campus to plan for and allocate support resources needed for you to efficiently and safely facilitate your program(s), we need your help. At your earliest convenience, please take 5 minutes to complete the 2024 Summer Program Inventory. The priority deadline for completion is Oct. 18, 2023 and is for all programs, especially those in need of Housing, Dining and Hospitality Services. While the form will remain open beyond October 18, (space and resources will be allocated on a first come, first served basis), we need this information to be able to best plan for external/visiting conference groups that are critical to HDH operations and also help subsidize the conference rates for internal programs. For questions, please email Rocco Fragomeni, Director of Summer Planning.
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Ambassador of the European Union to the United Nations Visiting UC San Diego
Global Initiatives, the Institute for Supply Chain Management, the Institute of the Global Entrepreneur, and Rady School of Management, are hosting His Excellency Ambassador Olof Skoog, Ambassador of the European Union to the United Nations, on Monday, Oct. 9. As part of Ambassador Skoog’s visit, the campus is hosting two student-facing lectures/ panel discussions. These will be great opportunities for students interested in diplomacy, international relations, public policy, the environment, and/ or sustainability to speak with an international leader. The events are:
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Changemaker Challenge: Student-Driven Pathways to Address the UN Sustainable Development Goals, from 2 to 4 p.m. in Atkinson Hall
Attendees must RSVP for these events online. Please use the links above to register. For questions, please email Courtney Giordano.
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Academic Affairs - Finance and Administration (AAFA) New Name of Key AA Unit
The office of EVC - Resource Administration will be renamed Academic Affairs - Finance and Administration (AAFA) to better reflect the breadth of the work done by this office. Simultaneously, the title of AVC Marie Carter-Dubois will be changed to Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration. This renaming is designed to better align the nomenclature with the unit’s core responsibilities, which encompass finance, space and facilities management, human resources, and operational activities for Academic Affairs. These naming changes officially took effect on October 1, 2023. Websites will be updated in the coming months to reflect these adjustments.
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The New TritonPay System is Up and Running
The new TritonPay released on Aug. 2, 2023, provides improvements to the student billing and payment experience on campus. Student Financial Solutions has already received extremely positive feedback from students. In particular, students say they appreciate how easy it is to navigate and use the new system to view and pay their bills. Student Financial Solutions (SFS) is grateful for the close collaboration with the Registrar’s Office and Financial Aid & Scholarships (FAS) in monitoring non-payment of mandatory registration fees and communicating with those students for proper resolution prior to cancellation of their fall quarter enrollment. This collaboration ensured that students did not have any issues with making payments due to the new system. Up next, the implementation team is working on integrating the same payment system to be used for housing and admissions deposits. If students have any questions about their bill, please direct them to Student Financial Solutions.
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Artificial Intelligence Guidance Available
UC San Diego is investigating ways to leverage AI to streamline and improve campus operations. IT Services at UC San Diego is implementing AI technologies to help streamline administrative functions and has published a new site with AI Guidance at blink.ucsd.edu/technology/ai/ This site will serve as a platform for sharing more details about the exciting ways units at UC San Diego are utilizing AI to enhance administrative efficiencies and introduce tools to assist staff directly.
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Staff Mentorship Program Open to All UC San Diego Staff Members
UC San Diego has a workforce of more than 35,000 employees located throughout San Diego. Launched in 1996, the Staff Mentorship Program is an enriching professional development experience that is open to all UC San Diego staff members. The program matches mentors and mentees based on their interests and experiences with the goal of preparing mentees to grow in their careers and become leaders in their field. Mentor and mentee pairs meet once a month over a six-month period to discuss goal setting, networking and career planning. For more information about the Mentorship Program, visit their website.
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Innovative Researchers earn NIH New Innovator Awards | Two early career researchers at UC San Diego have been named recipients of the 2023 National Institutes of Health Director's New Innovator Award. | | | |
UC San Diego Computer Music Pioneer Wins Silver Lion Prize | The 128-year-old European cultural institution La Biennale di Venezia has announced that UC San Diego Qualcomm Institute Composer-in-Residence Miller Puckette has won the Silver Lion award for enabling | | | | | | |
