March 2, 2009
 All of us at the University of California are pleased that our federal government recognizes that higher education institutions have a key role in our nation’s economic recovery. We are part of the solution—the University trains tomorrow’s skilled leaders; creates tens of thousands of jobs and dozens of start-up companies formed by university faculty, alumni and students; provides advanced patient-care services and innovative drug therapies; and produces cutting-edge technology that improves the lives of Californians and people around the world.
Now that the federal economic stimulus package has been signed and our state budget has been passed, we’re all waiting to see what this means for the University of California, and specifically UC San Diego.
The Latest Budget Information Now Online
We’ve created a new budget Web page with the latest news and information about the effect of the troubled economy on UC San Diego. In addition to providing updated news and resources, we’ve posted our guiding principles for our annual budget process and steps we’ve taken to become more efficient and cut costs. We’ve also added an area for your cost-saving suggestions. We want to hear your ideas about additional ways we can streamline processes and save money. On the site, you’ll also find a video of the Feb. 12 campus-wide Town Hall meeting regarding our economic challenges. I was pleased to see so many students, staff and faculty in attendance. Thank you for your input and questions, your passion for campus programs and dedication to the university. I pledge to you that the heart of the university will not be allowed to erode. We will stay true to our Principles of Community. We will maintain our excellence in education, research and public service.
I will host another Town Hall meeting from 5 to 6 p.m. March 26 in the Medical Center Auditorium at the UC San Diego Medical Center in Hillcrest.
Campus Housing Project Breaks Ground
Despite the troubled economy, we’re fortunate that we’re able to forge ahead this month with the groundbreaking on March 6 of a new graduate and professional student housing project on the Health Sciences section of campus. Housing and Dining is a self-supporting operation, and is not dependent on state funding. So we’ll be able to start construction and take advantage of the lower material and construction costs. We’ll also immediately provide 150-plus jobs for builders and workers.
This project will also bring us closer to our goal of housing 50 percent of our students on campus. We are currently in the midst of the most aggressive housing construction program in the University of California system and probably the country. We’re aiming to add 4,000 beds in a four-year period. We currently house 2,600 graduate and professional students, but demand continues to outstrip availability. This new construction, when it’s completed next fall, will add 450 beds.
Campus housing is a priority for us, for many reasons. Our students have asked for more on-campus housing because it adds to their social and intellectual experience. It enhances our efforts to attract the world’s top graduate and professional students. Campus housing also supports our sustainability initiative, as the building will be certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), meaning it will be a sustainable, green building. We gain an added benefit—with more students living on campus, we decrease traffic on and around campus and lessen the demand for parking.
New Child Care Center Opens
We are committed to supporting our students, staff and faculty, and their need for part-time and full-time child care. As the mother of five boys, I understand the need for dependable and flexible child care options. Now, with the addition of the Mesa Child Care Center (MCCC) on Regents Road, we’ve added space for 48 children, aged 2-and-a-half to 5 years old, who need partial day care. The MCCC offers morning or afternoon sessions, small class sizes, state-certified teachers, opportunities for parental involvement and hands-on, child-driven learning. The MCCC is an extension of the services already provided by the university’s Early Childhood Education Center (ECEC), which will continue to provide full-time care for 210 children, aged 3 months to the kindergarten years. We are proud to have ECEC accredited with the National Association for the Education of Young Children, in conjunction with all University of California child care sites. We are also working towards a LEED certification for our new facility. For more information about child care at UC San Diego, click here.
University Recognized for Energy, Climate Change Efforts
I was honored to represent UC San Diego last month when I picked up a certificate of recognition from the Clinton Global Initiative University 2009 conference in Austin, Texas. Two of our students, undergraduate Katie Merrill and Rady School graduate student Richard Woodbridge, also attended the meeting, which focused on engaging the next generation of leaders from college campuses around the world to discuss solutions to pressing global issues. The university was recognized for our revolutionary climate change research and superior efforts in energy conservation and use of renewable energy sources. We have made a commitment to be a leader in sustainability and environmental stewardship, and we’ve set the bar high for innovative, energy-efficient urban transportation. We are about to be the first university in the country to deploy compressed natural gas (CNG) hybrid bus technology that will nearly eliminate carbon emissions from campus shuttle routes. We are also expanding the support of alternative transportation in an effort to further decrease single-occupancy vehicles on campus. We are leading by example and effecting change on campus and in our world.
Stem Cell Consortium Wins Collaboration Award
The Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, composed of four partnering institutions—UC San Diego, The Scripps Research Institute, Salk Institute and Burnham Institute—recently received the Regional Unity Award from the San Diego Chamber of Commerce. The award recognizes the Consortium’s efforts to bring together the people and interests of our region. The Consortium was established in March 2006 to marshal the intellectual resources of the four leading institutions in life sciences research, and bring together scientists from each organization to conduct joint research and training programs in stem cell research. We know that success from our partnership will be greater than the sum of our parts.
We’re excited to be moving ahead with construction of the new facility that will house the collaborating scientists. The California Coastal Commission has unanimously approved the Consortium’s coastal permit application, so we hope to break ground on the new building in the near future. The facility will be located at the corner of North Torrey Pines Road and Torrey Pines Scenic Drive, adjacent to Torrey Pines Center South. It will be ideally situated near the four partnering institutions. We look forward to the groundbreaking, the opening of the building, and the collective and innovative research that will one day improve and save lives.
Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Roger Revelle
UC San Diego wouldn’t be the world-renowned institution it is today if not for scientist and university founder Roger Revelle. In honor of what would have been his 100th birthday, the university and Scripps Institution of Oceanography will celebrate the life and legacy of Roger Revelle this month. It was Roger’s hard work, vision and determination that led to the establishment of UC San Diego in 1960. As we approach the university’s 50th anniversary, we can look back at our achievements and our rise in stature as one of the nation’s leading research institutions and thank Roger Revelle. He wanted a university that would be distinctive and research-focused. He helped acquire the land for our campus. He led the recruitment of our first faculty members, the world’s top scholars and innovators, people who were creative and inspired their students to be inventive. He helped create the collaborative and interdisciplinary ethos of UC San Diego, and our tradition of excellence. And he did all this while serving as director of Scripps from 1951 to 1964. He was also one of the world’s most prominent oceanographers, and he was a world leader in the application of science and technology to help solve problems in developing countries. His groundbreaking research in climate and marine science formed the basis on which we continue to build our current research. We will always be grateful for his vision and leadership, and for his contributions to science, which still have an impact on our community and world today.
If you’d like to join in the celebration of Roger Revelle’s life and legacy, Birch Aquarium at Scripps will host a birthday party, complete with cake, on March 7, Roger’s actual birthday. The event will be held from 11-11:30 a.m.
UC San Diego Holds Inaugural Women’s Conference
All UC San Diego staff members are invited to attend the first-ever Women’s Conference on March 11 in the Price Center East Ballroom. The theme is “(Re) Defining the UC San Diego Woman: Empowering YOU during Changing Times.” Employees will learn how to take charge of their careers and be more proactive in seeking professional and personal development. This is also an opportunity for staff to network with colleagues, hear personal success stories, and learn about the benefits of mentor relationships and valuable resources on campus. For more information on the conference, click here.
Kyoto Symposium Lectures Free and Open to the Public
We are pleased, once again, to join with San Diego State University and the University of San Diego in hosting the annual Kyoto Laureate Symposium in San Diego March 18 to 21. We are especially delighted this year to host Anthony James Pawson, winner of the Kyoto Prize in “Basic Sciences,” which this year focuses on the field of Life Sciences: Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Neurobiology. Pawson will present his lecture from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 19, in Price Center Ballrooms A&B. He will discuss how our cellular dialogue works, what goes wrong with the communication process in diseases such as cancer, and the possibilities for new therapies opened by this understanding. For more information on this lecture, and the lectures at our partnering institutions, please click here. All lecture events are free.
One of the benefits of studying or working at a leading research university is the opportunity to attend lectures by world-renowned, award-winning scientists. I was pleased to see hundreds of students, faculty, staff and community members at the Feb. 18 lecture by our newest Nobel Laureate in chemistry, Roger Tsien. His engaging presentation to the standing-room only crowd in the Price Center Theater covered his early work with the Green Fluorescent Protein and how it became an important scientific tool, his personal experience receiving the Nobel Prize in Sweden, and the keys to his scientific success. You can watch the lecture in its entirety by clicking here.
Despite these difficult economic times, I know that together we can preserve the extraordinary quality of UC San Diego and the university will emerge stronger in the future. I thank you for your support, your patience and your loyalty.
With warm regards,
Marye Anne Fox
Chancellor |
