November 2, 2009
 “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” I begin with this quote from author Maria Robinson because a shift is occurring. Although we’re still reeling from the severe state budget cuts, the university community is dealing with present predicaments while also focusing on the future. We’re gearing up for the university’s 50th anniversary, supporting student scholarships and fellowships, advocating for the university, improving the environment and working to enhance the campus’ diversity. We are looking forward to brighter days.
UC Commission Looks at Future of the University, Group Visits UC San Diego
Responding to harsh economic realities, the University of California is developing a new vision for the university system. The UC Regents and Office of the President have established the UC Commission on the Future to chart a course to maintain the University’s excellence, access and affordability, and service to the state. Despite the severe reduction in funding support from Sacramento, we are committed to our educational, scientific and healthcare obligations. With five study groups, the Commission will focus on: size and shape of UC, education and curriculum, access and affordability, and funding and research strategies.
Study group representatives will conduct listening tours on each of the 10 UC campuses to hear from faculty, staff, students, alumni and administrators. A UC San Diego visit will be 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 6, in the Price Center East Ballroom. If you are unable to attend, you may submit comments by clicking here. The Commission is expected to make its first round of recommendations early next year.
UC San Diego Advocates Make Their Voices Heard
Thank you for your advocacy efforts on behalf of UC San Diego over the past year. Your supportive messages reached the Governor and California legislators at a critical time, and you made a difference. In all, UC San Diego advocates sent more than 3,200 messages. Your urgent pleas protected Cal Grants and the University of California’s constitutional autonomy, and swayed legislators to re-appropriate $67 million in construction funds for the Structural Materials Engineering building at UC San Diego – funds that had been cut.
As you know, an investment in higher education is an investment in California’s future. Our teaching and research mission creates new knowledge and new jobs, both essential to the long-term social and fiscal health of the state. Join us as we continue our advocacy efforts to ensure the excellence of the university. Please visit our campus advocacy website here. We appreciate your support.
Federal Research Funding Flows to UC San Diego
One of our main strengths at UC San Diego is our innovative research, which is a powerful magnet for state and federal funding. The National Science Foundation once again has ranked UC San Diego sixth among top U.S. universities in federal research and development expenditures for fiscal year 2008. With $491 million in federal R&D money, we rank above all UC campuses. Overall, our R&D expenditures from all sources total $842 million. UC San Diego has tremendously benefited from federal stimulus money through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. To date, UC San Diego researchers have been awarded more than $84 million to fund interdisciplinary and collaborative research in chemistry and biochemistry; biological sciences; cellular medicine; reproductive medicine; psychiatry; and neurosciences, among others. Examples of these research projects include: investigation into the biological bases of differences in human behavior; a study of how vertebrate nervous systems influence behavior and change; genetic studies of age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in adults over the age of 60; education of high school students about the importance of research and clinical trials in medicine; and new approaches to treating cancer.
Education Summit Seeks Community Partnership in Campus Diversity Efforts
We are partnering with the community to increase awareness about access to a UC San Diego education and initiatives that will ensure a diverse student body. On Saturday, Nov. 21, in the Price Center East, the UC San Diego Board of Overseers will host a community forum to discuss recruitment of underrepresented students. Advice from community leaders will help us to strengthen our outreach initiatives and underscore our message that UC San Diego is a premier institution here in their backyard. We are eager to attract more young promising students from underrepresented communities and look forward to the community’s counsel.
Our outreach efforts are making a difference in yield, but we know we must do better. One initiative – the early calling campaign – paired community and senior leaders with admitted underrepresented students. Personal telephone calls to admitted students served to welcome potential students to the campus community and encourage them to choose UC San Diego. Community forums, now called “An Evening with UC San Diego,” also draw hundreds of high school students and their parents in the South Bay, East County and Southeast San Diego. This year, due to the success of these forums, we’ll also hold a community forum for transfer students and middle school students and parents. I, along with representatives from the campus, speak to the families about the benefits of a UC San Diego education and topics such as admissions, financial aid and student life.
This year, we’ll tell them about the “Invent the Future: The UC San Diego Student Support Campaign” launched in September. Our goal is to raise $50 million for fellowships and scholarships for promising undergraduate and graduate students over the next three years. For more information on the campaign, click here.
Sustainability Resource Center Opens as Campus Recognized for Green Efforts
Want to learn about green jobs? Want to locate the nearest hydration station or find eco-friendly products? Soon you’ll be able to stop into the Sustainability Resource Center on the northwest side of the Price Center to discover the answers to these questions and more. It will be a one-stop shop for everything sustainability-related. In addition to providing support and resources, the center will also feature programs and events to engage our campus and local communities. The center, which officially opens on Nov. 20, will have a small library and public outreach space, and it will showcase a variety of sustainability research projects at UC San Diego. It will also house our sustainability administrators and staff and the Student Sustainability Collective, the student-managed subset of the center that will further our sustainability efforts through student empowerment and learning opportunities.
The Sustainability Resource Center space is, of course, sustainable. We’ve installed an innovative energy-saving lighting system; the countertops are made from recycled paper and glass; and we used eco-friendly paint. Part of the flooring is reclaimed from a demolished building and the rest is made of bamboo, a rapidly renewable resource. Our goal is to earn the highest Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for the space.
UC San Diego Makes the “A” Grade
Our sustainability efforts continue to garner national attention and serve as a model for other universities and organizations. UC San Diego was recently listed as one of the nation’s 26 greenest campuses by the nonprofit organization Sustainable Endowments Institute. On its 2010 College Sustainability Report Card, UC San Diego received an overall grade of “A-”, the highest awarded in the report card. UC San Diego received five “A” grades: administration, climate change and energy, food and recycling, student involvement, and transportation. The report card also recognized UC San Diego’s student “Econauts” and our competitions that encourage students to reduce energy use and waste.
Veterans’ Day Recognition Ceremony Honors Our Military Families
Please join the campus community for the 10th annual Veterans’ Day Recognition Ceremony at noon on Nov. 10 in the first floor conference room in the Natural Sciences Building. Congressman Bob Filner, Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, is our keynote speaker. We will honor our veterans, active service members and military families, and pay tribute to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our country and our freedom. At UC San Diego, we have a significant veteran population – nearly 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional student veterans and more than 350 members of our workforce self-identify as veterans. We also have an active UC San Diego Veterans Association and Student Veterans Organization. It is the efforts of these groups – and the efforts of the university to recruit and retain student veterans, and offer programs and assistance – that led to the ranking of UC San Diego among the top 15 percent of the nation's military-friendly schools by G. I. Jobs magazine.
UC San Diego Gears Up for 50th Anniversary Celebration
Next year, UC San Diego will mark its 50th anniversary, a significant milestone for a university that has already achieved so much in only five decades. The commemoration will take place between September 2010 and June 2011, and our theme will be “Achieving the Extraordinary.” We are currently working on a 50th anniversary website that will list all of the activities and events to occur during our year-long celebration. In addition, it features an historical timeline and interactive page where you can post your pictures and stories about UC San Diego.
Our goal is to reflect on our successes and achievements over the last 50 years and to look forward to the exciting things to come in the next 50 years. We will honor our founders and our supporters, our partners and our community members who shaped our history and continue to shape our future. We will showcase our impressive trajectory as a local, national and global leader in undergraduate and graduate education, academic research and innovation. We’ll also provide ample opportunities for the campus community to reconnect with old friends and fellow students, faculty, and staff members as we recount memories and make new ones. I look forward to sharing this anniversary celebration with you.
I began this letter with a quote because it gives me hope to know that even with the toughest beginning, such as the severe budget cuts we suffered this year, we still can have a positive outcome. I am encouraged every day by the staff, faculty and students that I see helping each other – with assignments and studies, daily tasks and job responsibilities. This is campus community that cares about each other and the university, and for that I’m very grateful. I look forward to our future successes and celebrating 50 years of excellence.
With warm regards,
Marye Anne Fox
Chancellor |
