I want to thank all the faculty, staff and team members who tuned in to the State of Health Sciences Address on October 27. I was joined by our three deans — Cheryl Anderson, PhD (public health); Brookie Best, PharmD, MAS (pharmacy); and Barbara Jung, MD (medicine) — and UC San Diego Health CEO Patty Maysent, and I truly appreciate their partnership in sharing our message.
Your engagement reflects our shared commitment to UC San Diego Health Sciences. Many of you told us you found the event valuable and would welcome more gatherings like it in the future. We plan to hold it annually.
A Pivotal Time for Health Sciences
It is a profound privilege, and a serious responsibility, to serve as your vice chancellor at this moment. Together, we are advancing a mission larger than any one school or unit. Our Health Sciences is powered by 24,840 individuals, and each of you plays a vital role in this vibrant ecosystem.
The State of the Health Sciences Address gave us a chance to commemorate our recent successes and growth together. For example, our academic and clinical enterprises continue to earn national recognition, and our combined revenue has grown by more than 50% over the past five years — an extraordinary achievement.
While there is no doubt we are moving through challenging times, this moment also calls us to focus on what’s possible. Across Health Sciences, we are working together to build more sustainable, adaptive systems — not just for now, but for the future.
Leadership at every level is responding with intention, from the UC Office of the President’s policy advocacy efforts to UC San Diego’s multidisciplinary working groups that are developing long-term approaches to strengthen how we educate, discover and deliver care. I’m confident our culture of collaboration and entrepreneurship will foster new and innovative solutions to the unprecedented challenges facing our institution.
Strategic Growth for Lasting Impact
Health Sciences is fully aligned with UC San Diego’s vision to be student centered, research driven, patient dedicated and service oriented. We are proud that the revised campus strategic plan now elevates “health care excellence” as one of six primary goals, affirming our commitment to improving human health, reducing disparities and creating sustainable, affordable systems of care and well-being.
As the region’s only academic medical center, we embrace our responsibility with pride, and in these uncertain times, we move forward with imagination, collaboration, resilience and innovation.
Thank you for the work you do every day, for the integrity you bring to it, and for the belief that our mission is worth striving for — especially now. I’m grateful to be on this journey with you, and I look forward to what we will continue to build together!
