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   November 6, 2025

   Vol. 6, No. 10       

A publication from the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor

Dear Colleagues, 

At UC San Diego, we care deeply about our students’ well-being and are aware of how this impacts their learning and academic success. Faculty and staff play an important role in fostering a supportive campus community where all students feel valued and can access essential resources. This is all part of bringing UC San Diego’s student centered vision to life.

Right now, many of our students, like their peers across the country, are facing challenges in meeting basic needs like food and stable housing. UC San Diego has been expanding on-campus student housing to help address this. Last year, campus-wide efforts also led to 32% more UC San Diego students being enrolled in CalFresh for food support compared to the previous year.  

Given the current uncertainties around government-provided food support, I would like to highlight the UC San Diego Hub Basic Needs Center, the campus resource that helps students access adequate food, stable housing, and financial wellness resources. The Basic Needs Center has resources for undergraduate and graduate students, including food support services for undocumented students (Yes Food), students with dependents (SwD), and international students (iTable).  

Right now, during the benefit pause for CalFresh, California’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the need for food support is especially high, and a campus-wide effort to provide emergency assistance to the Basic Needs Center has been organized.  

Here is how you can help the Basic Needs Center have enough food available for all UC San Diego students in need, including nearly 6,000 students impacted by the SNAP funding pause:

• Volunteer at a Food Pop-Up hosted by the Hub Basic Needs Center and Residential Dining: Fridays, Nov. 7, 14, 21 and Dec. 5, from 1 - 4 p.m. at Town Square and Graduate and Family Housing. Help with setup and/or breakdown, check-in, preparing grab-bags, check-in and scanning, line management, and pallet organizing. Light lifting will likely be required. 
Volunteer sign-up 

• Financial Donation: Advancement is inviting donors to support The Hub – Basic Needs Initiatives. Gifts will be matched 1:1 up to $50,000 by an anonymous alumni couple. 

• Donate Food or Host a Food Drive: The Hub is always open to receiving food donations to support their mission of making UC San Diego a more basic needs secure campus. In order to support our students during this time, if you are in an Academic Affairs unit and are interested in collecting items for donation to the HUB, the Office of the EVC will provide support in scheduling a time to pick up your donations and transporting them to the HUB. Please reply to this newsletter to share your interest in participating in this effort. You can also visit the food donations page to learn more about in-demand food items.

We know many of your units have organized food drives in the past for the Basic Needs Center, and we hope to encourage an even wider effort this year. Thank you for all that you do for our campus community and for supporting our students’ well-being in and out of the classroom. 

In partnership,

Elizabeth H. Simmons 

Just a reminder that the easiest way for us to talk is to schedule time during my office hours. Click the button below to find out about ways we can chat! 

Every November, the Intertribal Resource Center leads a campus committee in recognizing the achievements and contributions of Native American people and tribes. The committee is comprised of students, faculty, and staff, all committed to increasing the Native American presence on campus, supporting Native American students and honoring our local tribal communities. 

19th Annual Native American Heritage Month Celebration and Community of Roots Award 
Thursday, Nov. 13, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. 
Price Center WEST Ballroom B, 2nd Floor 

November 7-9, 2025 

Celebrate all that makes UC San Diego bold, curious and full of Triton pride. This spirited weekend is for everyone who calls UC San Diego home. From Division I athletics — including women's and men's basketball — to dynamic campus experiences and moments of discovery, the lineup is packed with excitement. 

Signature events:  

Friday, Nov. 7, 3 - 5 p.m. 
Location: Academic courtyard, Jacobs School of Engineering 

Celebrate 20 years of Tim Hawkinson’s sculpture Bear at UC San Diego with cake, crafts and photo opportunities. Bear's Birthday Wish: Bring non-perishable food to donate to the Triton Food Pantry as gifts for Bear. 

Saturday, Nov. 8, 12 - 2 p.m. at Franklin Antonio Hall 

This Homecoming, join Jacobs Scholars, faculty, and friends to celebrate a remarkable milestone — 25 years of the Jacobs Scholars program and its extraordinary impact. 

Monday, November 17, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. 
Town Square outside of Price Center 

County of San Diego Eligibility Workers will be on-campus with the Live Well on Wheels bus to provide direct assistance with CalFresh applications and EBT cards on the spot for approved applications.  

*Please note that even while SNAP/CalFresh benefits are delayed, students are still encouraged to apply to have access to benefits when they resume. 

Friday, Nov. 21, 2025 | Opens at 4 p.m. with formal program at 5 p.m. 
Arts and Humanities Building 

Faculty and student representatives from all six departments in the school and the Institute of Arts and Humanities will be featured, highlighting a breadth of activity, including individual research and collaborative activities to broad-based community partnerships. 

The event will include both a formal program and an open-house showcase of select participants. Free event open to the entire community. Light refreshments will be served. 

Thursday, November 20, 1:30 – 7:30 p.m. 
Design and Innovation Building 

UC San Diego Space Day: Forging Stronger Ties Between Universities and the Space Industry 

Join UC San Diego and top space industry leaders for an afternoon of idea exchange and collaboration, followed by a star-studded networking mixer. 

See the full agenda and Register

Thursday, December 4, 2025, 1 - 3 p.m. 
Price Center Ballroom West 

Seventh College's annual Synthesis Program SYNposium showcases student projects completed in the Synthesis Program, including interdisciplinary and multi-medium student projects spanning across SYN 100 sections. This free event is open to all UC San Diego students, alumni, staff, and faculty. 

Advocacy efforts keep our legislators, community members, and others informed and up-to-date on UC San Diego’s initiatives, achievements, and impact. Experts from across the university actively engage in collaborative and coordinated cross-campus efforts. This is integral to the success of our outreach and engagement processes. To join the UC systemwide advocacy efforts, visit the UC Advocacy Network site. 

Stand up for UC: Your opportunity to tell the world what makes our community so special and what UC means to you. 

Speak Up for Science: Your opportunity to support funding for science.

UCOP External Relations and Communications:

January 26 through April 5, 2026: Online 
Deadline to Apply for Sponsorship: November 21, 2025 

The acclaimed Faculty Success Program (FSP) is an intensive 10-week virtual boot camp offered by NCFDD. It combines empirically-tested methods, coaching, peer support, and online tools to help academics thrive in their careers and achieve work-life balance. 

The new Ridge Walk North Living and Learning Neighborhood (RWNLLN) houses 2,400 students and features suites, study lounges, wellness spaces, a café and academic classrooms. Instructors who think the new classrooms in RWNLLN might be suitable for their upcoming classes should speak with their Department Class Scheduler and let them know they’d like to request a new RWNLLN classroom for winter quarter classes or beyond. 

View the RWNLLN GA Classroom List for classroom specifications and seat counts. 

The TTC Pepper Canyon Hall location was created primarily as a resource for administering secure accommodated testing and, secondarily, for make-up tests. However, an unanticipated and growing use of the TTC seems to be allowing students to take their tests earlier than the scheduled in-class test for reasons of convenience (e.g., travel) rather than necessity, which has reduced availability for accommodated students, especially during final exam week. Therefore, starting Fall Quarter 2025 there are two new policies: 1) unaccommodated students needing to schedule a make-up exam during finals week will have to wait until week 10 to reserve a seat (to prioritize seats for accommodated students); and 2) make-up tests (finals or otherwise) can only occur after the in-class test has already taken place. Read the full memo. 

You can work with the Computer-Based Testing Facility (CBTF) in Applied Physics and Mathematics (now with more seats) to securely administer all your tests, enabling you to implement frequent mastery-based assessments, allow for flexible testing schedules, give students second chances (i.e., retakes), and/or use class time for more instruction or review. Fall 2025 is already full but reach out to the TTC to use the CBTF in a future quarter. 

Contact TTC for questions or assistance with RegisterBlast scheduling software, PrairieLearn CBTF software, or for a physical tour of TTC locations. 

View the updated Triton Testing Center website: tritontesting.ucsd.edu. 

To prepare and share the resources and information needed for these programs, the Summer Planning team is collecting preliminary information.

Submission form due Nov. 12, 2025. Submissions received after Nov. 12 will be considered late, and support for Summer 2026 may be difficult, or in some cases, not possible.   

For questions, please email Director of Summer Planning, Rocco Fragomeni. 

The Student Employment Office and the Teaching and Learning Commons’ Experiential Learning team have partnered to ensure that all UC San Diego casual/restricted student employment positions are fully represented in the Co-Curricular Record (CCR) catalogue by the end of AY 2025-2026.

Academic Affairs departments are progressing well at a 60% upload rate for their student employment positions.

Contact the project managers to check your department’s participation status: Helen Stapleton (hstapleton@ucsd.edu) or Laszlo Folks (lafolks@ucsd.edu)

The new REAL Portal is now live: a one-stop platform for all Commons experiential learning (EL) opportunities. The REAL Portal includes all research, experiential and applied learning opportunities from across campus, both paid and unpaid positions. UC San Diego affiliated organizations can post opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to apply to directly in the portal. Students, faculty, and staff can search by EL opportunity type or EL program (academic internships, CCR, and campus opportunities). 

Connect with the Commons EL team at upcoming staff and faculty REAL Portal info and drop-in support sessions throughout November. 

The highly anticipated Triton Student System (TSS) will go live for students in Summer 2026. Staff will gain access earlier, starting February 2026, to prepare for student registration and Fall 2026 schedule building.  

TSS will replace the long-standing Integrated Student Information System with a modern platform designed to better support students, faculty and staff. 

Explore Key Project Information: 

For questions about the project, contact esr-student@ucsd.edu

Monday, November 10, 12:00 - 1:30 p.m. | Dolores Huerta Room and online 

Learn how to effectively support servicemembers, veterans, and dependents within and beyond the academic environment. The session includes a facilitated training and discussion with student veteran panelists who will share their experiences, provide insight, and help foster a stronger, more inclusive campus community. 

This event is open to UC San Diego faculty, staff, and students, and hosted by the Student Veterans Resource Center in conjunction with Veterans Week events. For more information, contact svrc@ucsd.edu. 

The Hub Basic Needs Center provides Food Security Resources, Housing Resources, and Financial Wellness services to undergraduate and graduate students. Food security resources include the Triton Food Pantry, CalFresh, Food Recovery Network, and Grocery Shuttle. 

Food insecurity is a critical issue for college students nationwide and 2024 UCUES data showed that 51% of UC San Diego undergraduate students report facing food insecurity - threatening their wellbeing and academic success! 

But CalFresh, a state program that awards up to $298 a month for groceries, can help! More than 50% of UC San Diego students are CalFresh eligible, and ~60% of students enrolled receive more than $200 monthly. 

You can help by joining the many instructors who are including food support information in their student-facing communications, such as class syllabi, Canvas pages and slides. Use the resource downloads on the Collective Impact website. 

You can also support our students with food access by supporting the Basic Needs Center directly- see the newsletter’s introduction for details. 

*Please note that even while SNAP/CalFresh benefits are delayed, students are still encouraged to apply to have access to benefits when they resume. 

• USS Interactive Guidebook: On and off-campus resources

• USS Questions & Concerns from our Students

• What to Say & Do (in English and Spanish): Quick guide on how campus employees can respond to a warrant, subpoena or request for confidential student or staff information. 

Have a student who seems distressed? For support, you can contact Triton CORE, a Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) Program.  

HOW TO REACH THEM: 
Triton CORE is available Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.

Call UC San Diego Police Department’s (UCPD) non-emergency line at 858-534-HELP (4357) and ask to speak with Triton CORE. 

To schedule a TRITON CORE presentation for your team, email tritoncore@ucsd.edu 

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) introduces Triton Lighthouse: Immersive Care Program, a new campus-based initiative providing comprehensive support for UC San Diego students navigating mental health challenges. 

This short-term program offers individualized treatment plans with a range of services: skill-based workshops, therapy, case management, community activities, psychiatric support, and digital resources. Referrals are welcome! 

• BIPOC Support Group 
• Black Community Support Group 
• First-Generation Professionals (FGPs) 
• Mindful Pause (Mindfulness Meditation Group) 
• Neurodivergent Support Groups 
• Parent and Caregiver Support Groups 
• Tritons Flourish