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  January 15, 2026

   Vol. 7, No. 1      

A publication from the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor

Dear Colleagues, 

The campus is buzzing with energy this winter quarter. UC Diego will be hosting a wide variety of events in the coming months as part of showcasing our strengths and building ties to the wider community. I’d like to highlight two of them: the Future of Academic Affairs Forum and Triton Days, and then to mention how you can find out about everything happening on campus. 

The Annual Future of Academic Affairs Forum, on Thursday, Jan. 29 at 9:30 a.m., is an opportunity to provide input on current projects and initiatives that represent an investment in the collective future of Academic Affairs, including preparation for our upcoming reaccreditation process. All faculty and staff are encouraged to register and participate. 

Forum topics will include: 

Triton Days events, hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, celebrate and welcome future Tritons, giving them the chance to explore all that UC San Diego has to offer.

Triton Days 2026 Events include:  

Triton Days offer guests a valuable opportunity to experience the UC San Diego community, while allowing departments to connect early with future Tritons, answer questions, and showcase why our campus is the perfect fit for them. 

All departments are encouraged to participate in both Triton Days events. The participation form is now open until Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Please note that late submissions cannot be accepted. Check here to learn more about Triton Days, department participation, and individual volunteering. 

You can discover more campus events from the informational to the inspirational or share events that your unit is hosting on the new Campus Calendar. We’ve also added a Campus Academic Events Calendar to the EVC website to feature events hosted by schools and units across campus around educational, intellectual, research, and artistic topics; these are sourced directly from the larger campus calendar. 

I look forward to running into you at a variety of these campus events in the next few months. Thank you for all that you do to support our academically and culturally vibrant university community. 

Sincerely, 

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! 

Join UC San Diego students, staff, faculty, and alumni for San Diego's Martin Luther King Jr. Parade and an Annual Day of Service.

MLK Day of Service: January 16, 2026  
UC San Diego is partnering with Webster Elementary for a day of community building and connection. Volunteers will lead interactive classroom activities designed to inspire leadership, compassion, and civic responsibility among Webster students. T-shirts, lunch, and transportation will be provided so be sure to register to reserve a spot. 

MLK Parade 2026: January 18, 2026 
11 a.m. | Harbor Drive, Embarcadero

The UC San Diego contingent will begin lining up at 10 a.m. outside of the County Administration Building. The group will be led by a large "UC San Diego" banner, followed by the UC San Diego Pep Band, the Eight Colleges, and members of the campus community. Departments and organizations are encouraged to showcase their own banners, letters, and signage in the parade. T-shirts and a free shuttle to and from campus will be provided.

Register for both the MLK Day of Service and the Parade on the Community Service website. For any questions, please contact csiservice@ucsd.edu and campusevents@ucsd.edu.  

Triton Days events, hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, celebrate and welcome future Tritons, giving them the chance to explore all that UC San Diego has to offer. 

Triton Days 2026 Events: 

Last year, Triton Days Open House welcomed more than 12,000 students and families, while Transfer Celebration hosted 2,250+ participants. These events offer guests a valuable opportunity to experience UC San Diego’s vibrant, supportive community, while allowing departments to connect early with future Tritons, answer questions, and showcase why our campus is the perfect fit for them. 

Department Participation Opportunities: 

All departments are encouraged to participate in both events. The participation form is now open until Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Please note that late submissions will not be accepted, so be sure to register before the deadline. If you have any questions before submitting, contact tritondays@ucsd.edu. 

Interested in volunteering? 
Volunteer roles include event setup, assisting attendees, and supporting behind the scenes. 
Volunteer sign-up form 

Saturday, Feb. 7, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. 

Join Love Your Wetlands Day at UC San Diego’s Kendall-Frost Marsh Reserve in Mission Bay. This annual event is co-hosted by UC San Diego Natural Reserve System and the San Diego Bird Alliance in partnership with the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve and the City of San Diego. 

Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026 
9:30 – 11 a.m. via Zoom  

Registration is open for the annual Future of Academic Affairs Forum – an opportunity to share your input and hear about some of the established initiatives that are an investment in the collective future of Academic Affairs. All faculty and staff are encouraged to attend. 

Campus partners are invited to submit proposals for remote or in-person workshops for Summer Bridge Pathways that align with the intended track outcomes. Cross-departmental collaboration is strongly encouraged to maximize time, resources, and workshop depth.  

Pathways: 

• Identity Discovery: Identity development, student agency, and intersectional advocacy 
• STEMming Equity: Connecting STEM with justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) 
• Career Pathway: Supporting undeclared students and those exploring non-traditional career paths

Join the Summer Bridge First Bloom event to hear about the upcoming program and begin planning together. Two session dates are offered with the same information presented. 

Wednesday, Feb. 18, 12:30-1:30 p.m. 
Location: Student Center Dolores Huerta and Philip Vera Cruz  

Tuesday, Feb. 24, 1-2 p.m. | Virtual on Zoom 

More information to come on the submission process. For any questions, please contact Andre Thompson, Summer Bridge Assistant Coordinator, at a9thomps@ucsd.edu. 

A new, one-year pilot fund sponsored by the UC Libraries has been established to cover the cost of open access (OA) publishing for early-career authors in arts and humanities journals not included in UC’s existing open access publishing agreements. This new OA publishing fund supports early-career (pre-tenure) faculty, postdoctoral researchers, non-academic staff, graduate students, undergraduate students, and other non-tenured early-career authors in the arts and humanities disciplines.

More information about the fund, including its eligibility criteria and application process, is available online. 

The University of California Office of the President has announced the 2025-26 Request for Proposals for the UC Historically Black Colleges and Universities (UC-HBCU) Initiative. This systemwide initiative supports UC faculty interested in collaborating with faculty and students at HBCUs. UC faculty grants are available to support HBCU students conducting summer research with faculty at UC San Diego.  

Since 2012, UC has hosted more than 1,000 HBCU scholars across its ten campuses. As a result of this initiative, 75 HBCU scholars are currently enrolled in UC Ph.D. programs and 54 have already earned their doctoral degrees. Of these graduates, 11 have secured tenure-track positions in the professoriate, including six at California institutions — three of whom are at a UC. 

The Division of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs (GEPA) welcomes collaborative planning discussions with proposal writers whose plans may involve the possible leveraging of the Summer Training Academy for Research Success (STARS) program. 

UC HBCU Information Session 
Thursday, January 22, 2026 at 1:30 p.m. via Zoom 
See examples of previous successful proposals 
Register 

Proposals are due Monday, March 16, 2026, at Noon (PST), and awards will be announced in July 2026. Details of the call for proposals and a helpful tutorial for interested faculty can be found on the UC-HBCU website. 

For any questions, please contact GEPA OAR² Director Angeline Yang at avyang@ucsd.edu. 

Many UC San Diego students receive federally funded Work-Study awards as part of their financial aid package. Work-Study is a federal student aid program that funds part-time job opportunities for undergraduate students. All Work-Study jobs are intended to be part-time opportunities that pay at least minimum wage. The program provides funding to colleges and universities, which then use the funds to pay a portion of the wages earned by Work-Study students. 

The funding model is a 50/50 split where 50% of the wages are funded through Federal funds, and 50% are funded through a department’s operational funds for student employment. By utilizing Work-Study students, departments can stretch their operational budget by leveraging Work-Study to fund 50% of the student wages. Per financial aid awarding policy, Work-Study is available during the Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters. Work-Study funding is generally not available for the Summer. 

For any questions, email the Student Employment Office. 

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. 

Contact the project managers to check your department’s participation status: Helen Stapleton or Laszlo Folks

The new REAL Portal is 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). 

For any questions, contact the Experiential Learning team at elt@ucsd.edu. 

Testing, Demos, Training Preparation and Sustaining Focus 

Testing: 
As development and testing continue, the implementation team is actively validating TSS functionality across key processes. This work helps identify and resolve issues early, ensuring the system is stable and ready to support students, faculty, and staff at launch. 

Demos: 
Throughout 2025, the implementation team hosted a series of well-attended TSS system demos, giving faculty and staff early visibility into key functionality and future user experience. These sessions covered student self-service, enrollment, grading, and scheduling, and included opportunities for questions and discussion.  
 
TSS System Demo Recordings: 
Student Experience 1 (Oct. 30) – Recording & Slides 
Student Experience 2 (Nov. 18) – Recording & Slides 
Grading (Dec. 11) – Recording & Slides 
Division of Extended Studies (DES) Scheduling (Dec. 18) – Recording & Slides 

Future demos are being planned, and your input is welcome: TSS Demo Topic Suggestions Form. 

Content Inventory & Training Preparation: 
Your help will ensure materials and training reflect how work is done across UC San Diego. Your input will directly support the development of clear, accurate, and up-to-date training resources for faculty, staff, and students at launch: 

Sustaining Focus: 
Important: Please review the recent Campus Notice from EVC Simmons and Interim CIO Kevin Chou, which reiterates the importance of maintaining stability, protecting key project resources, and supporting the final phases of the TSS implementation. 

For any questions, contact esr-student@ucsd.edu. 

The Hub Basic Needs Center provides Food Security Resources, Housing Resources, and Financial Wellness services to undergraduate and graduate students.

Food insecurity remains 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. 

• USS Interactive Guidebook: On and off-campus resources

• USS Questions & Concerns from our Students

• What to Do What to Say (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 – 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
• Working Parents Support Groups