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 OFFICE OF THE CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICER

October 29, 2025 

ALL STAFF AT UC SAN DIEGO (excluding UC San Diego Health and Health Sciences) 

People Leaders:  For staff without ready access to email, please print and post a copy of this email. 

Earlier this year I shared the importance of having people in your life who help you stay grounded. Those accountability buddies who let you vent, regroup, and then remind you to keep moving forward. Having that kind of person - someone who holds space for your feelings without letting you stay stuck in them - is essential to our growth and well-being.

It reminded me of something Emmy award winning host and actress Tabitha Brown says often: “Have a good day, and even if you can’t have a good one, don’t you dare go messing up nobody else’s.”

We’re all going to have tough days - that’s part of being human - but it’s what we do with those moments that matters. When you have your person, you can get the frustration out, take a breath, and then make the conscious choice to bring peace and joy back into the space you share with others. Hopefully your person loves joy, and you make space for it together. Hopefully they appreciate peace - in your mind and in your heart - even when it’s not happening all around you. Because to the extent that we want that peace for ourselves, we have to be intentional about creating it for others.

That message felt especially real for me at this year’s Staff Service Awards. I had the honor of emceeing the ceremony, and also being recognized as an honoree myself (I turned 10, y’all!). And what made it all even extra special was having my mom there, who felt like a red carpet celebrity personally greeting everyone in attendance (ok, almost everyone), because in her heart any friend of mine is her actual BFF.

It meant so much to celebrate the honorees, introduce my mom to so many of you, and to see her experience the warmth, laughter, and genuine care that make our UC San Diego community so unique. She had the best time, and I left that day deeply grateful - for her, for all of you, and for the joy that comes from being part of something bigger than ourselves.

So as we close out this month and head toward the busy end of the year, I hope you’ll take a moment to check in with your person, to share a little light, and to protect the peace you bring into each space you enter. Because we can’t always have a good day - but we can always choose not to mess up anybody else’s.

Lead with grace and courage,

Terri S. Winbush 

Campus Chief Human Resources Officer 

Open Enrollment for 2026 will begin Thursday, October 30 at 8 a.m. and end Friday, November 21 at 5 p.m. Pacific. Please ensure to have time to review your options, as some plans are changing for 2026. UC San Diego’s Open Enrollment Benefits Fair will be held in person this year on Friday, November 7, 2025, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Warren Mall. Representatives from benefits vendors and network partners will be available to share resources, giveaways, and information to help you make the most of your benefits. Learn more about the benefits fair on Blink, and about Open Enrollment in this recent campus notice.

The University of California has issued a Policy on Vaccination Programs requiring all students, faculty, other academic appointees, and staff who are living, learning, or working on premises at any university facility to (i) receive Vaccine Education concerning influenza and vaccination as a preventive measure; and (ii) receive or affirmatively decline influenza vaccination. Submit your attestation or declination of the influenza vaccine through the Flu Vaccination Attestation or Declination form, available in English and Spanish, no later than Mon., Nov. 3, 2025.  Learn more about the flu vaccine mandate in this recent campus notice. 

In an effort to enhance the safety of our staff and academics, ensure compliance with California law AB119, and support Space Management, all employees including academics are required to review, confirm, and/or update their work location in the work location form beginning October 15, 2025. This is a courtesy reminder that all employees including academics are responsible for regularly updating this information.  Learn more about updating work location information in this recent campus notice.

The University of California launched an updated ethics briefing for employees as part of its continued commitment to integrity, compliance, and accountability across the UC system. You can complete the training by logging into the UC Learning Center and searching the keyword UCECB, or by clicking on an email received from the UC Learning Center the week of October 13 – 17. Learn more on the Ethics and Compliance Briefing Resources Page, and in this recent campus notice about the required training.

During the 2025 holiday season, UC San Diego (excluding the hospitals and clinics) will officially close for seven (7) days between Wednesday, December 24, 2025, and Thursday, January 1, 2026. The closure period includes four (4) university paid holidays (December 24, 25, 31, 2025 and January 1, 2026). Learn more about curtailment in this recent campus notice.

Do you know someone on our campus who embodies principles of inclusion, respect and community? Please consider nominating them (or their team) for an Inclusive Excellence Award. nominations are now open for the 31st annual UC San Diego Inclusive Excellence Awards through Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. Learn more about nominations in this recent campus notice.

Beginning January 2026, UC will change how voluntary disability plan premiums are deducted for monthly employees. Currently deducted in arrears, premiums will instead be collected during the current coverage month, consistent with other benefit deductions. For example, your January 2, 2026 paycheck will include the deduction for January 2026 coverage. To transition to this new schedule, your December 2025 voluntary disability premium will be split across your October 31 and December 1 paychecks. All other benefit premium deductions will remain unchanged. For questions, contact ucpath.universityofcalifornia.edu.

Did you know that more than 15,000 UC San Diego employees are still receiving physical tax forms? Going paperless with UCPath is a convenient and secure way to receive your tax forms and paycheck. View steps to enroll for an electronic W-2 and 1095-C in UCnet.

In accordance with the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, UC San Diego is providing you with important information regarding University policies and sanctions relating to drug and alcohol violations; a summary of federal, state and local laws and penalties for drug and alcohol offenses; health risks associated with the use of drugs and alcohol abuse; and resources for drug and alcohol counseling and treatment. Learn more about the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act in this recent campus notice.

The Nov. 4, 2025, special election is approaching, and UC San Diego encourages eligible students, faculty and staff to register to vote and then to exercise those voting rights. UC staff and faculty are encouraged to be engaged and politically active. However, such participation and activities cannot be done on behalf of the university. Legal guidelines for UC participation in ballot campaigns and political activity are available here.. 

The University of California is proposing revisions to PPSM-30 (Compensation), which applies to staff employees in the Professional and Support Staff and Managers and Senior Professionals personnel groups, and to PPSM-2 (Definition of Terms), which also applies to members of the Senior Management Group. Learn more about the proposed revisions in this recent campus notice.

Read the latest edition of UCnet’s UC Spotlight - a monthly feature celebrating the people and teams who help make UC a great place to work. Do you know a UC San Diego staff member whose story should be shared? Read the October spotlight and learn how to submit a nomination on UCnet.

Interested in additional opportunities to explore resources, curate ideas and strategies, and connect with fellow people leaders? Consider attending one of our upcoming people leadership training sessions within our onboarding series (subway stop 2) and click “View Upcoming Training” to review course descriptions and registration links. The final offering for fall 2025 includes Communication and Collaboration Tools for Teams (Dec. 10); the 2026 calendar is forthcoming.

The People Leader Support Series is an interactive, recurring webinar program designed to help People Leaders navigate key topics across the employee life cycle. Launched in spring 2025, the first series focused on performance management. You can now access the recordings from all four performance management sessions, each exploring a different aspect of supporting and developing your team. View them on the People Leader Network Blink page.

Intended for campus people leaders, supervisors, and managers, this course provides guidance on identifying and referring troubled employees to appropriate areas of support, including the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program (FSAP).

This course covers:

Date: Friday, November 7
Time: 9:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Location: Triton Room 2, 3rd Floor, Torrey Pines Center South (TPCS)

Sign up directly through the UC Learning Center.

Our next Staff Town Hall will take place on Thursday, Nov. 13 from 1:30 – 3 p.m. via Zoom. Register and submit your questions in advance through Zoom.

The Town Hall is part two of the series “Change, Community, and Agency” -  a focused conversation for employees navigating ongoing uncertainty in the workplace. If you are unable to attend or stay for the entire event, a recording of the presentation will be available on Blink in the days following the Town Hall.