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     September 23, 2025

   Vol. 6, No. 7       

A publication from the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor

Dear Colleagues, 

Welcome to the start of Fall Quarter! I look forward to seeing you around campus in the coming weeks. 

As we continue to navigate uncertain times, one of the most pressing questions we face is: How can we sustain the essential parts of our work using the resources we already have? Beyond using current resources and tools in familiar ways, we can also think about how to extend their usefulness, how to get more out of them. I encourage you all to make this an ongoing discussion with your teams and continue to look for ways to foster further collaboration with campus partners. In these discussions, please also be alert to opportunities to reduce duplication of effort and identify unproductive pieces of work that we should stop doing. I would be very interested to hear your creative thoughts on all of these topics! 

My latest blog post covers the recent Collective Impact Convening held for all working group members on September 12. Each Collective Impact Working Group had exciting and tangible updates to share on their work to close equity gaps for our students. 

I would also like to continue hearing about your own team’s partnerships and innovative solutions. Campus-wide collaboration supports the success of our university and every student. 

Thank you so very much for your continued work and commitment to supporting student success. Together, we can meet new challenges and create lasting impact, in the context of a supportive campus community. 

Best wishes for your fall quarter, 

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! 

Collective Impact Convening: Making Progress on Existing Goals While Sustaining  
Community and Morale 

Colleagues from partnering units and departments from across our campus recently gathered for a Collective Impact Convening and we opened with the question, “What can we accomplish using what we already have?” The event was not only an opportunity to share updates on impactful progress, but also to explore how we can have an even bigger impact on our students and the work of our faculty and staff, even during uncertain times. 

As I’ve discussed before, the Collective Impact (CI) working groups are working hard to find collaborative solutions to close equity gaps for our students. Each Collective Impact Working Group had exciting and tangible updates to share... 

The TWOW signature "must do" events are open to all and designed to instill Triton community pride, foster a sense of belonging, increase school spirit, and highlight some of the best things that our campus has to offer every Triton. 

See all 2025 TWOW Events at twow.ucsd.edu 

We hope to have faculty and staff from every school and college present on both dates, ready to snack and socialize with our incoming undergraduate and graduate Tritons, welcoming them to our community: 

Faculty and New Student Picnic 
Tuesday, Sept. 23 from 4–6 p.m. at the Sun God Lawn 
Faculty and Staff Sign-Up 

Faculty and New Student Mixer 
Tuesday, Sept. 30 from 5-7 p.m. at the Loft 
Faculty and Staff Sign-up 

Join the Triton community in a month-long celebration of Hispanic and Latinx history and culture. This year's theme is Collective Heritage: Honoring the Past, Inspiring the Future. 

2025 Latinx Heritage Month Events Calendar

Tuesday, September 23, 12:30–2:30 p.m. 
Third floor of Pepper Canyon Hall 

The Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) invites you to their annual DUE Student Art Showcase. Enjoy visual and written works, live student musical performances and connect with colleagues with some light snacks. 

Tuesday, Oct. 7, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Student Center A Courtyard 

County of San Diego workers will be on-site to offer direct assistance with CalFresh applications and for CalFresh Case Inquires. 

Monday, Oct. 6, 2025, from Noon - 4:15 p.m. at 8980 Villa La Jolla Drive

Learn about innovative programs and services designed to support UC San Diego faculty, staff, businesses, and community organizations. Discover Extended Studies’ custom training, grant support, arts collaborations, and more. Reception to follow. 

See the agenda and register 

Tuesday, Oct. 22, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., on Matthews Quad 

The event will feature tabling from a variety of offices and departments for a one-stop shop for transfers to get connected with involvement opportunities and see campus offerings. 

Sign Up for the NTSW Resource Fair by October 4: Sign-up includes two transfer t-shirts, a table and two chairs. You're encouraged to bring fun items to pass out to students. 

What happens when science meets art? UC San Diego Library presents The Art of Science: Five Years Through the Lens of Discovery, marking the Library’s fifth annual Art of Science competition. On view from Sept. 5, 2025, through March 22, 2026, in the Geisel Library Exhibition Gallery, the exhibit showcases all winning images from 2021 to 2025.  

The UC San Diego Library has been awarded a grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) through its Recordings at Risk program for a digitization project to safeguard rare Pacific recordings and expands access for researchers and communities. The materials will be available on the Library’s Digital Collections website. 

Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (SAVC-AA) Robert Continetti is on sabbatical through the end of December 2025. Because the work he oversees is essential, two colleagues have graciously stepped in to shepherd that work forward in the coming months. 

Through Dec. 2025:  

Amanda Datnow (ASAVC-AA@ucsd.edu) is the Acting SAVC-AA, handling academic affairs items and meetings.  

Frank Biess (fbiess@ucsd.edu) is the Acting AVC Academic Advancement, handling Academic Personnel Services items, CAP items, and the related meetings.  

Contact Celeste Grant for scheduling requests and signature items (cegrant@ucsd.edu). 

UC San Diego offers two AI and data science infrastructures that are free to use for all students, educators and researchers. 

One is the Data Science and Machine Learning Platform (DSMLP) operated by ITS, and the second is the National Research Platform (NRP) operated by SDSC. DSMLP is focused on classroom use, while NRP is focused more on research use. 

SDSC is offering online training sessions every Tuesday in September, including topics also relevant for DSMLP (JupyterHub, Docker, Kubernetes), and also more advanced topics like Agentic Tools and Coding with AI/LLMs. NRP also offers a number of open weight LLMs as a service. 

Training dates: 
Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 10 a.m. | Deploying JupyterHub and Coder 
Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 10 a.m. | Advanced I: GitLab CI/CD and Custom Images 
Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 11 a.m. | Advanced II: VMs, Windows, and Edge Use Cases 

Stay tuned for another academic year of Engaged Teaching workshops and courses for UC San Diego faculty and graduate student instructors. 

Visit the Engaged Teaching events calendar and sign up for their newsletter to stay connected. Please email questions to Engaged Teaching at engagedteaching@ucsd.edu   

Submission forms for 2026 UC San Diego Summer Programs are now open. To prepare and share the resources and information needed to efficiently and safely account for these programs, the Summer Planning team is collecting preliminary information.  

The priority deadline for the submission form is Oct. 15, 2025.  

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

Undergraduate students can now enroll in the Learning Sustainable Well-Being (LSW) program. LSW is a series of 1-unit, P/NP courses (taught within one’s home department), aimed at educating students on how to improve their well-being and transforming the way preventative mental health can be accessed by students. 

The first offering is the once-weekly course, “Compassion for Self and Others," teaching students skills to improve their relationships with themselves and others through lectures, discussion and experiential exercises in a supportive class setting.    

Visit the LSW Website for all 2025-2026 course dates. 

This program is sponsored by the Office of the EVC and the Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion. For additional information, please contact LSW Program directors, Professors Karen Dobkins (kdobkins@ucsd.edu) or Janna Dickenson (jdickenson@ucsd.edu). 

The mission of the Library remains focused on supporting the success of our students and faculty to advance transformational research, teaching, learning, and creative endeavors. The Library invests in and provides access to information resources, supports research and learning through instruction and outreach, and provides safe, academically-focused spaces to work and learn. 

Along with many other areas of campus, the Library has experienced a reduction in staffing and resources, and adjustments have been made for Fall Quarter 2025 to preserve the Library’s ability to fulfill its mission. 

Library Hours: In response to student feedback, the Library redesigned its staffing model for Geisel Library and has been able to extend Library hours until midnight, Sunday through Thursday. View the most up-to-date Library hours across locations on the Library’s website. 

View the full announcement for all updates to: Library Hours, Information Resource Investments, Instruction, Research Advisory Services and Course Reserves. 

The Library welcomes your feedback in the coming months to explore ways to adjust their approach in response to your needs. Please email ucsdlibrary@ucsd.edu with any questions or feedback. 

Measles is a highly contagious and dangerous viral disease, and cases are on the rise. Caused by the measles virus rubeola, 95 percent of recent outbreaks are in people who are unvaccinated or have unknown vaccine status.    

The best protection against measles is the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, which is safe and highly effective. The MMR vaccine, a required immunization for incoming UC San Diego students (unless exempt), can slow down outbreaks and protect against infection as early as two weeks after vaccination. All campus community members should ensure their vaccinations are up to date with their healthcare providers.    

Student Health Services is collaborating with multiple partners to enhance prevention and ensure prompt response to exposures. The care of our students, faculty, staff and patients is the university's highest priority.  

Learn More about measles symptoms and how to protect yourself and others on Blink. 

The CourseLeaf Project introduces a curriculum management system for UC San Diego, supporting and streamlining the curriculum process from planning to implementation to assessment. CourseLeaf serves all university areas, bringing the School of Medicine, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and the Division of Extended Studies (DES) onto a system with the rest of campus. 

The course approval form is now live for main campus users (general campus, School of Medicine, and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences). It replaces the course approvals that were previously processed in eCourse.  

Access CourseLeaf at curriculum.ucsd.edu with your SSO credentials to submit course requests. Learn more about CourseLeaf training and resources. If you have any questions about CourseLeaf, please contact courseleaf@ucsd.edu. 

Note: The DES CourseLeaf course approval form will be going live soon. DES users, please expect to receive more information on your go live in the coming days. 

The Teaching and Learning Commons is restructuring to better serve campus needs within the current budgetary environment. The goal of the Commons remains steadfast: to promote outstanding teaching and learning for the entire Triton community. 

Student services – including supplemental instruction, content tutoring, and writing support – will be organized under an academic achievement services umbrella and located in Geisel Library.  

The Commons' Experiential Learning team will continue their CCR and AIP partnerships with the Triton Transfer Hub to help more transfer students find their way to exciting opportunities early in their time at UC San Diego. These partnerships will be further enhanced in 2026 when both groups move together to a new central campus location that will provide easy student access. 

The Commons will also continue to offer extensive services for faculty and graduate students, including workshops, learning communities, and consultations around teaching, writing pedagogy, AI literacy, and other topics. 

See the full Campus Notice 

The Teaching and Learning Commons’ Instructional Services has relocated to the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC), East Wing. 

This new, dedicated location for educators will enhance collaborations and partnerships across campus, fostering a stronger network for innovation and shared initiatives among faculty, staff, and students. 

For any questions, please contact engagedteaching@ucsd.edu or (858) 246-0628. 

See the full Campus Notice 

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 the 2025-2026 academic year. This initiative highlights the valuable skills students acquire through their work and fosters holistic student development. 

Since the initiative’s Aug. 2024 launch: 

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

November 4, 2025, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. 
HYBRID: Design Innovation Building, Room 208 or via Zoom 

Join UC San Diego’s Chief Privacy Officer, Pegah Parsi, for a Privacy 101 Workshop to discuss privacy issues, learn how individuals can best protect themselves and the personal data they handle, recently enacted privacy laws, and how UC San Diego handles personal data, including data about applicants, faculty and staff, research participants, alumni, online learners, public databases, etc.  

This training is ideal for anyone handling personal data, IT professionals, managers, researchers, or any students, faculty, or staff who want to learn how to protect their own data. 

For UC San Diego affiliated learners, please register through the UC Learning Center by Nov. 2, 2025, at 5 p.m. to receive course completion credit. 

The public can also register to attend in-person or via Zoom. 

Contact ucsdprivacy@ucsd.edu for registration assistance. 

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 (starting 10/1) a month for groceries can help! More than 50% of UC San Diego students are CalFresh eligible and 60% of students enrolled receive over $200 a month for food. 

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

• USS Interactive Guidebook: On and off-campus resources, tools and information 

• USS Questions & Concerns from our Students: FAQs and resources to support students impacted by ongoing policy changes.  

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

Have you ever had a student who seemed visibly distressed? For support, you can turn to Triton CORE, a Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) Program.  

This team of licensed mental health professionals can meet with students experiencing a behavioral health crisis anywhere on campus. Whether students are dealing with thoughts of harming themselves or others, significant behavior changes (like isolation, neglecting basic needs, or a sudden drop in grades/class attendance), or emotional distress, Triton CORE can provide support. 

Students can also meet with clinicians at CAPS Urgent Care (Galbraith Hall, RM 190) from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. If a student can’t utilize that resource, Triton CORE can provide immediate, on-campus support, including a comprehensive mental health evaluation, safety planning, and coordination of care. The team offers a person-centered, trauma-informed approach, focusing on understanding each student’s unique mental health, case management, and cultural needs. If necessary, Triton CORE can also transport students to a higher level of care, such as an emergency department or crisis stabilization unit.  

HOW TO REACH THEM: 
Available Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. Call 858-534-HELP (4357) and ask to speak with Triton CORE. 

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

• 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