March is Women’s Herstory Month
Throughout March, UC San Diego continues to celebrate Women’s Herstory Month in honor of the many contributions of women in history, culture and society. This year’s theme is “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories.”
Events and activities are organized by the UC San Diego Women’s Center, a space in which people work collaboratively to foster the educational, professional and personal development of diverse groups of women. The Center provides education and support to all Tritons, with the goal of promoting an inclusive and equitable campus community.
For a complete list of Women’s Herstory Month programs, please visit the UC San Diego Women’s Center website.
In recognition of this annual event, two hours of administrative leave with pay have been approved for employees to attend a UC San Diego Women’s Herstory Month activity.
Upcoming Epstein Family Amphitheater Events
Having recently reopened after last Fall’s debut season, the Epstein Family Amphitheater (EFA) has a full slate of events, activities, and performances on the calendar for this Spring.
Tonight: DecaDames performs on International Women’s Day
In honor of International Women’s Day, I hope you’ll be able to join us at the EFA tonight (March 8) at 5 p.m. for a performance by DecaDames, a female-fronted band that pays tribute to essential artists like Aretha Franklin, Kelly Clarkson, Whitney Houston, Madonna, and more. This free concert will take you back in time to some of the most iconic moments in music history – all while celebrating women who have shaped and helped to create our music and culture.
Visit the Epstein Family Amphitheater website for more info on upcoming events.
Spring Break Opportunities for Students
For the third year running, we’re programming a week’s-worth of unique, in-person opportunities for students to connect, grow, learn, and engage on and around campus via our Spring Break 2023 programming.
We’re currently finalizing the schedule of fun and educational offerings for students who choose to stay in San Diego during the March 27-31 break. In the meantime, please stay tuned for details about engaging activities that span multiple areas of interest, such as: trips to the Birch Aquarium or a Padres game, community engagement and research projects, water sports in Mission Bay, performances at the EFA, and more.
New Partnership: Scaling Paid Undergraduate Research (SPUR)
I am pleased to announce that the Division of Student Affairs – in collaboration with the Offices of the Vice Chancellor for Research Affairs and the Executive Vice Chancellor – is partnering with The Design Lab in order to explore ways to scale paid undergraduate research (SPUR) opportunities.
In the coming months, we’ll work with The Design Lab to bring together students, faculty, staff and teams from across our campus to generate new ideas to expand paid undergraduate research opportunities – particularly for students who have yet to see themselves as researchers or who, by way of financial stressors, have to choose between a paid work experience and a non-paid research opportunity.
Utilizing Work-Study to Support Tritons
If your department has student employment opportunities, I encourage you to learn more about how you might use work-study to support more of our UC San Diego students.
What is work-study, why is it important, and how is it utilized at UC San Diego?
Federal Work-Study is a federal student aid program that funds part-time job opportunities for students. Aside from paying for some expenses, students who work at UC San Diego through the work-study program learn from staff and faculty while gaining experience and career skills that may align with their personal and professional goals, which also prepares them for meaningful work.
Giving work-study students preference in your student employment hiring decisions provides two primary benefits:
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You can actively support students who demonstrate financial need through the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and help them limit their student loan debt
- Allows you to fund student employment in your department with Federal work-study dollars, rather than funds from your department’s operations budget.
Please visit the Blink Student Employment page for more information about hiring students or to connect with the Student Employment Team.
Assessment Update: Requesting Student Data
In order to improve efficiency of data and report requests, all requests for student data need to be submitted to Assessment, Evaluation, and Organizational Development (AEOD) as of March 6, 2023.
Examples include requests (but not limited to) for:
- Existing data from the Student Activity Hub
- Creation of dashboards
- Data reports built from platforms such as RedRock
Requests should be made through the AEOD Support Request Form, which can also be used to request other types of support from AEOD – including assessment planning and survey development. For any questions, please feel free to reach out to Shannon Milligan, Director of AEOD, at smilligan@ucsd.edu.
Required UC Learning Center Trainings
Finally, I would also like to remind you to complete your required UC trainings. Based on individual requirements, you’ll receive automated assignment emails and reminders from the UC Learning Center with information about required courses and relevant due dates for training. If you supervise student employees, please ensure that they have also completed their mandatory trainings.
If you’d like to check your status on compliance courses, please login to UCLearning.ucsd.edu.
