Greetings!
Welcome to the Academic Affairs newsletter. Browse updates and announcements, connect to tips and resources, and check out stories from around campus.
Message from EVC Simmons
Dear Colleagues,

As we embark on Spring Quarter 2022, change is everywhere: new buildings under construction, future colleagues being interviewed, our next cohort of students receiving admissions letters. Perhaps one of the most profound shifts is our return to regular in-person meetings. Between adjusting to real-life encounters with colleagues seen only by video screen for two years and fitting new arrivals into the fabric of our departments, this is a time when paying attention to culture will be critical.

Reflecting on and openly discussing how we work together can prepare us to collaborate in ways we can be proud of. This, in turn, enables us to identify more creative solutions to challenges in a spirit of collegiality and mutual respect.

I encourage you to invest some time this spring in conversations about teamwork and values within whatever teams, labs, studios, or divisions you may be part of. 

A written set of principles can often be a useful starting point for such discussions. For instance, many units tell me they find it helpful to periodically review the UC San Diego Principles of Community together. My own teams have developed sets of meeting guidelines and leadership principles for how we work together; reflecting on and refining these as a group has led to valuable insights and built a sense of shared purpose. Other units seem to draw inspiration from the National Conflict Resolution Center, various professional organizations, or favorite articles and books.

However you choose to ground these discussions, I do hope you’ll find them a powerful means of building an inclusive and principled culture of collaboration in your part of the university.

Wishing you a rewarding Spring Quarter,

Elizabeth H. Simmons
Attend the Enhancing the Black Student Experience Symposium, April 15-22

The campus community is invited to build on the work we collectively engaged in last year to enhance our Black student experience and attend the 2022 EBSE Symposium. The symposium aims to increase awareness of the Black student experience at UC San Diego by fostering intentional and sustained action to enhance their experience and promote pro-blackness at UC San Diego. This year’s symposium will have a kick-off event on Friday, April 15, with Tia Brown McNair, author of “Becoming a Student-Ready College: A New Culture of Leadership for Student Success.” The symposium will feature daily sessions held from April 18 to April 22, 2022 (Week 4 Spring Quarter) from noon – 1 p.m. Each day will focus on topics UC San Diego students have indicated are most important to their holistic success at our university. Register to be part of this important work at 2022 EBSE Symposium Registration.
Reminder - Funding Information for Researchers

Did you know that there are opportunities to submit cost-sharing requests on grants and some proposals? Researchers and PIs can find funding information on the Finding Funding webpage for researchers. On this site you can also find more information on the EVC’s matching funds program and other valuable information. You can also learn more about additional types of campus support for investigators seeking funding for research activities by visiting this website.
Join in the Year's Fulbright Day Events

UC San Diego students, faculty and staff are invited to the 5th Annual Fulbright Day on Thursday, April 14, hosted by Global Education and the Division of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs. Learn about the hundreds of awards available to teach, study, work or conduct research abroad through a variety of events including scholar and student information sessions, a lunch with keynote address by EVC Simmons, as well as a writing workshop and networking event. Register online for these free events, or to read more information about the Fulbright Program at UC San Diego, visit the Fulbright website.
Collective Impact Highlight
As the Collective Impact themes and work groups for UC San Diego are being developed, questions may arise about how those areas of emphasis and themes were chosen. On the Collective Impact website we have posted a literature review for the student work groups and will be shortly posting similar foundational literature for the faculty and staff themes as well. 

To get involved with Collective impact, please fill out the Collective Impact Interest Form.
Celebrate the 2022 Champions of Integrity

Need a little inspiration or positivity in your life? Join us at the virtual 12th Annual Integrity Awards Ceremony on April 13, from 4:15 to 5:15 p.m., where the 2022 Champions of Integrity – members of our campus community who had the courage to put integrity first – will be celebrated. At the ceremony, you’ll hear from the champions themselves – Jade D'Alpoim Guedes, associate professor, Anthropology; Janine Tiefenbruck, lecturer, Halicioglu Data Science Institute, and Neima Moshiri, assistant teaching professor, Computer Science & Engineering. Also speaking will be EVC Simmons, Jacobs School of Engineering Dean Al Pisano, UC San Diego undergraduate, and the 2022 International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI) Student of Merit Tushita Tandon, and Professor Cath Ellis, associate dean at the University of New South Wales, Australia. For more information on the Ceremony and the Champions, and to register for the Ceremony, go to the UC San Diego Integrity Awards web page 
Activities Throughout April for Sexual Assault Awareness Month
National Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) is held every April and is organized by CARE at the Sexual Assault Resource Center. The initial goal of SAAM was to raise awareness about the prevalence of sexual violence, but it has since expanded to focus on community education and violence prevention. Since 2007, SAAM has been recognized at UC San Diego and provides an opportunity for all members of the campus community to get involved and learn more about our role in creating an anti-violent community.

For information on this year’s UC San Diego SAAM events centered around the theme of #WeAllCARE, prompting us to reflect on our role in creating a community dedicated to ending sexual violence, please visit the SAAM web page.
Please Complete the Cybersecurity Certification for Research

Chief Information Security Officer Michael Corn is urging all researchers to complete the Cybersecurity Certification for Research (CCR). As was evidenced by the ransomware attack on UCSF researchers, cyberattacks are increasingly targeting scientific research with the aim of both stealing intellectual property and disrupting research programs. The CCR initiative provides a minimal set of maximally effective steps necessary to secure your research data and lab environment and be prepared if a compromise does occur. These include practices such as using approved anti-malware software, outlining a data backup strategy, and making sure IT Security can contact you in an emergency. All the information is described at assure.ucsd.edu

The CCR team will be holding a workshop on April 13, sponsored by Research Compliance and Integrity. This practical session will guide attendees through the process and help those in attendance start completing the certification process. More information and the registration link can be found at https://blink.ucsd.edu/sponsor/rci/research-compliance-hot-topics.html
Think Like an Entrepreneur Registration Closes April 4

UC San Diego Extension’s Essentials of Entrepreneurship and Innovation course helps creatives, changemakers and others with bold ideas understand:
  • Design thinking and ideation
  • Business models
  • How to drive innovation initiatives
  • How to communicate, finance, or market a new idea, product, or initiative
  • Pitching to stakeholders

Visit the course page to read more and register. UC San Diego affiliates can take the course for $50.
Nominate Someone for the Exemplary Staff Employee of the Year Award Program

The nomination period is now open for the 37th Annual UC San Diego Exemplary Staff Employee of the Year award program. Each year these awards recognize employees in Professional and Support Staff (PSS) positions who have demonstrated distinguished service and contributions to UC San Diego and our greater community. All members of the campus community are encouraged to submit nominations for staff colleagues who are deserving of this special acknowledgment. The deadline to submit nominations is 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 6, 2022. Review program guidelines, award criteria and nomination instructions.

Honorees will be recognized at the annual Exemplary Staff Employee of the Year Award Ceremony on Thursday, July 28, 2022. After reviewing the nomination materials online, please contact Work/Life in Human Resources at worklife@ucsd.edu or (858) 534-4115 if you have any questions about the program.
Registration Open for the 2022 Next Opportunity at Work (NOW) Conference

UC Berkeley People & Culture is again extending an invitation to their 2022 Next Opportunity at Work (NOW) Conference to all UC campuses. Year after year, this event is a highlight for UC Berkeley employees, and they are excited to again be able to share this unique career development opportunity with you, our fellow UC colleagues.

The NOW Conference is an annual, all-day staff career development conference packed with inspiring keynote speakers, concurrent workshops, career planning resources, networking, and 1:1 coaching opportunities to support the professional development and career growth of UC employees. You can view a summary report of last year’s event here.
U.S. News Names UC San Diego Graduate Programs Among Top ...

U.S. News & World Report today released its 2023 Best Graduate Schools rankings, naming graduate programs and professional schools at the University of California San Diego among the best in the country. The rankings placed nine of the campus's...

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