Dear Colleagues,

As we move through Week Nine, I’d like to express appreciation for our exceptional UC San Diego students.  

Ever since the pandemic began, our students have been tightly focused on preserving a sense of community and supporting one another. Their careful compliance with requirements for symptom screening, testing, isolation, masking, social distancing, and other safety practices is a large part of how UC San Diego has successfully avoided campus outbreaks even though we had over 9.000 students living on campus during the past year. And student leadership, through the GPSA and Associated Students, was essential to all of the strategic planning for Return-to-Learn.  

At the same time, our students have kept up their academic momentum, engaged in research and creative activity, and pursued internship experiences. As they navigate these last few weeks, full of due dates for important homework assignments, projects, papers, and exams, I ask that you please continue to offer students the caring and compassionate approach you have been showing them throughout the pandemic.

Please join me in congratulating the Class of 2021 who will graduate a few weeks from now!

Best wishes,
Elizabeth H. Simmons