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Oct 31 Deadline: Academic Senate Clinical Affairs Committee is accepting nominations for Clinical Excellence Awards—read more below

Academic Senate Newsletter

September 2025 | Issue 15

New Starts & Continued Efforts

Fall marks a season of transition at the UCSF Academic Senate, including, for UCSF, the appointment of the Senate's 2025-27 Divisional Chair, Errol Lobo, MD, PhD, from the Department of Anesthesia. This edition of the Senate CheckUp highlights the interim report from the systemwide Academic Senate’s Task Force on UC Adaptation to Disruptions (UCAD), as well as updates on UCSF/systemwide sustainability efforts and a campus initiative on elder care. It also covers recent and upcoming Senate events, along with funding and award opportunities for faculty.

In This Edition

Message from the Chair

Errol Lobo

Academic Senate Leadership Retreat

I Summary of 9/13 Retreat Focus

I Chancellor's Reception to Honor Senate Awardees


Funding & Award Opportunities

I Resource Allocation Program (RAP) (9/29)

❗ Nominations for Clinical Excellence Awards (10/31)

I Conference Registration & Travel Grants for Educational Purposes (Rolling)

Events & Other News

❗ School of Medicine Full Faculty Meeting (10/16)

I UCSF Senate Fall Division Meeting (12/4)

Sustainability & Campus Updates

I Pathways to a Fossil-free UC: Final Report

I Spotlight: Elder Care Resource & Referral Program

I Sustainability Efforts

I Community Building Awards

Message from the Chair

"The Academic Senate advocates to amplify the faculty voice and ensure actions, initiatives, and policies incorporate that voice and are aligned with the UCSF mission and PRIDE values."

—Chair Errol Lobo, MD, PhD

Dear Colleagues, 

As the new Chair of the Academic Senate, I recognize that we are at a critical juncture for higher education and academic medicine, facing substantial challenges that mirror those faced by institutions nationwide. At the same time, the Senate is working collaboratively with UCSF leadership to ensure that our academic processes and operations remain efficient and sustainable. Together, we are committed to preserving UCSF’s excellence in research, education, and patient care as we adapt to this evolving landscape. I want to take a moment to share some priorities for the year ahead.

In doing so, I also want to highlight the critical role faculty governance plays in shaping the University of California’s response to the unprecedented challenges we face. In that vein, the systemwide Academic Senate’s Task Force on UC Adaptation to Disruptions (UCAD) has recently released an interim report outlining strategies to safeguard UC’s teaching, research, and public service missions against external threats. These recommendations represent a starting point for action, but they also reinforce a fundamental truth: meaningful faculty input is essential in navigating these disruptions and ensuring the University’s continued excellence.

The report makes recommendations for bridge funding to support research projects disrupted by federal executive orders, transition funding for faculty and trainees impacted by terminated awards, and research recovery funding to facilitate pivots to new areas of inquiry. It also emphasizes fairness in academic personnel evaluations through adapting Achievement Relative to Opportunities (ARO) principles, extending advancement review periods, and creating flexible pathways for faculty in highly impacted disciplines. These measures aim to preserve research capacity and safeguard academic careers during this time.

Equally significant, UCAD underscores the importance of faculty leadership in addressing broader institutional challenges, such as resizing and restructuring academic programs. Its recommendations promote faculty-driven innovation, including hybrid and cross-campus programs, while protecting the breadth of disciplines that define UC’s identity. Proposals to expand cross-campus course coordination and remote learning reflect the Senate’s authority over courses and programs, ensuring consistent quality standards across the system.

As UCAD continues its deliberations, faculty engagement in the systemwide review process is vital to provide feedback and shape the institution’s future. I am fortunate to be a member of UCAD, and as we continue our deliberations and begin to work with the Office of the President, I will be bringing our Division’s unique perspective to the proposed recommendations and implementation planning process. UCSF’s Senate standing committees are currently reviewing the UCAD report, with responses due at the end of October. However, the systemwide Senate also welcomes individual faculty feedback through December 1, 2025. If you do have individual comments, please send them to AcademicSenateUCAD@ucop.edu.

In closing, it goes without saying that this is a defining moment for shared governance at UC, one that requires our collective expertise, commitment, and leadership. Faculty voices must remain central to shaping the University’s response to these challenges, ensuring that our policies not only address immediate disruptions but also lay the foundation for a resilient and thriving institution.

Our faculty are the leaders within their institution -- measured on their upholding of the four pillars of the UCSF mission. The Senate aims to support those efforts.

If you’ve been looking for ways to get more involved on any one of the Senate’s multiple standing committees, this is the time. Feel free to volunteer for Senate service at any time.

Sincerely, 

Errol Lobo, MD, PhD

UCSF Academic Senate Chair

Spotlight //

Summary of Senate Leadership Retreat

The Annual Academic Senate Leadership Retreat

The Academic Senate recently held its annual Leadership Retreat, which serves as an essential forum for Senate standing committee chairs, vice chairs, officers, analysts, and key administrators to engage in strategic discussions on university-wide initiatives and challenges. This year’s retreat was led by Errol Lobo, MD, PhD, Chair of the Academic Senate, who facilitated discussions around the following topics:

Faculty Discipline and Expressive Activities Policies: Senate Executive Director Todd Giedt and Privilege & Tenure (P&T) Analyst Kirstin McRae reviewed updates to misconduct investigation timelines, P&T hearing processes and timelines, and policies balancing academic freedom with professional responsibilities. Discussions explored the balance between protecting academic freedom, as outlined in UC policies such as APM-010, and addressing professional responsibilities under APM-015 and APM-016.

Federal Research Update and Advocacy: Vice Chancellor for Community & Government Relations Dan Bernal shared insights on research funding and UCSF’s federal advocacy efforts.

Transportation and Parking Updates: Associate Vice Chancellor for Campus Life Services Jon Giacomi updated faculty leadership on parking and transportation. Giacomi detailed the implementation of the Wayleadr parking utilization system, which monitors daily demand and identifies underutilized spaces, and the Clipper BayPass program, which provides sustainable commute options for faculty and staff. He also addressed the growing demand for reciprocal lot parking and detailed plans for expanding park-and-ride locations, shuttle routes, and pre-tax commute benefits. Faculty leaders raised concerns about changing parking patterns, particularly the shift toward daily parking permits and the impact of inclement weather on campus accessibility.

Project One Overview: Erin Gore, Senior Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration, provided updates on UCSF’s Oracle Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) project. Her presentation provided a comprehensive overview of UCSF’s Oracle Cloud ERP project, aimed at unifying campus and health administrative operations under a modern, enterprise-wide application, thereby streamlining processes, enhancing data governance, and optimizing user experience across UCSF,. The key components of Phase One were highlighted, such as Human Capital Management, Finance, and Supply Chain Management, alongside milestones including system design, testing, and go-live timelines.

Sustainability and Decarbonization Initiatives: Kira Stoll, Chief Sustainability Officer, outlined UCSF’s strategies to reduce emissions, transition to clean energy sources, improve building energy efficiency, promote sustainable transportation, and engage faculty in climate action advisory efforts. She highlighted UCSF’s commitment to transitioning to clean energy systems, optimizing building efficiency, and electrifying vehicle fleets to meet UC-wide goals of reducing carbon emissions by 90% by 2045. Faculty leaders discussed strategies for implementing these initiatives, emphasizing the importance of equity considerations, community engagement, and leveraging UCSF’s research expertise to identify innovative solutions.

Chair Lobo’s closing remarks highlighted the Academic Senate’s essential role as a cornerstone of shared governance at UCSF. He emphasized the Senate’s influence in upholding the quality of instruction and research, while protecting academic freedom and ensuring due process and peer review for faculty. Through its advisory responsibilities, the Senate fosters collaboration and strengthens the academic and professional foundations of the University. This commitment ensures faculty engagement in decisions that safeguard the institution’s excellence and integrity.

Funding & Award Opportunities

Events & Other News

Thursday, October 16, 2025 3:30pm - 5:00pm (Zoom Only)

School of Medicine Full Faculty Meeting

Beyond the Bench and Bedside: 
 Communicating the Value of Your Work

UCSF faculty have powerful insights into what makes communities healthy, but communicating those insights can feel daunting. The School of Medicine’s October 16 3:30pm-5:00pm full faculty meeting will be a communication training that will introduce UCSF faculty to simple tools for effectively communicating about science and health care. Faculty will learn how to craft strong messages, highlight their expertise, and share their perspective. This is a School of Medicine faculty meeting, but other UCSF community members are welcome to attend if this event is of interest. The training will be recorded and available behind the UCSF log-in a week after the event.

Thursday, December 4, 2025, 2pm-4pm | In-person at Mission Bay Rock Hall

UCSF Senate Fall Division Meeting

Climate Survey Results

Guest Presenter Elizabeth Ozer, Associate Vice Provost, Office of Opportunity & Outreach, will present on the results of the 2025 UCSF Climate Survey. Further discussion on transportation and parking as well as research updates will be included as information is available.

Systemwide //

Sustainability & Campus Updates

Sustainability@UCSF

Academic Senate Now On LinkedIn