February 1, 2012

Dear UC San Diego campus community:

UC San Diego is once again ranked a “best value” public college by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine.  This is good news for current and prospective students and their parents. And it’s probably a big reason the campus again received a record number of freshman and transfer applications for fall admission, nearly 76,000. UC San Diego is a great place to be, and yet we’re continuously working to make it even better.

Enhancing Student and Campus Experience

UC San Diego has changed a lot in the last several years, and much of our development and transformation has been a direct response to conversations with our students and campus members, and also requests that emerged in the Student Satisfaction Survey. For instance, students asked for more housing and an enhanced social experience. We’ve responded by adding more than 5,000 beds on campus over the last few years, and by establishing new student and campus traditions. We also expanded the Price Center and constructed the Student Services Center, both of which are now central to our downtown neighborhood in the heart of campus. In addition, we created a new north campus neighborhood, complete with new housing, restaurants and markets. We’ve increased the number of classrooms, office spaces and social areas. And now we’ve added more study space for students. There are more seats and workstations in Geisel Library and around campus; a list of study space can be found here. In addition, Galbraith Hall will remain open as study space in the winter quarter. Eventually the space will be refurbished to create a large lecture hall to seat roughly 400 students, which is sorely needed on campus; right now, we only have four large lecture classrooms that seat more than 300 students. We continually adjust and evolve to meet the needs of our students and our campus, and we are committed to ensuring the best possible learning, living and working environment at UC San Diego.

Raising Awareness in the Community about Higher Education

We are also committed to our outreach efforts – to community leaders, to prospective students and their families, to elected officials and to the community. As I mentioned last month, our advocacy and outreach efforts are more important than ever because of the significant, continuous decline in state funding for higher education. I encourage you to join our efforts by visiting advocacy.ucsd.edu. By communicating the positive impact that UC San Diego has on our region and state, and the complex issues we face in higher education, we raise awareness and gain supporters – people who recognize the importance and value of education, and investing in education. The fact is, higher education provides an amazing return on investment – in the form of skilled workers, translational research, public service, patient care, new companies and jobs, and other economic benefits. In fact, our campus contributes more than $7 billion each year to the state economy.

As part of my upcoming outreach efforts, I will participate in two important panels – the first at a Mexican-American Business Professionals Association meeting this month to discuss the current economic climate, and the impacts and progress on diversity on campus. I will be joined by San Diego State University President Elliott Hirshman. The second panel will take place in April at a Catfish Club meeting. I will join President Hirshman and Chancellor of San Diego Community College District Constance Carroll to talk about the role of higher education in the future of California. I also continue to meet with, and make presentations to, community and business leaders, including the Chula Vista Rotary and Kiwanis Club, to let them know about the amazing education and innovation happening on our campus, and how we are creatively addressing current economic challenges through partnerships, philanthropy, and increased research grants and contracts. I also regularly participate in the “Evening with UC San Diego” events, typically held in underrepresented communities, in order to encourage students to stay on track and get good grades, and explain the admissions process to them and their parents. We want young students to know that a UC San Diego education is valuable and attainable.

Black History Month Celebrated in February

We also want students, and everyone in our community, to know how much we value diversity at UC San Diego. Throughout the year, we have many celebrations of diversity, on and off campus. Last month, dozens of students, staff, faculty and alumni represented UC San Diego in the Martin Luther King Jr. parade, and participated in the MLK and Volunteer50 Day of Service. To view a photo album, click here.

This month, we’re hosting our annual campus celebration of Black History Month.  We will have myriad events throughout the month, including a drumming workshop, art and quilting displays at the LGBT Resource Center and Geisel Library, and global seminars. We will also have a very special performance of Being Henrietta, which will explore the story of Henrietta Lacks. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cancer cells were taken without her knowledge and used for medical research, and they became one of the most important tools in medicine. Being Henrietta was conceived by UC San Diego alumna and Thurgood Marshall College 2011/12 Artist-in-Residence Monique Gaffney, who also appears in the performance. MFA student Jeff Augustin contributed to the writing and Professor Nadine George is directing. It will take place at 7 p.m. on Feb. 2, and you can register here.  For a full calendar of Black History Month events, click here.

I encourage you to get involved in our Black History Month celebration and also our advocacy and outreach efforts. UC San Diego is a great place to be, but together we can make it even better.

With warm regards,

Marye Anne Fox
Chancellor