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 OFFICE OF THE CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICER

October 24, 2024

ALL STAFF AT UC SAN DIEGO (excluding UC San Diego Health and Health Sciences) 

People Leaders:  For staff without ready access to email, please print and post a copy of this email. 

It’s officially fall, y’all! As evidenced by the rich color scheme gracing our trees across campus, the hustle and bustle of our invigorated students, and the scent of vanilla candles and pumpkin spice lattes permeating the air (if those are your jam).

In other words, it’s the season of change. For many, change can be terrifying. For others, energizing - and for all of us, change is inevitable. It’s coming whether we’re ready or not. We can’t control the speed at which the leaves change their hue, but guess who can control how we react to change? That’s you.

I want to encourage you all to keep that top of mind as we collectively navigate a period of potential transformation. With change comes uncertainty, and naturally for many, anxiety. And I want to name that. 

We may not be able to control what’s happening around us, but we can try to control what’s happening within us (and if we react or not). Remember the value of simply stepping away for a few minutes to reset. And if it’s too much for us to handle on our own, just remember you’re not alone. Our incredible team of Faculty and Staff Assistance Program (FSAP) professionals are just an email away. The key is to acknowledge what you are feeling and to not gaslight yourself. And then do something about it.

I’ve said this before, but it is timely to stress again just how grateful I feel to work for a place that offers this level of support, and one that allows us to make a difference and advocate for what we believe in. If you need guidelines on how to exercise your rights during this time, please reference our Chancellor’s recent campus notice, as well as our free expression website.

We may not always agree with one another, and we may have different points of view, but we all have several common threads uniting us: we are human. We are Tritons. We are part of something greater than ourselves.

They say the only constant in life is change; I want to add to that: may the other constants in life include grace, kindness, and respect. Because we can only stand strong in the face of change when we are grounded in grace, kindness, and respect.

Lead with grace and courage,

Terri S. Winbush  

Campus Chief Human Resources Officer 

We recently invited all faculty and staff at UC San Diego to self-identify their veteran status, disability status, race/ethnicity, gender identity, and sexual orientation in observance of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) in October. We’d like to encourage and remind you to participate in the self-identification by providing easy-to-follow links for each area. Read more in this recent campus notice.

Open Enrollment for 2025 benefits will begin Thursday, Oct. 31, at 8 a.m. PDT, and end on Friday, Nov. 22, at 5 p.m PST. Please plan accordingly to ensure you allot enough time to ask questions and make your benefits selections by the deadline. Learn more on Blink and in this recent campus notice, and stay tuned for future ongoing announcements and reminders.

As I shared in last month’s Updates from HR, I had the unforgettable opportunity to attend our annual Celebrate the Night event with our wonderful evening crew (or as I like to call them, nighttime knights). Celebrate the Night is an event organized by our Staff Association to honor the contributions of our staff who work night shifts (A.K.A. when we are all sleeping!). You can get a glimpse into just how amazing that event was in this recent UC San Diego Today article.

During the 2024 holiday season, UC San Diego (excluding the hospitals and clinics) will officially close for seven (7) days between Tuesday, December 24, 2024, and Wednesday, January 1, 2025. The closure period includes four (4) university paid holidays (December 24, 25, 31 and January 1, 2025). Learn more in this recent campus notice. 

Systemwide Human Resources Executive Director of Retirement Program Services Hyun Swanson issued a letter regarding fraudulent activity involving UC Retirement Savings Program accounts maintained by Fidelity. Read more in this recent campus notice.

Beginning Monday, October 21, Price Center will offer late-night study hours for students Monday through Thursday. Price Center East (Levels 1 & 2) will now be open 24 hours, and Sun God Lounge and Open Desk will be open until 2 a.m. There will be no changes to current building hours Friday through Sunday. Visit University Centers' website for a complete list of study spaces at Price Center and across campus.

UC has launched a required system-wide training on preventing workplace violence in support of the Workplace Violence Prevention Program, and in accordance with the requirements of California Labor Code section 6401.9. Thank you to everyone who has completed this training so far. For those who have not, you must complete it by Dec. 6, 2024. Please log in to UC Learning Center (UCLC) to complete the training, or check your inbox for an email from UCLC sent on Oct. 8. You can learn more in this recent campus notice.

In accordance with the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, UC San Diego is providing you with important information regarding university policies and sanctions relating to drug and alcohol violations; a summary of federal, state and local laws and penalties for drug and alcohol offenses; health risks associated with the use of drugs and alcohol abuse; and resources for drug and alcohol counseling and treatment. Please read this recent campus notice for more information.

Keep your eyes peeled for an invitation coming to your inbox next week to nominate a diversity champion for the 2025 Inclusive Excellence awards. These awards recognize faculty, staff, students, and departments or groups for their leadership in advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion, and for their strong commitment to the UC San Diego Principles of Community. Use this week to spread the word and to start marinating on all the amazing people in your team you’re going to nominate!

Interested in additional opportunities to explore resources, curate ideas and strategies, and connect with fellow people leaders? Consider attending one of our upcoming people leadership training sessions. View the 2024 People Leader Development Program calendar for descriptions and registration information. The final offerings for fall 2024 include Supervising at UC San Diego (October-November), and Communication and Collaboration Tools for Teams (December).

Join Faculty and Staff Assistance Program (FSAP) counselor William Youngblood, LMFT CEAP, on Fri., Oct. 25 from 9:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. for this in-person course designed to help people leaders learn about their role in identifying and referring troubled employees to areas of support and FSAP. Learn more and register through the UC Learning Center.

Join the Learning Community of Practice (LCOP) and Operational Strategic Initiatives (OSI) on Wed., Oct. 30 at 1 p.m. for a transformative session on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in staff training. Learn how AI can personalize learning, enhance content creation, and shape the future of staff development. For more details and to register, visit theTritonGPT webinar page.

Employee Wellness is excited to announce that Bright Breaks is now live. This voluntary program offers hundreds of live and on-demand 7-minute sessions to support you throughout your work week. Topics include movement, stress-reduction, mindfulness and meditation, yoga, nutrition, and more! Bright Breaks is free for all UC San Diego career employees through single sign-on. Sign up for Bright Breaks here.

UC San Diego employees can sign up for the monthly Employee Wellness newsletter highlighting wellness-related announcements, upcoming events and programs, wellness info and tips, free programs for employees, monthly raffles for subscribers, and more. Fill out this registration form to sign up.

Mark your calendars for Wed., Nov. 20 from 1:30 - 3 p.m. for our last Staff Town Hall of the year, where we will highlight student employment, campus planning, discuss updates from HR, Staff Association, Wellness and more. Register and submit questions in advance through Zoom.

Calling HR professionals on campus (A.K.A. HR Network) to join the last HR Forum of 2024 on Thursday, December 12, 2024 from 1:30 – 3 p.m. Register and submit questions in advance through Zoom.