ALL ACADEMICS, STUDENTS AND STAFF AT UC SAN DIEGO
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Welcome to the 2024-25 Academic Year |
Dear Triton Community,
Welcome – or welcome back – to campus!
This fall, we have much to look forward to. We are excited to cheer on our outstanding Triton athletics teams as we begin our first year competing as a fully eligible Division I program. We are celebrating the new School of Computing, Information and Data Sciences (SCIDS), a hub of innovative learning and research in data science, computing and artificial intelligence that will bridge academic units across campus, provide cutting-edge training and hands-on experience, and propel the next generation of data-driven experts. We will also mark the grand opening of our new undergraduate housing, including the 1,300-bed Pepper Canyon West transfer and upper-division student housing and the 2,000-bed Theatre District Livingand Learning Neighborhood, which is the home of our newly founded Eighth College. And that is just the beginning.
During the 2024-25 year, we will continue to transform our campus by investing in education and research programs and building state-of-the-art facilities for living, teaching, research, health care delivery, arts and community engagement. Across many dimensions, we are making great strides toward our goals to be a global destination university, to transform a diverse global society by educating the next generation of leaders and changemakers, to provide world-class health care, and to engage in public service.
As a leading public university, to achieve our goals we must maintain a nurturing, supportive and physically safe environment for everybody to learn, grow and contribute to our mission. As we enter a new academic year, we urge every member of our community to commit to maintaining an inclusive environment and supporting open dialogue based on mutual respect, empathy, compassion and understanding for all.
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Global Conflict and Campus Challenges
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While we look ahead and anticipate the coming year, it is also valuable to look back and acknowledge the recent challenges campuses across the country have faced – including ours – amidst global conflicts. The ongoing conflicts in various parts of the world, and especially the war in the Middle East, have inspired many to express their views in various forms of advocacy and protest. This past spring was an especially difficult time for campuses across the country.
UC San Diego has been – and will continue to be – champions of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, academic freedom and vigorous debate over issues of importance to our community members. We also have a long and robust history of supporting and encouraging peaceful demonstrations. In the last academic year, we supported more than 35 major campus protests, dedicating substantial security and personnel resources to ensure the safety and rights of everyone. Our support for free expression will continue to be one of our core values.
At the same time, we are steadfast in our commitment to ensuring that UC San Diego is free from violence, vandalism, harassment, intimidation and discrimination and that no student, faculty or staff member is improperly excluded from taking advantage of the benefits or opportunities afforded by the university.
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Academic Freedom and Freedom of Expression
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UC San Diego’s mission includes finding solutions to the world’s most challenging problems and furthering dialogue and understanding about consequential topics and societal issues. This mission is both our responsibility and our strength as a public research university.
Free expression, open dialogue and debate are critical to understanding our differences, advancing knowledge and discovering truth. Disagreement and differences of opinion are natural and healthy and can enrich the academic experience for everyone when we treat each other with dignity, respect and tolerance for different points of view. We encourage every member of our community to read and embody our Principles of Community.
To promote free expression and access to the campus for all members of our campus community, we have updated our Free Expression website and clarified our policies, guidelines and rules, with the goal of promoting a safer and more inclusive environment at UC San Diego.
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Policy Clarifications and Updates
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- Camping or encampments: No person shall camp, set up or erect a campsite or occupy a tent or other temporary housing structure on university property, unless specifically pre-approved.
- Unauthorized structures: No person shall erect, build, construct, set up, establish and/or maintain unauthorized structures on university property.
- Restricting free movement: No person shall restrict the movement of another person or persons by, among other means, blocking or obstructing their ingress or egress of roadways, walkways, buildings, parking structures, fire lanes, windows, doors or other passageway to university property, or otherwise denying a person access to a university facility or space.
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Masking to conceal identity: No person shall wear a mask or personal disguise or otherwise conceal their identity with the intent of intimidating any person or group, or for the purpose of evading or escaping discovery, recognition or identification in the commission of violations of law or policy.
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Refusal to reveal identity: No person shall refuse to identify themselves while on university property to university officials who are acting in the performance of their duties in situations where assistance or intervention is needed.
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To help the campus community navigate these complex areas, we have created an Expressive Activities Information web page that collects these and other commonly referenced university policies regarding expressive activity on campus. I encourage you to review this page and bookmark it as a resource for reference.
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Time, Place and Manner Policy
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The campus has a policy regarding the time, place and manner for expressive activity. Expressive activity must not disrupt university operations or violate the rights of other people. Occupying buildings, forming or maintaining encampments, and restricting the free movement of people in or out of campus spaces that they are entitled to access are not forms of peaceful protest.
Violations of university policy will result in disciplinary sanctions, and if laws are broken, criminal or civil penalties may be pursued. We expect everyone to read this policy and be familiar with campus rules.
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Anti-Discrimination Policy
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While university leaders are often asked to issue statements on current events or contentious issues, issuing such statements can be seen as divisive or exclusionary and can have a chilling effect on free expression. Starting this academic year, like many other universities, we have made the decision not to issue statements regarding specific political or social issues that do not directly pertain to the university’s mission and operations. It is not the role of the university to take sides in contentious political or social debates, but rather to serve as a space where all of the members of our community can explore, debate and decide for themselves what and how to think about those issues.
Moving forward, we will continue to focus on our core academic mission and the values that define us: integrity, intellectual curiosity, mutual respect and a commitment to the common good. We are committed to fostering an environment in which all members of our community feel empowered to think critically, express their views, engage in robust debate and advance learning, innovation and understanding.
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We have a lot to be proud of, and every person on our campus has made contributions to our thriving and growing campus community. We continue to be appreciative of and inspired by your dedication to making UC San Diego one of the top universities in the nation.
As part of our membership in this Triton campus community, it is our responsibility to honor the rights and intrinsic value of every other member. Even in the most divisive of times, let us come together, listen to understand and cherish our shared humanity.
Thank you for all you do to support each other.
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Pradeep K. Khosla
Chancellor
Joan and Irwin Jacobs Chancellor’s Endowed Chair
Elizabeth H. Simmons
Executive Vice Chancellor
John M. Carethers
Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences
Margaret S. Leinen
Vice Chancellor for Marine Sciences
Corinne Peek-Asa
Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation
Becky R. Petitt
Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Alysson M. Satterlund
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Campus Life
Niraj Dangoria
Vice Chancellor for Operations Management and Capital Programs
Pierre Ouillet
Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer
Ann Spira
Vice Chancellor for Advancement
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University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093 |
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