Academic Senate Chair: A Time for Action

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

Thank you to all that participated in our back-to-back meetings this past Tuesday, where we discussed very important issues affecting our university. I admire your commitment to upholding UC San Diego's mission and to our faculty colleagues, students, and staff.

The Quick Notes for our special meeting (meeting from 5:15 to 6:45 p.m.) are now posted on the Academic Senate website. A later notice will be sent when the Quick Notes for the regular meeting (meeting from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m.) become available. The Quick Notes are a reference guide to what happened at the meeting, designed to aid Representatives when they report at departmental meetings. They are not the meeting minutes, which are submitted for approval at the next meeting.

At our special meeting we approved two Resolutions:

Resolution to support UC San Diego students, faculty and staff who have had their visas or green cards revoked
Resolution to refrain from sharing the personal information of UC San Diego students, faculty and staff unless compelled by warrant or subpoena

The full text of both resolutions is included in the special meeting Quick Notes. Because of the sensitive topics of our meeting this past Tuesday, we did not finish our discussion. We have one more resolution to consider. For this purpose, we are scheduling two opportunities to engage and listen to each other.

Firstly, we will have a virtual Town Hall on Wednesday, April 23, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. A Town Hall is not for Senate business that requires voting. It is a conversation and exchange of information. To participate in this Town Hall, please register at this link.

The time for voting will then come at a Special Representative Assembly meeting scheduled for Tuesday, April 29, from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. This meeting will be in person at the Garren Auditorium (first floor), located in the Biomedical Sciences Building (BSB).

A resolution is a statement of values and an exhortation to act. I entreat us to focus and use these resolutions to develop specific responses with actionable items that we, the Senate faculty, can implement together. Words without action are not as persuasive, almost not as rewarding. Here at UC San Diego, we are people of action. This is a time to share, not to look away, but to acknowledge each other's strengths and develop solutions that can effect positive change.

During these difficult times, I am grateful for you, for your courage and strength, and for the opportunity you have given me to serve as your Senate Chair.

I am grateful

grateful not for perfect days,
But for the storms that taught me calm,
For the paths I've walked, the words I've said,
I see the good, I see the flawed,
The times I could have offered more,
And all the ways I simply am,
Thank you for these fragile days,
For being you. For showing grace.

I look forward to our conversations during our upcoming Town Hall and our Special Representative Assembly meeting.

As always, I can be reached at senatechair@ucsd.edu if you need my support.

In Truth and Hope,

Olivia A. Graeve
Chair
Academic Senate, San Diego Division

University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093