All Senate Welcome Fall 2025

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to a new academic year. I will be sending my first Chair’s letter to the faculty soon, but for now I want to flag some upcoming events for you to add to your calendar.

Akos Rona-Tas and I look forward to serving as your Senate Vice Chair and Chair. Especially during this difficult moment, it is our privilege to represent the interests of the faculty, both within the Senate and by taking the Senate’s concerns and advice to the Administration. Feel free to contact us at senatechair@ucsd.edu and senatevicechair@ucsd.edu at any time. We are always eager to hear from you.

Below are a few opportunities to connect with us during the year:

Representative Assembly. All Senate members are invited to attend Representative Assembly meetings. The Senate Chair provides an update on current issues and faculty can ask questions. Typically, the Chancellor and/or the Executive Vice Chancellor also address the Assembly. In addition, new graduate degree programs and modifications to Divisional Senate bylaws and regulations, which govern Senate operations and the curriculum, are presented for a vote by the Assembly.

Attending Representative Assembly meetings is a great way to stay informed and to participate in the broader UC San Diego educational community. This year, all meetings will be held in person on Tuesdays on the dates below. Meeting agendas with the meeting location will be posted on the Senate’s website five instructional days before each meeting.
- October 21, 2025, 3:45 to 5:15 p.m.
- November 18, 2025, 3:45 to 5:15 p.m.
- January 13, 2026, 3:30 to 5:00 p.m.
- March 3, 2026, 3:30 to 5:00 p.m.
- April 7, 2026, 3:30 to 5:00 p.m.
- June 2, 2026, 3:30 to 5:00 p.m.
Quarterly Lunches with the Senate Chair and Vice Chair. We will be hosting a quarterly lunch from noon to 1:00 p.m. at the Faculty Club. Our first lunch is scheduled for Thursday, October 23. Please visit the Senate website to sign up. It would be great to have lunch with you.
Coffee Chats with the Senate Chair and Vice Chair. We will be hosting quarterly coffee chats with Senate faculty at the Academic Senate Office (third floor of Center Hall, Room 315) to discuss current issues under discussion by the Academic Senate. The Fall quarter chat is scheduled for Thursday, November 13, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Vice Chair Rona-Tas will lead a discussion on recommendations from the Senate Administration’s Workgroup on Undergraduate Admissions, which is in the process of finishing up their report. Please visit the Senate website to sign up to give us a sense of what to plan for, and we will provide treats and coffee!
Faculty Club Happy Hours. In addition to the above events, we also plan to participate in the Faculty Club Happy Hours from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. once per quarter. The fall date is Thursday, December 4. No sign up is required. Just show up and unwind with us!

Future quarterly events will be shared at the beginning of the Winter and Spring quarters.

We hope you will engage with the Academic Senate during the year and visit the Senate website (senate.ucsd.edu) for information about the work performed by Senate committees and issues under review. We look forward to this coming year and welcome your comments and suggestions. And again, please keep an eye out for my forthcoming letter.

Sincerely,

Rebecca Jo Plant
Chair
Academic Senate, San Diego Division

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