Letter From
VICE CHANCELLOR PENNY RUE

Happy New Year! As 2009 begins, we cannot help but reflect upon what 2008 brought us. Last year was a time of upheaval but also of hope, and I begin the new year knowing that we face challenging times ahead, but that we will do so within a caring community and with faith in our ability to prevail.

The global economic downturn has taken many by surprise in its scope and magnitude. Here at UC San Diego, we find ourselves waiting for our elected leaders to make decisions that will affect us both as citizens and as state employees. At the same time, students and their families encounter much economic uncertainty and depend upon a quality education. Without clear direction from the state and the Office of the President, we are doing what we can to be prudent in the face of likely future budget cuts. Hence, we are slowing the filling of positions so that we might maintain budget flexibility through salary savings. We are also curtailing discretionary spending, such as limiting professional development travel and some staff development activities.

In times of fiscal restraint, it is tempting to retreat, to surrender creativity and energy, and to batten down our collective hatches. We owe it to our students not to fall into that predictable path. It is even more critical to maintain a sense of energy and purpose, to take solace in considerate colleagues and a caring community, and to continue to invent, innovate, and create. We know how to do a lot with a little—students’ lives have been changed through a one-to-one conversation and student groups have been developed with just a marker and newsprint.

We will continue professional development activities because we are educators who place a priority on learning, but those activities will focus on bringing someone here to speak to many of us rather than to send someone away to learn by themselves. We will also continue to take advantage of the rich resources we share here at UCSD through our professional development series, as noted in this edition.

We will also continue with our strategic planning process because it is important to look beyond this current crisis, to imagine a vibrant future, and to think about what we can do now to get us there. We have some special opportunities to strengthen our community, even in these difficult times, such as the mental health funding that is allowing us to move forward with a search for a new AVC for Health and Wellness. This investment will allow us to develop not only direct services for those in need, but a model of prevention and resilience that will stem the rising tide of crisis services. We have important initiatives to maintain, even as we seek to do so through more entrepreneurial avenues and via more external funding.

My leadership team and I will continue to look for creative approaches, to think about how to take advantage of synergies, and to minimize the impact of budget cuts on staff and students. I ask that you, too, find ways within your sphere of influence to keep a positive focus and think how best to maintain critical services to students when times are tough. For our students, this is the only time they will be here, and we owe it to them to make it the best experience that we can.