Letter From
Vice Chancellor Penny Rue

Welcome to spring!

Though spring is marked by a more subtle rebirth in California than elsewhere, where people are literally thawing out, it is nonetheless a time of renewed energy and excitement on any college campus. Here at UC San Diego, we join in the excitement surrounding Associated Student Elections, Admit Day, new RAs and orientation leaders, and the many recognition ceremonies that help us tell our students how much we value their contributions to the community.

Yet it can be a hectic time! Tensions can arise among winners and losers, those chosen and those not, and those divided by international political issues—and, of course, academic pressures still run high. It is no less hectic for many of us who help to plan events, arrange yield activities, and answer phone calls from confused potential students, all the while helping students manage transitions and recognize their own legacies.

While these seasonal differences are familiar—and even comforting—the larger world around us is in the grip of an economic situation unlike any other. We have no playbook, no routine way of handling this current crisis, and yet we must gather the best information and make the best possible decisions. Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, was recently quoted as saying, “You don’t ever want to let a crisis go to waste. It is an opportunity to do important things that you would otherwise avoid.” So, while stressful, it is also a time to get creative because we have been pushed out of our comfortable routines and are forced to take a new look at everything. Who among us isn’t asking hard questions at home about what we “need”? The same is true at work, where we can ask ourselves,“is there another way of achieving the same ends?” “Who might I partner with who shares this goal?”

One real challenge is doing our very best to make sure that the quality of the student experience is not impaired by the very difficult decisions ahead, and that must be our guiding light. If we wring our hands and gnash our teeth about how we will get this or that done, students will do the same because they do watch and listen. If we speak to them calmly about how we will carry forward despite some setbacks, they will be reassured.

Remember, much of what is most valuable about our work happens in one-to-one conversations with students or in small group meetings. How many lives have been changed through a simple, caring conversation with a student? How many groups have been created or transformed with a newsprint pad and marker? Student Affairs staff are skilled at stretching a dollar, and these talents are especially valuable now.

So, as we begin the very lively spring quarter, please join me in resolving to do what we can to make sure these turbulent times have the least possible impact on our students. They deserve to know that we are all facing tough times, and at the same time, they deserve to know that their well-being remains our very highest priority.