Dear Members of the UCSF Community,
Over the next several days, tens of thousands of people are expected to attend rallies and demonstrations in San Francisco and the greater Bay Area. In the aftermath of Charlottesville, many of us are concerned about the unpredictable nature of these events and what might unfold.
As a public university, UCSF defends the constitutional right of free speech. However, we condemn any action that threatens or intimidates people based on their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ability, age, or other characteristic.
For those who choose to participate in events over the coming days, there are many opportunities to peacefully express a commitment to the values that define UCSF – diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect – and to reject bigotry and hatred.
The UCSF Police Department and UCSF Health emergency management are working to coordinate our emergency response plan with efforts across the University of California and with other agencies, both local and regional. For more information, please refer to the safety bulletin that UCSF Chief of Police Mike Denson issued yesterday.
I remind you that we are prepared to support members of the UCSF community who may be distressed or feel at risk. Many campus resources are available to provide professional counseling and other assistance:
Dear Colleagues,
The California State Auditor yesterday released its audit findings on the University of California (UC) contracting practices. The review was conducted at the request of the state legislature.
UC President Janet Napolitano has expressed appreciation for the auditor’s recommendations, which recognized the strengths of UC’s contracting practices while also identifying areas for improvement. UCSF supports President Napolitano’s position and is fully committed to working with her office towards continuous improvement and establishment of effective best practices.
The full report, which includes President Napolitano’s comments, can be read here https://www.auditor.ca.gov/pdfs/reports/2016-125.1.pdf.
The audit included a review of several UCSF service contracts, including a contract to outsource a portion of our IT services. The conclusion was that, overall, our contracts are substantially in compliance with UC policy and guidelines and followed UC’s collective bargaining agreements.
In regard to the IT contract, the audit report found that, per UC guidelines, we appropriately conducted a cost analysis “to justify the business and financial necessity” for the contracting decision, but that we did not provide a formal, written notification to the Office of the President (OP) justifying the outsourcing decision. The report noted that both UCSF and OP believed that an in-person presentation to OP by UCSF had met that particular guideline. Finally, the audit report found that all personnel policies had been satisfied.
In those limited instances where the audit found that a UCSF...
Dear Colleagues,
I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Catherine L. Gilliss, PhD, RN, FAAN, as our new dean for the UCSF School of Nursing and associate vice chancellor for nursing affairs, effective September 25, 2017.
Catherine has extensive leadership experience from serving as dean of the schools of nursing at both Duke University and Yale University. Her background is in psychiatric and primary care, and her research focus is examining the impact of behavior on the recognition and management of illness.
Catherine’s foremost priorities as dean of the UCSF School of Nursing are development of a sustainable business model and further integration of its people and programs within the overall UCSF Health enterprise. Her responsibilities include advancing the School’s commitment to combining research and scholarship with high quality clinical education at the graduate level, developing new ways to maintain the school’s growth, enhancing the school’s strong dedication to diversity, and being a key thought leader in the national and international nursing community.
This is a homecoming for Catherine after a twenty-year absence. She served as chair of the Department of Family Healthcare Nursing from 1993–1998.
I extend my deep gratitude to Dr. Sandra Weiss, RN, PhD, FAAN, professor and Robert C. and Delphine Wentland Eschbach Chair in Mental Health, co-director of the UCSF Depression Center, and professor in the school’s Department of Community Health Systems, who served as interim dean, once again, and who will return to her many research and professional commitments as a member of the faculty. Sandra guided the School of Nursing for the last year, keeping...
Dear Members of the UCSF Community,
We are writing to pay tribute to two of our most highly regarded faculty members, Drs. Jeffrey Pearl and Art Ablin, who passed away in recent days.
An outstanding surgeon
Dr. Pearl is most remembered for his indefatigable dedication to UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion, where he served as associate dean and associate medical director and was a tireless advocate for its patients and their care. Jeff held the Fishbon Endowed Chair in Ambulatory Surgery and was a committed teacher to students and trainees. He also was an enthusiastic participant at our annual UCSF Founders Day luncheon where he presented the UCSF at Mount Zion Milton and Helen Pearl Award for Outstanding Service. The recipients were selected based on their exceptional willingness to render additional service of distinction to others.
A world-renowned pediatric oncologist
Dr. Ablin was a role model and mentor, advancing the careers of countless students, trainees, and junior faculty. Not only will we remember his kindness, integrity, and tenacious spirit, we are eternally grateful for his generosity. With his visionary commitment to patients and their families, he founded Family House, which provides a place for families to stay during a child’s medical treatment. He also was the impetus for several philanthropic gifts that resulted in the Roma and Marvin Auerback Distinguished Professorship; Deborah and Arthur Ablin, MD, Endowed Chair in Pediatric Molecular Oncology; and Mildred V. Strouss Endowed Chair in Translational Research in Pediatric Oncology.
Both Drs. Pearl and Ablin were steadfast professionals with an unwavering...
Dear Members of the UCSF Community,
The incident in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend has once again focused our country on the reckless actions of those who seek to inflict hatred, intolerance, and violence in our communities and on our college campuses. UCSF absolutely and unequivocally condemns these actions and stands firmly in support of the values that are deeply ingrained within the University of California – diversity, respect, and inclusion.
UC President Janet Napolitano, speaking on behalf of the entire UC community yesterday, publicly condemned the hateful actions of the white supremacists, and voiced strong solidarity with our colleagues at the University of Virginia (UVA) who denounced the abhorrent display and “stood up to a crowd bent on violence.” We applaud President Napolitano’s leadership.
We also applaud the efforts of student leaders across this country – including the leadership of UCSF’s Graduate and Professional Student Association – in voicing support for the students of UVA and reaffirming their commitment to speak up in the face of injustice.
In the wake of the events in Virginia, School of Medicine Executive Vice Dean Catherine Lucey sent an email to the school’s faculty, students, and staff yesterday reminding them to stay strong. “We, on the side of equality, justice, liberty, and inclusion, are powerful as a community,” she wrote.
As a community, we do have power. We urge all of us to continue to come together and build on our collective strengths to ensure that everyone – no matter who they are – is...
Dear Members of the UCSF Community:
This past spring, the television show 60 Minutes ran a story critical of the federal H-1B visa program, which allows U.S. companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. The story referenced UCSF’s decision to contract out a portion of its IT services. 60 Minutes has notified us that it intends to air again the original story this Sunday, August 13, as part of its normal rerun schedule during the summer months.
As background, the decision to outsource a portion of our IT services was the result of a comprehensive, two-year review of all of our IT services and requirements. This change will help reduce rapidly rising IT costs and give us the ability to continue investing in increasingly sophisticated IT services and capabilities critical to our education, research, and patient care missions. UCSF is projected to save $30 million over five years as a result of the outsourcing.
UCSF retains 80 percent of its IT work in-house and continues to grow IT jobs, especially in specialty areas supporting research and clinical care.
The change also involved the layoff or termination of the employment of 49 career UCSF employees. All impacted career employees were given six months’ advance notice and were eligible for severance packages. We provided job placement assistance and helped employees find other employment opportunities at UCSF, other UC campuses, and outside organizations. Of the 49 affected career employees, more than 30 have secured other employment or chose to retire.
Among the workers impacted by this decision, some questioned our decision to ask them to train employees from HCL America, the firm...
Dear Colleagues,
This morning, U.S. News & World Report released its annual rankings of best hospitals in the United States. I am very pleased to share the results: UCSF Medical Center is the fifth best hospital in the nation, the best hospital in California and the best hospital in the West.
Further, of the 16 specialties that U.S. News evaluates, UCSF ranks in the top 25 for 15 specialties and in the top ten for 13. The entire rankings can be viewed here.
While we acknowledge that all ranking systems are imperfect and can change from year to year, I truly believe that these scores accurately reflect the intense work that has taken place at UCSF over the past several years. That work includes an unrelenting focus on quality and safety, increasing access, investing in our people, lowering costs and improving our patients’ experience.
But more than anything else, these scores placing UCSF Medical Center among the top handful of hospitals in the United States reflect the quality of our faculty physicians. Their scientific innovation and creativity coupled with the exceptional care they provide to every patient, 24/7, drive our national and international standing.
Credit for the quality of UCSF’s faculty is shared by many, but it starts at the top, with Chancellor (and former School of Medicine Dean) Sam Hawgood and current Dean Talmadge King. They have jointly recruited and supported a stellar group of clinical and basic science department chairs, each of whom has recruited division chiefs and faculty whose impact advances these rankings directly or indirectly. Please take time to acknowledge our...