Dear Colleagues:
After receiving feedback from the campuses, UC President Michael Drake today announced a program to help the UC system preserve jobs and avoid COVID-19-related layoffs where possible. The program offers the campuses the flexibility to use a combination of options, including furloughs and curtailment, to achieve this systemwide goal.
Because of the steps UCSF has already taken to steward our resources this year, we do not need to implement furloughs or a UCSF-wide mandatory curtailment at this time.
Our hiring and salary freezes, value improvement measures, redeployments, and staffing level adjustments to reflect fewer in-person activities have allowed us to reduce the pandemic’s impact on UCSF employees. The sacrifices our community has made have helped ensure our ability to serve our patients and communities, and I am grateful for all of your work.
I thank President Drake for his compassionate leadership. Aligned with his direction, we will continue to look for ways to minimize the hardships on our workforce and provide support where we can, as we continue to monitor this unpredictable pandemic and its long-term impact.
One effort we are expanding is the UCSF COVID-19 Relief Program, which provides employees at lower compensation levels with grants that do not have to be repaid. More information will be available soon, and we will be taking steps to help ensure that all eligible employees are made aware of the program.
As we prepare for the holidays, I want to...
Dear UCSF Community,
We are pleased to share with you the initial report of the UCSF Safety Task Force, a chancellor-appointed task force charged with reviewing and refining UCSF’s practices around community safety.
During the past few months the task force developed nine recommendations for strengthening UCSF’s security and policing protocols, guided by the leadership of Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Dan Lowenstein and Vice Chancellor Renee Navarro. Their initial report includes improvements to current policies as well as new opportunities for ensuring a safe, secure, and welcoming environment for every UCSF community member and visitor.
Among the task force’s recommendations are proposals for increasing the use of evidence-backed de-escalation measures that can help defuse disruptive situations without police intervention. Another promising recommendation is to reimagine the recruitment, training, and role of our security guards. Increasing diversity within their ranks and enhancing their diversity, equity, and inclusion training will help us prevent racial profiling on our campus.
This initial report represents the first phase of an ongoing priority for UCSF. It is an important part of our Anti-racism Initiative. Next steps include a review of the task force’s recommendations by the Chancellor and his leadership team. In addition, the task force has been asked to continue its work and develop an implementation plan for the recommendations that will be adopted once approved.
As the next phase of work gets under way, we invite you to read the...