Dear UCSF Community:

I am delighted to announce the appointment of Dan Bernal as UCSF’s next vice chancellor for community and government relations (CGR). A longtime San Francisco resident who served for two decades with U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi, including as her chief of staff when she was House Speaker, Dan is well versed in a wide array of policy issues that affect UCSF.

Dan is a collaborative leader who has built strong relationships in the community over 25 years in San Francisco government and politics, and we are fortunate to have him join us in this significant period of growth at UCSF.

Throughout his career, he has a demonstrated a commitment to equity and inclusion for people from underserved communities. He has served on the San Francisco Health Commission and currently serves as the HIV/AIDS patient advocate to the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). Early in his career, he helped to pass AB 540, which allows undocumented students and legal permanent residents to pay in-state tuition at University of California and California State University campuses.

Dan got to know UCSF well during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he worked with several of us to brief members of Congress. He saw our dedication to health equity through UCSF’s work in the community providing testing and vaccination to anyone who needed it. And as a person who has been living with HIV for more than 30 years, he understands the contributions our HIV experts have made to improving care for people like him.

I would like to thank Interim Vice Chancellor Ellie Rossiter for leading the department through a critical year in which we opened Pride Hall and gained approval to build a new research and academic building at the Parnassus Heights campus. Her service has been essential to our success.

Dan’s first day will be December 11, 2023. Please join me in welcoming him to UCSF.

Read more about Dan.

Sincerely,

Sam Hawgood, MBBS
Chancellor
Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Distinguished Professor