To the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis Community:
On Monday, we learned of the tragic deaths of seven students from campuses on opposite sides of the country, the University of Virginia and the University of Idaho. It鈥檚 heartbreaking to see promising young lives cut short by violence. As I said in my statement, college campuses are places where young people are forming their ideas and pursuing their dreams. Violence of all kinds remains a national crisis and it鈥檚 devastating that we keep seeing people killed before they have a chance to realize their full potential.
We鈥檙e also seeing the effects of great division in our country. In late October, we took all necessary steps to allow a student-organized speaker event on campus, only to see it disrupted by violence, leading to the event鈥檚 cancellation by the organizers. As an institution, we do not condone violence or destruction of property. We have also seen a rise in antisemitism, Islamophobia and other hate speech regionally and nationally. Here in our community, we are taking action: We鈥檝e been working with the city of Davis and Yolo County on a new initiative to address this type of hate in our communities, while still upholding the right to freedom of expression. We鈥檒l share the details soon.
One of the things that most impresses me about 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis is its friendly, welcoming and inclusive culture. That鈥檚 a wonderful trait and one I hope we can continue to build upon. We鈥檙e living in very tumultuous times and the value of a supportive community cannot be overstated.
UAW strike
I鈥檝e received a number of comments and questions regarding the strike occurring this week on all of our 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 campuses. It involves University of California bargaining units covered by the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW). These bargaining units consist of Academic Student Employees (Teaching Assistants, Readers, Tutors), Academic Researchers, Postdoctoral Scholars and Graduate Student Researchers.
All bargaining negotiations for 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis and the entire 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 system are conducted by the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Office of the President, not at the campus level. Visit the for the latest guidance, including . We recognize the right of these bargaining units to strike and hope the UAW and 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 negotiators will agree on a contract that makes it possible for 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis to continue to recruit the most talented graduate students, academic researchers and postdoctoral scholars, while at the same time allowing those students to live and thrive in the region.
2023 undergraduate commencement
I鈥檓 excited to announce that our 2023 spring commencement for undergraduates will be held in Sacramento. We made this decision based on student feedback to a commencement survey and upon recommendation from our commencement advisory committee. In light of the survey results, we are currently negotiating to secure Sacramento鈥檚 Golden 1 Center, home of the Sacramento Kings, which is large enough to accommodate in a few ceremonies all of our graduates, along with their families and friends.
One benefit of the Golden 1 Center is that each graduating student would be able to request up to six tickets. You may recall from past ceremonies held at the University Credit Union Center (formerly The Pavilion) on campus, we had to limit tickets to a maximum of four. That still meant conducting seven undergraduate ceremonies, running Friday through Sunday. To increase the number of tickets allotted per student in the same venue would mean some commencement ceremonies would stretch into Monday or Tuesday, which is not ideal. Graduating from 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis is a major milestone and we want to ensure our ceremonies are enjoyable and memorable occasions for all who attend. Other graduation celebrations would still be held on campus.
We don鈥檛 expect any changes to commencements for graduate and professional schools, which are held at the University Credit Union Center or the Mondavi Center for Performing Arts on the Davis campus.
COVID-19/flu reminders
Many members of our campus community will be visiting family and friends and traveling outside of the region for Thanksgiving and winter break. To help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 during these heavier travel and engagement periods, our campus has issued , including where you can get free antigen test kits before you travel (and we will continue this distribution through March). Please help keep our community healthy.
Earlier this week, and higher than usual flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). requires all students, faculty and staff to get the bivalent COVID-19 vaccine booster. (you must verify your compliance or formally decline the shot by Dec. 1, through the Health e-Messaging portal).
Finally, please note that next month, the university will permanently close its COVID-19 asymptomatic testing center at the Human Resources Administration Building. The last day of testing is Wednesday, December 14. PCR testing options will still be available at other .
Happenings
We鈥檙e celebrating Native American Heritage Month through November. Please read my 鈥淐hancell-ing鈥 column to learn more about on and off campus, and familiarize yourself with our . And watch the episode that LeShelle and I recorded while visiting the Native Nest, formally known as the Native American Academic Student Success Center.
The , at Sacramento State 鈥 and this game is likely to determine whether 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis moves on to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. for the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 teams are coming up Tuesday, November 22, at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. I hope to see you cheering on our teams. Go Ags!
Accolades
I鈥檇 also like to recognize the outstanding work and achievements of several 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis faculty members.
- 鈥 The episode spotlights Christine Krueder-Johnson and Tierra Smiley Evans from the School of Veterinary Med颈肠颈苍别鈥檚 One Health Institute and the Gorilla Doctors, and their work in Uganda to try to prevent another global pandemic. The segment also highlights Smiley Evans鈥 simple but groundbreaking method, described in her recent study, of using chewed plants to collect saliva samples from primates.
- 鈥 Popular Science names the 鈥渢op up-and-coming minds in science,鈥 including evolutionary biologist Rachael Bay, assistant professor in the College of Biological Sciences. By the way, she and her team won the campus鈥檚 top lab safety award last month.
- 鈥 Richard Corsi, dean of the College of Engineering, recently participated in the Biden administration鈥檚 panel on 鈥淚nnovations in Air Quality.鈥 One of his innovations, the , has been widely covered by media across the country.
These are just a few examples of the incredible work happening all across the university. Congratulations to all and thank you for bringing 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis to the world!
Thanksgiving holiday
It鈥檚 the season of gratitude, so I鈥檇 like to close by saying how thankful I am to be part of the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis family. I deeply appreciate the excellence, passion and hard work our students, faculty and staff bring to our university each and every day. I wish you a restful and joyous Thanksgiving holiday.
Sincerely,
Gary S. May
Chancellor