UCSF Chancellor

Ideas on Saving Higher Education Merit More Study

Tony Taliaferro — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:23:47 +0000

From the University of California's ultra-select medical school to the state's scores of commuter colleges, hard financial times are forcing new approaches. The responses are challenging, disruptive and in need of more study, but they're a starting point for a big question: How will California save higher education?

Desmond Hellmann: UCSF Wants New Structure

Tony Taliaferro — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:21:06 +0000

UCSF Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann is proposing a new structure for her school, loosening the relationship between the healthcare-centric, graduate-level university and the University of California Office of the President.

Report: UCSF Chancellor Proposes Autonomy in State University System

Tony Taliaferro — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:18:39 +0000

UCSF could end up being a much more independent institution if chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann gets her way.

An Update: Future of UCSF

Courtney Anderson — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:18:50 +0000

Colleagues:

Yesterday I gave a presentation regarding our campus and our plan for the future to the UC Regents. Video highlights are available at: http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2012/01/11323/chancellor-proposes-new-approach-secure-ucsfs-financial-future. This presentation has attracted attention, and I wanted to be sure that you heard, from me, what was presented and also what our next steps will be.

UCSF Seeks to Ease Ties with UC

Tony Taliaferro — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:13:08 +0000

Unlike the other nine campuses of the University of California, UCSF enrolls no undergraduates, offers no world history classes and gets so much money from government grants that it barely depends on the tuition its students pay to attend the medical school on a windy San Francisco hill.

Desmond-Hellmann: UCSF Wants New Structure, Transparency Around Fund Flows, IP, More

Tony Taliaferro — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:51:52 +0000

Happy Holidays

Courtney Anderson — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 01:27:20 +0000

Dear Colleagues:

As we approach the holidays, I have been reflecting upon this past year and all that we have accomplished together at UCSF. There are far too many achievements to list but I would like to take this opportunity to highlight a few:

Under our clinical care mission, in March we launched our automated pharmacy in the UCSF Medical Center, using robotic technology to prepare and track medications to improve patient safety. We also achieved a major milestone with the launch of APEX, our new electronic medical records system that will significantly enhance our efficiency and ability to serve our patients. And, we celebrated an important milestone in the construction of our new hospital at Mission Bay: the “topping off” of the building this fall.

Nomination Call: 2012 Chancellor’s Award for Public Service (due January 19, 2012)

Kevin Chan — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:27:06 +0000

Dear Colleagues:

I write to invite nominations for the 2012 Chancellor’s Award for Public Service. This award recognizes and celebrates members of the campus community who have demonstrated outstanding public service beyond the scope of their normal job duties, research or training.

Call for Nominations: Chancellor's Disability Service Award

Kevin Chan — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 01:10:57 +0000

Dear Colleagues:

I write to request nominations for the 2011 Chancellor’s Disability Service Award. Each year three individuals—one academic, one staff, and one student/resident/postdoctoral scholar—may be selected to receive this award in recognition of extraordinary leadership and inspiration in furthering the goal of achieving awareness and equity for the disabled community within the UCSF community.

UCSF Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann on PBS Newshour

Tony Taliaferro — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 20:22:56 +0000

Imagine if diabetes could be peeled apart -- if a doctor could look at test results and instantly see the genetic and environmental factors that triggered and fueled the disease.

Looking at a patient's medical history and genomic information, it may soon be possible to prescribe a tailored treatment plan, recommend ways to avoid kidney failure, blindness and amputation -- even determine if the patient's siblings and children are likely to develop diabetes later in life.

UCSF Chancellor, Susan Desmond-Hellmann, on CBS Evening News

CK — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 18:32:22 +0000

CBS News anchor Scott Pelley interviewed Susan Desmond-Hellmann, UCSF Chancellor on Tuesday, October 25. He has been asking some of the country's top CEOs their thoughts on how to fix the economy.

Scott Pelley sat down with the chancellor of the University of California, San Francisco, Susan Desmond-Hellmann. She made a fortune as head of drug development for Genentech. When she became head of UCSF - one of America's top bio-medical research institutions - she donated $1 million to help students pay their tuitions.

An Innovator Shapes an Empire

CK — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 22:58:17 +0000

SAN FRANCISCO — The phone call, at home one night last week, came from a student seeking donations for the University of California, San Francisco.

“Well,” Dr. Susan Desmond-Hellmann told the caller, “I’m actually the chancellor at U.C.S.F.”

The student, seemingly unaware that chancellor meant head of the university, kept up her pitch: The doctor and her husband had given $5,000 in the past, so how about another donation?

Dr. Desmond-Hellmann said they had already made another donation. The student kept trying.

UCSF Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann "Shapes an Empire"

CK — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 22:41:46 +0000

Susan Desmond-Hellmann joked to me a couple weeks back in an interview about how UCSF doesn’t quite have the national profile it deserves, partly because it doesn’t have a football team. But this week, at least, UCSF got some major national attention, as the UCSF chancellor got a lot of ink in the New York Times.

Call for applications: 2011 Excellence in Partnership Award

Courtney Anderson — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:52:32 +0000

Dear Colleagues:

I invite applications for the 2011 Excellence in Partnership Award. This award recognizes exemplary partnerships between San Francisco communities and UCSF that build on each other’s strength to improve higher education, civic engagement, and the overall health of communities.

People Are a Priority

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 21:25:45 +0000

A Message from the Chancellor

Beyond a doubt, UCSF places a premium on the people who work here.

We recruit great people who come even though the cost of living is high. Then again, people don’t come to UCSF to get wealthy. They come because they want to be here, to work in an intellectually stimulating environment among extraordinarily talented and like-minded colleagues who are dedicated and committed to advancing health.

Fostering an Academic Culture at the Forefront of Health Sciences Education

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 20:49:15 +0000

A Message from the Chancellor

I’ve been at UCSF long enough by now to be able to witness the University’s seasonality. I saw how the entire campus takes a deep breath in the summer. And when fall arrived, so too did a fresh crop of students, so young and energetic, ready to ask anything, and thinking the sky’s the limit. In our clinical settings, the seasons shift, with literally hundreds of new residents and fellows arriving in the June fog. But the feeling is the same.

It’s a marvelous thing to have a calendar that marks the ebb and flow of the academic seasons. That’s something that’s missing in private industry. You don’t see that annual infusion of new intellect and energy – and the lack of cynicism that it brings. Trainees really give you the sense of endless possibilities, of rebirth.

Leveraging Innovative Science to Benefit Patients

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 20:43:20 +0000

A Message from the Chancellor

Someone once told me that when you’re a leader you stop making the news and start reporting on the news. Nothing could be truer for me, especially as I enter the second year of my chancellorship at UCSF.

At UCSF, discovery isn’t just a priority. It’s a way of life. UCSF scientists are driven by a compelling desire to learn and innovate, and to conduct leading-edge life sciences research in literally hundreds of high-impact fields of study.

Patients/Health: Key to What We Do

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 22:01:20 +0000

A Message from the Chancellor

We recently surveyed a random sample of UCSF Medical Center patients, asking them this question: “Would you recommend UCSF Medical Center to friends and family?” For nine out of ten, the response was an unequivocal “Yes.”

It’s easy for me to name patient care as my top priority at UCSF. While growing up in Reno, Nevada, I saw patient care in action nearly every day. My father, a pharmacist, owned the local Keystone Owl Rexall Drugstore. I was a bookkeeper there, and from where I sat I could hear him talk with patients about their illnesses. The compassion with which he performed his job made a lasting impression on me. If someone needed a prescription but couldn’t come into the store, he made sure it got delivered. My siblings were equally affected: Four out of seven of us now work in the fields of health or science.

UCSF Shuttle Safety Update

Courtney Anderson — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 18:38:38 +0000

Dear Colleagues:

The UCSF community suffered a great loss this last week with the tragic accidental death of psychiatrist Kevin Mack, MD, MS. On behalf of our entire campus, I want to again convey my deepest condolences to Dr. Mack’s family, friends and colleagues.

I also want to acknowledge that others were injured in this accident, and to wish them a speedy and full recovery.

Jennifer Arnett

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 21:55:26 +0000

Jennifer Arnett is Interim Head of Development and Alumni Relations (UDAR) at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and the Vice President of the UCSF Foundation. In this role, she leads the day-to-day operations of UDAR and is responsible for comprehensive programs in alumni relations and philanthropic support across the university. She brings to this role over 20 years of professional development experience.

Budget: Governor's May Revise

Courtney Anderson — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 19:01:12 +0000

Dear Colleagues:

Governor Brown yesterday released his May budget revision, which serves as a mid-year update to his January budget proposal and is based on the state’s actual revenue to date.

Although his update contained a glimmer of good news – state revenue is more than $6 billion above January’s projections – the future of the state’s budget remains uncertain. One reason for the uncertainty is that the governor’s budget proposal assumes that Californians will vote for extending certain temporary taxes. Even with these taxes, the state is ready to reduce its funding of the UC system by $500 million. If the tax extensions are not approved, the governor is proposing the cuts to UC double to $1 billion.

Announcement: Executive Director, Global Health Sciences

Courtney Anderson — Thu, 12 May 2011 15:50:31 +0000

Dear Colleagues:

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Jaime Sepúlveda, MD, MPH, DrSc, as Executive Director of UCSF Global Health Sciences. Dr. Sepúlveda is a world-renowned leader in public health, with extensive international experience and a record of tackling enormous public health issues with a measurable impact.

John D.B. Featherstone, MSc, PhD

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 22:26:07 +0000

John Featherstone, MSc, PhD, is Professor of Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Dean of the School of Dentistry. He earned his MSc in physical chemistry from the University of Manchester (UK) and a PhD in chemistry from the University of Wellington (New Zealand).

Call for nominations: 2011 Chancellor's Award for GLBT Leadership

Courtney Anderson — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 23:27:30 +0000

Dear Colleagues:

I write to request nominations for the Chancellor’s Award for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and/or Transgender (GLBT) Leadership. This award recognizes contributions to the advancement of the GLBT communities at UCSF. The nomination form, award criteria, and a list of prior recipients are available online. Three individuals—one faculty/academic, one staff, and one student/resident/postdoctoral scholar—will be selected to receive this award at a special ceremony on Monday, June 13, 2011. Individuals who meet one or more of the award criteria—whether or not they are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender—are eligible to be nominated.

Japan

Courtney Anderson — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 16:00:29 +0000

Dear Colleagues:

Like many of you, I was greatly saddened to hear the news of the earthquake that struck Japan’s coast, triggering a tsunami that devastated northern parts of the country and put a related warning in effect for much of the Pacific. The subsequent nuclear power plant explosions have compounded this crisis, making it the worst natural disaster the country has seen in its recorded history.

Nurturing a Delicate Balance: UCSF’s Industry Partnerships

Dan Fost — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 19:07:59 +0000

When UCSF researcher Charles Chiu recently renewed his center’s partnership with Abbott Diagnostics, it marked a milestone in the University’s efforts to keep its industry partnerships alive and well.

Medical Grand Rounds: A Venerable Teaching Tool Finds New Life

Kate Darby Rauch — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 01:43:15 +0000

One hundred years ago, medical grand rounds often involved wheeling a patient into an auditorium where seasoned doctors led trainees on an exploration of the case at hand.

Jason Pomerantz: From Boyhood Dreams to the Scientific Lab

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 22:43:29 +0000

When he was in kindergarten, Jason Pomerantz, MD, drew a self-portrait depicting a surgeon at work in an operating room. He told his mother, “I want to make people not get old.”

UCSF Chancellor Named Among 10 Most Powerful Women in Silicon Valley

Tony Taliaferro — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 23:56:43 +0000

UCSF Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann, MD, MPH, was named among the 10 “most powerful women in Silicon Valley” by the San Jose Mercury News.

For the first time, columnist Chris O’Brien writes, the Mercury News compiled the list of powerful women leaders based on three factors: size of their company or organization; number of people under their management; and scope of their influence beyond their company.

The New Science of Stress: Can We Turn Back the Biological Clock?

Sarah Adler — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 23:20:59 +0000

We all know that stress is not good for us. It makes us look haggard and feel unhealthy. As it turns out, stress is also aging us from the inside out. When we feel stressed, so do our cells. When we feel old, so do our cells.