Dear Colleagues, The U.S. Department of State has made clear that any visitor to a US academic institution who engages in research and whose activity will benefit the hosting institution should be sponsored for a J-1 or H1-B visa and not a tourist visa. While at first glance, a tourist visa (B-1/B-2; Visa Waiver: WB/WT) may seem to be an...

Effective February 3, 2025, California’s COVID-19 workplace regulations under California Code Section 3205 will officially expire. Since the onset of the pandemic, UC Riverside has remained committed to state compliance, actively monitoring and responding to COVID-19 cases, providing guidance on isolation, quarantine, and masking, and maintaining...

Dear Campus Community, I’m pleased to announce that Associate Vice Chancellor (AVC) and Chief Communications and Marketing Officer Johnny Cruz will serve as interim vice chancellor for University Advancement (VCUA), effective February 15, 2025. Johnny previously served as interim VCUA and interim president of the UC Riverside Foundation in 2022. He...

Dear Campus Community, For this quarterly campus update, I want to focus on a scary topic: emergencies. This fall, I asked the XCITE Center for Teaching and Learning and the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) to partner on developing a suite of resources for faculty to help them to be better prepared in the event of an emergency in or near their...

Like many of you, I have been closely following the evolving updates and discussions surrounding the recent White House executive orders and their implications for federally funded research. I fully understand the uncertainty this situation has created, and I want to reassure you that research leadership across the UC system is working diligently...

Faculty and staff are encouraged to share this opportunity with their students. Hello, Highlanders! I am pleased to announce that the application for the UC Student Regent representative is now live. This is an exciting opportunity for all students to participate at the UC Regent level and serve as an advocate for student needs for two years. The...

UC Riverside is monitoring developments from the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles County, Santa Ana wind events across the region, and the related power outages. Since UC Riverside is not under direct threat, we will continue to maintain normal campus operations. However, we realize many members of the UCR community and their families live within...

Dear Campus Community, Monique Michelle Dozier, vice chancellor of university advancement, has shared her decision to step down from her position at UC Riverside on February 14, 2025, to assume the vice chancellor for university advancement position at the largest HBCU in the country, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C...

Dear Campus Community, I have watched news of fires throughout Southern California for the last two days with a heavy heart. I am sure the destruction equally saddens all of you. We know some members of our community have been directly affected by fires and evacuations. To anyone in this situation, I want to express condolences and support on...

In support of UC Riverside’s strategic goal to expand the university’s visibility and scope of influence locally, nationally, and globally, UCR has invested in Academic Analytics. As Provost Elizabeth Watkins shared in her fall campus update letter, this tool will showcase faculty research activity, assist in faculty collaboration, and facilitate...

Dear Colleagues, I am excited to announce the appointment of Dr. Peter Atkinson, Interim Dean of the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (CNAS), as the permanent CNAS Dean, effective January 6, 2025. A UCR faculty member since 1997, Peter is a professor in the Department of Entomology whose research focuses on developing novel, molecular...

Dear Colleagues, The last month of the year is often a time of reflection and prediction. It’s both a time to look back at the year’s happenings while also looking forward and considering what may be different in the new year. While there is plenty we cannot know about what the next 12 months will bring, we can be certain that 2025 will be a time...

Dear Highlander Community, Please join me in welcoming Misty Maurin as the new Associate Chief Information Officer for the School of Medicine and UCR Health. Misty brings over 19 years of experience in IT leadership and a deep understanding of the technology needs within complex organizations, making her ideally suited to lead strategic IT...

As there has been a national conversation about drones, Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) would like to remind the campus about drone policies and procedures at UCR. All Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) drone flights must be registered and approved before the flight occurs. Registration is required anywhere on UC property, and off campus if using...

I am pleased to announce that the dates and locations for each of the 2025 UC Riverside Commencement ceremonies are now confirmed. The ceremonies for the master’s and bachelor’s degree candidates will take place June 16 and 17 at Toyota Arena in Ontario. The School of Medicine Hippocratic Oath Ceremony for M.D. degree recipients and the Graduate...

UCR Information Technology Solutions (ITS) has made an update to the way IT project requests are managed. Starting December 18, 2024, all IT project requests will be processed through UCR’s Workfront platform. A few things to note about this update: ● Your access remains the same. You will continue to navigate to the IT project request form through...

The California Native American Heritage Commission is seeking interested UC faculty, staff, or graduate students interested in serving on one of the campus Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation (NAGPRA) Implementation Committees that oversee the efforts on the campuses to implement federal and state NAGPRA laws as well as UC policy...

In a letter addressed to all University of California campuses, the UC President has called on each campus to achieve key cybersecurity outcomes by May 28, 2025, to help protect sensitive data, maintain operational continuity, comply with regulations, and mitigate financial risks. The UC Cybersecurity Mandate catalyzed immediate action and...

Dear Campus Community, Gerry Bomotti, vice chancellor for planning, budget, and administration, has informed me of his intentions to retire from UC Riverside. While his retirement date is not yet finalized, I anticipate that it will occur in February or March of 2025. When I announced Gerry’s appointment in 2017, I noted that his experience put him...

Dear Colleagues, Traveling to speak with media is a regular part of my job. I just returned from a media roundtable in New York City with leaders from a handful of other universities where we take questions about higher education from national media. The travel also allowed me the opportunity to visit with a high-profile philanthropist. As I met...