Council of UC Staff Assemblies (CUCSA) Quarterly Meeting Recap - Feb 2024

The Council of UC Staff Assemblies (CUCSA) held its quarterly meeting February 28 - March 1, 2024, at the UC San Diego campus. On the first day, the Delegation received Business Updates, Delegates presented and voted on CUCSA Awards, and all were welcomed by Annika Nelson, Manager, at the UCSD Craft Center with a team building activity and tour.

• For the CUCSA Awards: UC Davis submitted four nominees, including:
  • Darolyn Striley, Office of Student Development, School of Medicine, for the Kevin McCauley Memorial Outstanding Staff Award
  • Cory Vu, Associate Vice Chancellor for Health, Wellness, and Divisional Resources, for the Outstanding Senior Leader Award
  • Lauren McDiarmid, Internal Fellowship Analyst, Graduate Studies, for the Outstanding CUCSA Alumni Award
  • Sarah Button, Manager, Ambulatory Analytics, for the Outstanding Board Member Award

On Day 2, Delegates presented location updates, and welcomed UCSD’s Chancellor Pradeep Khosla, who shared the vision and strategy of UCSD as well as the progress of its $2 billion construction boom.  

The Delegation also received presentations on Day 2 and 3 from:

• Terri Winbush, Chief Human Resources Officer at UCSD – showcasing UCSD’s People Proposition
• Jay Henderson, Associate Vice President, Total Rewards Systemwide Human Resources - status of the systemwide HR surveys procurement process, including the CUCSA engagement survey
• Cáin Diaz, Interim Associate Vice President & Director, Operating Budget - the current state of the budget and how the budget is determined at a systemwide level annually
• Cathy O’Sullivan, Chief of Staff to the Chief Operating Officer, UCOP – perspectives on change leadership
• Faculty & Staff Assistance Program staff - on trends in burnout and staff mental health and how it is being addressed
• Jo Mackness, 2023-2024 Staff Advisor to the Regents and Andenet Emiru, 2024-2025 STAR Designate – insights from their tour of the UC locations asking, “What would make UC an ‘Employer of Choice’?”

The Delegation participated in a CUCSA Strategic Plan Ideation activity by brainstorming and presenting suggestions to support CUCSA’s maturation and increased effectiveness. 2023-2024 CUCSA Work Groups provided brief updates and took feedback during the Town Hall event on their initial charges. Work group focuses are:

• Staff Well-being
• Sustainable Workforce
• Policy-covered Staff Identity
• Compensation

Winter Quarter themes of note included UC San Diego’s implementation of Care, Growth, Purpose, Equity and Inclusion as the lived experience for all staff and opportunities to leverage AI solutions for staff within the workplace.