UC Spotlight: October 2025

Our UC Spotlight celebrates how we’re making a difference for Californians and the world beyond our state. Meet the staff and teams who are bringing UC’s values to life. Fiat Lux!

Serving communities throughout California

UC staff meet Californians where they are, providing hands-on service as well as expert guidance on agricultural practices, environmental matters and other critical topics.

• UC Merced celebrated 15 years as a Hispanic-Serving Institution! Today, more than 53% of undergrads are Hispanic, and 71% of all students identify as first-gen.
• On Saturday, Sept. 27, 1,300 UCLA graduate students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents and community members participated in UCLA Volunteer Day, forging connections with local partners and L.A.’s diverse communities while tackling real-world projects in their own backyard.
• The UC Irvine Health Orange trauma center and Regional Burn Center teams were honored at the Orange County Business Council First Responders Dinner for their heroic efforts to coordinate care and treat those injured after a plane crash in Fullerton.
• UC ANR’s Elkus Ranch Environmental Education Center marked its 50th anniversary of providing experiential learning opportunities for Bay Area youth. In the past 25 years, it has served more than 100,000 students!
• A team of UC ANR educators is meeting with small farmers throughout California to shed light on the often-complicated regulations associated with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
• In July, UC ANR partnered with the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians to host the Scotts Valley Tribal Youth Exchange program. Hosted by the UC Hopland Research and Extension Center, the event encouraged native kids to pursue STEM and higher-ed career paths while exploring ancestral territory.
• The UC Davis Health Department of Radiology and the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center are celebrating Breast Cancer Awareness Month by offering free mammograms to uninsured and underinsured women in the community.

Providing health care leadership and improving access to care

From hands-on connections and impactful programs to ratings that raise the bar on what quality patient care means, UC’s six academic health campuses are leading the field — and staff play a major role in this success.

• UC Davis Health certified registered nurse anesthetists trained UC Davis firefighters on how to use a new advanced airway management device. Davis firefighters provide pre-hospital emergency care on campus and when responding to community wildfires throughout the state.
• Staff at the UCLA Health Bowyer Oncology Center recognized and took steps to address patient food insecurity — one sandwich at a time.
• UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center completed its 100th robotic high-intensity focused ultrasound procedure for men with prostate cancer.
• Melanie Joe, PharmD, chief pharmacy officer at UC Irvine Health, spoke with Becker’s Hospital Review about how her team has used real-time clinical and financial data to effectively track patient outcomes, manage population health, and balance finances.
• UC San Diego has launched a novel Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health degree with a concentration in health services research and implementation science.
• Deepti Pandita, M.D., UC Irvine Health’s chief medical information officer, explained the health center’s iterative process for introducing new AI programming in an interview with Becker’s Hospital Review.
• On Oct. 1, students, faculty and staff throughout UC Irvine Health celebrated National Latino Physician Day to inspire the next generation of Latino physicians and highlight the substantial impacts of representative medical care.

Advancing and championing the university’s mission

These staff members and teams are embodying and promoting UC’s mission of teaching, research and public service while providing new avenues of thought leadership.

• Programs created by staff, faculty and students on 11 UC campuses received funding through the UC National Center for Free Speech and Civil Engagement’s Valuing Open and Inclusive Conversation and Engagement aka VOICE Initiative this year. Topics range from the healing power of comedy to free speech to teacher preparedness to immigrant health.
• Rachel Deblinger, director of the UCLA Library’s Modern Endangered Archives Program, wrote a book focused on how information about the Holocaust was circulated and understood in American Jewish communities following WWII.
• UC San Diego will soon open the Center for Transparent and Trusted Elections, a new nonpartisan research hub dedicated to strengthening public confidence in U.S. elections.
• Jacob Lawson, a student social media content creator with UCLA Strategic Communications, created “UCLA Under the Arches,” a social media video series that’s based on his discovery of archival concept drawings.
• UC Irvine curators Juli Carson, Kevin Appel and Sasha Usse conceived the innovative exhibit “The Inoperative Community: Exhibition X Practice, UCI 1965-2025” in honor of the 60th anniversary of the Claire Trevor School of the Arts. 
• World-renound glass artist, instructor and television personality Alexander Rosenberg shared his vision for the the newly-built Glass Center at UC San Diego.
• Sammy Chavez completed his undergraduate degree at UC Santa Cruz while helping fellow students navigate the university.

Supporting students and campus communities

• UC Davis welcomed its newest employee resource group. The Jewish Culture, Heritage, and Identity Faculty and Staff Association aims to provide professional development, foster cultural understanding, combat antisemitism and build meaningful connections across campus. 
• The UCSF IT Service Desk team shared what it’s like in a typical day supporting colleagues, departments and offices throughout UCSF, UCSF Health, and its affiliates as they leverage the best technological solutions.
• In honor of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Chris Mattmann, UCLA’s chief data and artificial intelligence officer, shared how AI is transforming cybersecurity, along with practical advice for UC community members. 
• The UC Berkeley Haas School of Business has launched SHARE (Sustainable, Holistic, Accessible, Recoverable, and Equitable)@Haas, which aims to eliminate food waste and ensure all students, staff, and faculty have reliable access to nutritious food and essential resources. 
• Mario Garibay Ed.D., dean of student affairs at UCLA’s Eleanor Roosevelt College, co-chair for UC San Diego’s Latinx Heritage Month Committee and chair of the César E. Chávez Celebration Month Committee, shares his passion for creating a community where everyone feels a sense of belonging.
• New UC Santa Barbara University Librarian Todd Grappone shared how libraries have long played an important role in his life as places of refuge, discovery and connection.
• In a unique partnership between UCLA Recreation, Associated Students UCLA and Alienware (a gaming computer brand under Dell), UCLA opened a new esports and gaming lounge touted as a launchpad for student development, wellness, collaboration and career development.
• Marliz Copado and Christina Houston, co-chairs of the UCSF FAS PRIDE Advisory Committee, talked about their roles, their committee and their favorite moments. 
• UC Davis Landscape Superintendent Mario Casanova shares how a sense of community and teamwork has defined his employee experience.
• The UCLA Transportation team has debuted several mobility revitalization efforts focused on promoting walking, cycling and public transportation.
• UC Davis Academic and Staff Assistance Program team members shared their advice for staying calm and grounded during stressful times.
• Goshen Chan and Cecelia Lopez, senior consultants with UCSF’s Enterprise Strategy & Transformation, shared how their work supports the university and their passion for connecting through food.
• Kevin Bellido, facilities manager at the UC Davis Department of Animal Science’s Avian Research & Teaching Facility, has been dedicated to uplifting the university’s avian initiatives since his undergraduate days.
• UCLA Facilities partnered with the UCLA Police Department to install a new mural showcasing pride in the university and department’s work, featuring live-action photos of daily operations. 
• Liz Spurr and Ashley Amaro are the dream team behind custodial administration at UC Davis. Their complementary skills ensure the campus community receives uninterrupted facilities support. 

Awards and accreditations

• The UC Irvine Health Risk and Regulatory Affairs team received a Spotlight Innovation Award from the UC Office of the President for its Fire Safety Risk Assessment Project, which has prevented procedural fires in ambulatory care settings.
• U.S. News & World Report has recognized UC Davis Children’s Hospital, UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals, San Francisco and Oakland, in its 2025-26 children’s hospitals specialty rankings.
• Six UC locations were recognized in recent Forbes workplace rankings for company culture and healthcare professionals.
• UC Irvine Health, UCLA Health, UC San Diego Health and UCSF Health were recognized in Vizient’s rankings of top performers in clinical quality. 
• UCLA’s Facilities Plant Manager, Michael Bellardine, and his team received the Liberty Mutual 2025 Gold Safety Award for their outstanding safety performance during the campus Cogen Repower project.
• The Stem Cell Transplant Program and Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Program at UC Davis Health have received reaccreditation from the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy — a globally recognized organization that sets standards for high-quality medical and laboratory practices in transplantation and cellular therapies.

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UC Spotlight honors workplaces, teams and individual staff members that make UC a great place to work. To send a recognition or achievement for consideration, email the relevant URL and information to the UCnetwork editorial team or complete this form. Your story may also be featured on our new @ucnet_work Instagram page!

Please note that UC Spotlight is intended to reflect staff-specific achievements; to that end, we do not accept recognitions that are student, faculty or alumni-focused. Submissions are chosen for publication at the editor’s discretion. Funding and promotion/hiring announcements are not appropriate for this feature.