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Strategic Plan

UCLA Connects

UCLA Connects

Overview

UCLA Connects focuses on building connections — within and beyond our campus. Through a collection of current and evolving initiatives, we aim to create a campus climate that is welcoming to everyone.

This initiative aligns with goal one of our strategic plan: Deepen our engagement with Los Angeles, and goal two: Expand our reach as a global university.

Goals

To achieve this aspiration, we are currently embarking on six sub-initiatives:

  • Campus Community Conversations, which will foster open, honest and authentic dialogue among UCLA students, staff and faculty to strengthen the campus community.
  • Community Partnerships, which will foster equitable and sustained community partnerships where UCLA faculty, students and staff co-create and disseminate knowledge dedicated to improving the quality of life for all residents of Los Angeles.
  • Initiative to Combat Antisemitism, which will implement recommendations of the 2024 Task Force to Combat Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias report. These include enhancing relevant training and education, improving the civil rights complaint system and assuring enforcement of current and new laws and policies.
  • Inclusive Excellence, which will weave excellence into our culture and institutional fabric through intentional connections, respectful engagement, deep learning and challenging, yet constructive, dialogue.
  • Olympic Spirit, which will strengthen UCLA’s global leadership role in scholarship, teaching and community service leading up to, during and after the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games; and connect Bruins and global partners through the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect.
  • Strategic Partnerships Initiative, which will foster intentional collaboration between staff and faculty, and between inter-staff groups in Academic and Student Affairs, to cultivate a culture of mutual support and understanding and provide more holistic and effective support to students.

Expected Outcomes

  • Create an inclusive, respectful and safe community where everyone feels valued and free from discrimination, harassment and hate speech.
  • Spotlight UCLA’s local and global impact on scholarship and teaching.
  • Build core competencies in dialogue throughout our campus.
  • Leverage the Bruin community to improve the quality of life for all residents of Los Angeles and across the globe.
  • Strengthen UCLA’s culture of excellence in all we do.

Implementation
Planning Leads

Campus Community Conversations:

  • David Myers, Distinguished Professor and Sady and Ludwig Kahn Chair in Jewish History in the College and Director of the UCLA Luskin Center for History and Policy
  • Nicole Presley (Green), Senior Executive Director of UCLA Student Resilience and Mental Health Services

Community Partnerships:

  • Shalom Staub, Assistant Vice Provost for Community Engagement and Executive Director, UCLA Center for Community Engagement

Initiative to Combat Antisemitism:

  • Stuart Gabriel, Distinguished Professor of Finance and Arden Realty Chair at the UCLA Anderson School of Management and Director of the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate

Inclusive Excellence:

  • Ralina L. Joseph, Vice Provost of Inclusive Excellence and Professor of African American Studies in the College

Olympic Spirit:

  • C. Cindy Fan, Vice Provost for International Studies and Global Engagement and Professor of Geography in the College
  • Felicia Marie Knaul, Associate of the Chancellor and Distinguished Professor of Medicine at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine

Strategic Partnerships Initiative:

  • Marian Gabra, Senior Director, Learning & Development and Strategic Partnerships in the Division of Undergraduate Education at the Center for Academic Advising in the College
  • Frank Wada, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Academic Partnerships at UCLA Student Affairs

Meets Goal 1: Deepen our engagement with Los Angeles and Goal 2: Expand our reach as a global university

Goal 1: Deepen our engagement with Los Angeles
We aim to create the conditions that will allow UCLA to better serve, learn from and connect with Los Angeles.

While UCLA has been entwined with the city since our university’s founding, we have the opportunity to more meaningfully impact the lives of Angelenos, tap into the contributions and expertise of our region’s communities, and partner with those communities to improve quality of life in the city. Furthermore, as the only major public research university in a global megacity, UCLA has a special opportunity to deepen connections with the city in our research projects and to educate students who are prepared to fully engage in the communities in which they live and work.

Goal 2: Expand our reach as a global university  
We aim to expand UCLA’s role as a global hub and international gateway partner for Los Angeles and California. The world’s most pressing problems — from climate change to global conflict to infectious disease — know no national borders. We can only take them on by ensuring our students possess intercultural competence, strengthening international collaborations, and advancing research and creative activities between UCLA scholars and partners around the world. Since so many global issues have analogues in the diverse, international city of Los Angeles, we can use a “glocal” model to facilitate impact across both communities.