The University of California announced today (Nov. 17) that it has adopted systemwide gender identity and lived name options for UC-issued documents and information systems. UC’s new Presidential Policy on Gender Recognition and Lived Names, which acknowledges gender identities other than man and woman, is another milepost in the University’s commitment to equity and inclusion for all.

The University of California is disappointed that Proposition 16, the state ballot measure and constitutional amendment that would have repealed Proposition 209, did not pass in this election. Proposition 16 would have helped reverse the detrimental and far-reaching initiative that banned the consideration of race, ethnicity and gender in admissions across public higher education, and other arenas, almost a quarter-century ago.

University of California President Michael V. Drake, M.D., has been appointed chair of UC’s National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement. 

The University of California has taken a major step toward meeting its 2025 carbon neutrality goals with two innovative clean energy projects in California: the construction of a new biogas plant and a utility-scale solar array, a collection of multiple solar panels that generate renewable electricity. The efforts bring UC nearly halfway to its ambitious clean energy objectives while reducing costs along the way.

University of California President Michael V. Drake, M.D., released today (Oct. 6) the statement below following the announcement of Nobel Prize winners in physics. UCLA’s Andrea Ghez, a Lauren B. Leichtman and Arthur E. Levine Professor of Astrophysics, and UC Berkeley’s Reinhard Genzel, professor emeritus of physics and astronomy, and director at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, have been honored with the 2020 Nobel Prize in physics. Ghez is the fourth woman to win a Nobel Prize in physics.

The University of California applauds and fully supports the California Climate Investment Framework spearheaded by Gov. Gavin Newsom in collaboration with the state’s three pension plans.

University of California President Michael V. Drake, M.D., issued a statement today (Sept. 23) regarding the appointment of Dr. Joseph I. Castro as the California State University system’s next chancellor.

The University of California’s Office of the Chief Investment Officer (UC Investments) announced today (Sept. 15) that its assets under management grew to $140 billion as of August 31, 2020, a $10 billion jump from the end of the fiscal year on June 30, 2020. That represents a 47 percent increase since 2014.

University of California campuses are phasing out single-use plastics as part of a bold commitment to achieve zero waste, furthering its long-established, innovative sustainability efforts and goals. The new policy will transition UC away from plastic bags in retail and dining locations and eventually eliminate single-use plastic food service items and plastic bottles. 

The Hellman Fellows Program and the University of California announced today (June 23) a plan to permanently support the Hellman Fellows Program on all 10 campuses in the UC system. With the establishment of this endowment, the Hellman Fellows Program will have committed a total of $125 million to support research for outstanding early-career faculty at all 10 UC campuses. The endowment will provide protected streams of funding in perpetuity through the creation of the Society of Hellman Fellows.

University of California President Janet Napolitano and University of British Columbia President Santa J. Ono today (June 22) announced a transition in leadership of the University Climate Change Coalition (UC3), a network of 22 leading North American research universities working together to accelerate local and regional climate action.

The University of California Board of Regents today (June 15) unanimously endorsed Assembly Constitutional Amendment 5 (ACA 5) as well as the repeal of Proposition 209, which banned the consideration of race and gender in admissions decisions a quarter-century ago.