Ucf Strategic Plan

As UC San Francisco continues to expand, they are in the process of creating a University Strategic Plan to address the physical and programmatic changes taking place on their campuses. In this plan, UCSF will focus on building expansions, space utilization, and the future direction of the University, with an emphasis on the four pillars of: education, research, patient care, and community service.

This plan will directly affect students, staff, and faculty, and because of the impact it will have on faculty, the UCSF Division of the Academic Senate recently spoke with Paul Jenny, MBA, Senior Vice Chancellor for UCSF Finance and Administration about the future of the Strategic Plan. Jenny is responsible for the construction, design, and planning

New growth vs. existing infrastructure

A tension across many U.S. university campuses is whether to begin construction for new building projects or to first maintain, improve, and even rebuild existing infrastructure. While this is an issue UCSF faces, halting new construction until existing infrastructure is complete is not entirely feasible.

Infrastructure investments, deferred maintenance, and plant improvements typically outpace available funding. As well, it is often easier to draw financial support for new projects, than it is to gain support for updating infrastructure. Consequently, UCSF is taking hybrid approach that funds both current and future buildings.

“We have always carefully managed our on-going capital plan, ensuring we have adequate ability to borrow funds for future capital investment needs, working diligently to reduce the deferred maintenance backlog, and making sure that all existing space is effectively utilized,” Jenny

Many of these outside relationships have led to groundbreaking research. UCSF is the second largest recipient of NIH extramural research funding. The Trump Administration’s has announced a plan to reduce NIH funding by $7.7 billion, whereas Congress has announced plans to increase NIH funding by $2 billion in 2018.

“Given the uncertainty and unpredictability that is a trademark of the current political environment, UCSF will continue to seek to broaden its research base across federal agencies, and to partner with the private sector through initiatives like the recently announced Accelerating Therapeutics for Opportunities in Medicine project,” Jenny said.

In the future UCSF will continue to build upon and capitalize on its broader relationships outside of the University. Some of these relationships and affiliates include:

• Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (ZSFG): the only hospital in the area that provides trauma and psychiatric emergency