Wednesday, December 22, 2021
Dear campus community,
Like many, I have been intently following the news about the emergence of Omicron and the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases. While experts believe that most of our original vaccinations continue to protect us, evidence is mounting that booster shots provide the best protection. Consistent with the proactive approach that SF State University and the California State University have shown since March 2020, we will once again take bold measures to ensure the health of our communities.
The California State University announced today the intent to require faculty, staff and students to receive a vaccine booster shot to be fully immunized against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
The new requirement requires boosters by February 28, 2022 or six months after an individual received the final dose of the original vaccination, whichever is later. The new requirement will take effect immediately upon implementation of the policy; however, represented employees will not be subject to the booster requirement until the CSU concludes its meet-and-confer process with its labor unions.
Students and employees who have received the initial vaccine or series of vaccines but are not yet eligible for a booster are considered in compliance with the policy until they become eligible for the booster shot.
There are many details to work out, and I will be sure to share them as they become available, including determining deadlines, developing a plan to ensure compliance and building our capacity to increase access to booster shots on campus in the new year.
The SF State community has been simply remarkable in its compliance with public health mandates. I have every expectation that we will meet new ones as needed. I urge you to get your booster shots now or as soon as you are eligible to better protect yourselves and your friends and families.
We will continue working closely with the San Francisco Department of Health to monitor the situation and work to implement the necessary steps to keep us healthy and safe. In August 2021 we faced a similarly scary and rapid change in COVID-19’s trajectory, and we did what we had to do enable our students to get back into our classrooms safely. We did it then, we will do it again.
It has been an unimaginably long almost-two years now. We need also to pay heed to our overall health. I urge all to use the winter break to recharge, see family & friends safely and give yourselves the respite you so badly need and deserve.
Best,
Lynn Mahoney, Ph.D.
President
Tuesday, December 21, 2021
Dear campus community,
As we begin a well-earned winter break, please take a moment to reflect on all we accomplished in the fall and to accept my wishes for the best of the holiday season.
Best,
Lynn Mahoney, Ph.D.
President
Wednesday, December 01, 2021
Dear campus community,
As all have likely heard, a new variant of COVID-19 has been identified and the first U.S. case has been found here in San Francisco. While we know very little about the Omicron variant at this time, I assure you that we will continue to work closely with San Francisco Department of Public Health, modify our plans as necessary and communicate as we learn more.
We have been through this before. Five months ago, we watched as the Delta variant created a surge with numbers higher than we had seen in San Francisco at any previous point in the pandemic. SF State worked hard to augment our policies and procedures to meet that challenge—requiring vaccination for on campus activities, maintaining the use of face coverings, implementing testing protocols and communicating the need for continued compliance. This allowed us a safe fall semester. I promise that we will continue to be vigilant and conservative.
Today, San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced that the City does not anticipate changing any of our health orders or imposing new restrictions on activities. As we are, City officials are following health updates closely. The City believes our high vaccination rates and health and safety protocols position San Francisco well to respond to variants.
Vaccinations and face coverings have proven effective to date. Today you received an email about a booster clinic on campus next week. Booster shots are also readily available at pharmacies and grocery stores across the state. Most in our community are eligible, and I encourage you to get your booster shot.
I think I speak for many when I say how exhausting this has been and remains. We have done well to date thanks to the commitment of our entire community to public health. Thank you.
Wishing all good health.
Best,
Lynn Mahoney, Ph.D.
President
Monday, November 22, 2021
Dear campus community,
Just as last fall semester was unprecedented, so too has this one been. A year ago we were working our way through an almost 100% virtual semester. This year finds us navigating a hybrid semester. And our country continues to wrestle with the consequences of climate change and multiple inequities and to be roiled by conflict and division. It has not been easy. But as we approach fall break, I am reflecting on what we as a community have accomplished and on things small and large for which I am grateful.
I am grateful to students and colleagues who continue to learn and work amidst ever-shifting guidelines. I am grateful to all who complied with our vaccination mandate and to those on campus who follow our face covering and testing policies so assiduously. I am grateful that, to date, our measures are working—we continue to have one of the lowest incidents of COVID-19 in the CSU and our weekly testing detects very, very few positive results. And, I am very grateful that all of this has allowed some resumption of typical university activities.
In the last two weeks, I have been vividly reminded of how important a vibrant campus life is for all of us. I joined our Indian Student Association for their Diwali Party in Cesar Chavez and shared their joy at being able to celebrate together on campus. I attended the 2021 SF State University Hall of Fame Celebration where we recognized the accomplishments of six distinguished alumni in fields ranging from media and the arts to entrepreneurship and environmental sustainability to humanitarianism and philanthropy. And I attended my first performance in the Little Theatre where students performed José Riviera’s “Marisol” — a 1992 play forecasting a period in which New York City is consumed by plague, environmental disaster and conflict. Eerily familiar at this moment.
None of these events were possible a year ago. Consequently, they are so much more deeply appreciated now.
I hope that all are taking some time to enjoy fall break. Please take a moment to celebrate what you and we have accomplished and to take care of yourself. I am keenly aware that this remains difficult and am very grateful to work and live in this community.
Best,
Lynn Mahoney, Ph.D.
President
Wednesday, November 03, 2021
Dear campus community,
As some have likely heard, Provost Jennifer Summit announced this week her intent to return to the faculty at the end of this academic year. It has been my pleasure and honor to work with Jennifer for the last seven years, first as CSU peers in undergraduate studies, later as fellow provosts and most recently as colleagues here. In all her roles, Jennifer has been a recognized leader by her CSU colleagues, and I have appreciated her wisdom and counsel. While wishing her well as she returns to her first loves of teaching and scholarship, I know I speak for many when I say that she will be sorely missed.
Jennifer’s thoughtful and deep commitments to shared governance and student success have been hallmarks of her tenure. In just a few short years under her leadership, we have made significant improvements in access to classes, advising and tutoring, and in fostering equity and excellence in our teaching and classrooms. And, with these, have seen important gains in retention and graduation rates. Most recently, Jennifer has worked with the University Budget Committee and with Administration & Finance to develop a culture of transparency and budget literacy. This will serve Academic Affairs and the University well in the future as a basis for strategic budget decisions and investments.
I will work with the Academic Senate Executive Committee to launch a search for new provost with the expectation of filling the position by July 1, 2022. The search will be open and transparent with opportunities for all to meet the finalists and submit their feedback.
Best,
Lynn Mahoney, Ph.D.
President
Wednesday, October 27, 2021
Dear campus community,
In 2015, SF State adopted a strategic plan that has guided us well for several years. Its focus on five broad areas—courage, life of the mind, equity, community and resilience—afforded us opportunities to launch some key initiatives and make some important improvements. Our accomplishments span the University and include important improvements in advising and tutoring and improved access to needed coursework. We created critically-needed infrastructure to support inclusive excellence, tutoring, equity and excellence in teaching, undocumented students, basic needs, financial support for students in crisisand a better experience for first-year students. We added almost six hundred beds to support students’ housing needs and opened our first fully new academic building in 25 years. And we completed our inaugural comprehensive campaign ahead of schedule and with some of the largest gifts in our history—raising $153M to support our students and employees. I am grateful to my predecessors and to all who contributed to bringing these initiatives to fruition.
Strategic planning provides a university with the opportunity to assess its success, embrace its challenges and engage in continuous work to strengthen itself and better serve its communities. As we slowly and fitfully emerge from the pandemic, we have a unique opportunity to assess the higher education landscape and our place in it. We need now to pause and reflect on who we are and, with broad participation from community stakeholders, who we want to be 5, 10 years from now. Our response to the pandemic demonstrated that universities can change and change quickly, but it also affirmed how important our classrooms, our buildings and relationships with one another are to our success as an institution. While many of our priorities, like our commitment to our students’ degree attainment, remain unchanged, we are at a critical juncture for planning our future.
The pandemic exacerbated preexisting inequities that could lead fewer students from BIPOC communities to college. Community college enrollments declined precipitously, and SFUSD has also experienced a decrease in student numbers. Locally, it dramatically accelerated SF State’s downward enrollment trends, and we anticipate missing our enrollment target by 10%. The pandemic’s impact on retention and graduation rates remains to be seen. But a recent Graduation Initiative 2025 update from the CSU shows that SF State has not made the progress that we had hoped nor kept up with the improvements that other CSUs have seen. While we have much to be proud of, particularly our success with transfer students, our 6-year graduation rate of 53.7% places us 18th among 23 CSUs. And we have the 7th highest equity gap (difference in graduation rates based on race and ethnicity) in the CSU. Given our commitment to educational equity, I know we can do better.
The strategic planning process provides us an opportunity to embrace our challenges and strengths and plan a path forward. Planning that future requires broad participation. The Strategic Planning Committee (SPC) will coordinate a strategic planning process that engages stakeholders across campus and our broader San Francisco State community. Over the next months, we will host a variety of opportunities for you to participate from online discussions and surveys to in-person conversations in the spring. We will cast a wide net and provide multiple opportunities. We will also review already-existing data, qualitative and quantitative, including, but not limited to, existing survey data, the Academic Master Plan, the Strategic Enrollment Management Plan, the Strategic Marketing Plan and the WASC self-study.
Please consult the Strategic Planning website for details about the SPC, the process and opportunities for engagement. The page also includes an easy feedback button for you to communicate to the SPC.
At SF State, serving our students, one another and our region remains our most important work. How we do this, how we prioritize and how we align our work to maximize its benefits requires that we all actively engage with this process. I thank you in advance for your engagement and look forward to hearing from you.
Best,
Lynn Mahoney, Ph.D.
President
Thursday, October 07, 2021
Dear campus community,
On Thursday, October 7, Mayor London Breed and the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) announced an intention to ease indoor masking mandates in certain indoor situations. However, San Francisco State University’s indoor face covering policy, which predates the current City mandate, will remain in effect.
- Current safety protocols all remain in effect, including face coverings in indoor settings regardless of vaccination status.
- Exemptions may apply to individuals with a medical condition, mental health condition, or disability that prevents wearing a face covering. Contact Disability Programs & Resource Center (DPRC) for information about accommodations.
- Some situational exceptions will continue to apply, including indoor dining locations where proof of vaccination is required.
The combination of being a highly vaccinated community, the use of face coverings and testing have proven very successful. As we head into flu season and holiday travel, we will remain vigilant to ensure continued access to in-person classes and activities and to protect the health of all learning and working on campus.
SF State will continue to monitor current public health developments and update guidance as appropriate. Stay apprised of the latest communications and health and safety guidance around our safe return to campus by regularly checking the Campus Comeback website.
I know that many of us are experiencing pandemic fatigue. I very much appreciate your continued adherence to campus health and safety protocols. Thanks to you, SF State remains one of the safest, healthiest university campuses in the nation.
Best,
Lynn Mahoney, Ph.D.
President
Tuesday, September 28, 2021
Dear campus community,
As all know, we received word early this morning about a non-specific violent threat that had been posted to social media. I am grateful to the students who quickly alerted University Police and to all who contacted us to alert us to the possible threat. I am deeply grateful to SF State’s Emergency Operations Center for their swift assessment, and to UPD for the quick action to identify the threat and restore campus safety.
While a person of interest has been detained and we no longer believe that there is an ongoing threat to campus, I recognize that this has been traumatic, particularly for residential students and staff on campus. UPD will continue to have a heightened presence on campus to ensure the safety of those residing and working here. Students needing assistance are encouraged to contact Counseling and Psychological Services; similarly, employees are encouraged to contact the Employee Assistance Program.
In the Open Forum with Chancellor Castro this morning, Academic Senate Chair Albiniak, responding to this morning’s event, noted “our ability as a campus to respond swiftly, adapt capably, and honor our deep commitment to our students and each other through unpredictable adversity.” I share his words with you all. Once again, we navigated the unimaginable together.
I close with wishes for a quiet rest of the semester!
Best,
Lynn Mahoney, Ph.D.
President
Wednesday, August 25, 2021
Dear campus community,
Welcome to Fall 2021! Whether you are joining us remotely or working and taking classes on one of our campuses, the start of a semester is always exciting and a good moment to reflect. I typically think about the immediate moment—what do I want to accomplish this semester—and, in the much larger picture, how does my work contribute to the larger mission of higher education? Somehow, as we wrestle with the ongoing pandemic and with charting a path for the post-pandemic future of higher education, these questions seem both more difficult and more important.
If I have learned nothing else over the last year and a half, I have learned to acknowledge uncertainty and prepare for…whatever. This has not been easy—for me and likely for many of you. But as hard as it has been, I have increasingly come to believe that this experience affirms the value of higher education to prepare us for…whatever.
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to hear Dean Baquet, executive editor of the New York Times, speak at an education conference. When asked by university professors and administrators what he wanted to see in college graduates, his answer surprised us. He did not simply affirm the commonly professed requests for excellent written and oral communication skills, technical skills, or teamwork; noting, of course, that these are critical. Instead, he urged us to produce college graduates who are “not so damn certain.” Baquet asked that our graduates—and, by extension, all of us—recognize how little we actually know with any certainty and embrace being intellectually open, actively inquisitive and affirmatively uncertain.
So, as we launch the semester at a moment of many uncertainties—the pandemic, climate change, the tragedy unfolding in Afghanistan—I encourage us all to embrace uncertainty and use it to grow intellectually and personally. This fall, like many of you, I am charting unfamiliar territories. We will be a truly hybrid University for the first time, with half of our students studying remotely and half on campus for at least one course. Many of our employees are also working hybrid schedules that include working both remotely and on campus.
Personally, I will be teaching a hybrid course for the first time which will have an asynchronous component and a weekly in-person class meeting. I have worked hard to prepare, but, as it was for most of our faculty in March 2020, this is new to me. I also know that the pandemic or the consequences of climate change could create a need for further adaptation. So, I too am working hard to embrace uncertainty, confident that, however hard, I will learn and grow. Be sure to ask me in December how it has gone!
Whether here physically or remotely this semester, I urge all to join me in embracing this opportunity to re-engage with our academic community. Who knows what we will learn?
I know that many questions remain about the pandemic and campus safety plans. Please be sure to regularly consult the Campus Comeback website and know that we have achieved our goal of being one of the most highly vaccinated campuses in the country (as of late last week almost 99% of our students taking in-person classes had submitted proof of vaccination!).
With wishes for an excellent semester!
Best,
Lynn Mahoney, Ph.D.
President
Monday, August 16, 2021
Dear campus community,
This past weekend, I had the pleasure of joining colleagues from Housing and Residential Life, and volunteers from many other campus offices, to welcome almost 3,000 residential students to campus, mostly first year students new to SF State and second year students who were on campus, often for the very first time. Despite the face coverings and the requirement to take a COVID test immediately upon arrival, the joy these students and their families expressed at being on campus was incredible and an important reminder of how important it is that we bring our students back and resume in-person classes.
I am thrilled to report that the students’ joy at returning was matched by their support for our safety measures—99% are vaccinated, all wore face coverings, and we had nary a complaint about the mandatory testing. And our local data to date match what institutions like UCSD and UT Austin are projecting for extremely low positivity rates among highly vaccinated populations. As of today, of the 2800 for whom we have results, only 8 have tested positive—this is a remarkably low positivity rate. Some of these students have returned home for two weeks and the rest are in isolation in a residence area used only for this purpose.
This is good news for our return. Eighteen months ago we hoped to flatten the curve and eradicate COVID-19. We now know that we must learn to live in a world with the virus but in ways that reduce its transmission and minimize the severity of the disease. With high rates of vaccination, mandatory face coverings and other forms of PPE, testing and reduced capacity on campus this fall, we have taken the steps necessary for a safe return.
COVID-19 Vaccination Rates
We have been assured that a campus can open safely with a high rate of vaccination. Experts at the University of California believe that rates of 90% or higher will allow campuses to open. We have spent the two weeks since the CSU announced its COVID-19 Vaccination Interim Policy working intensely to get our students to upload proof of vaccination. As of today, almost 87% of those registered for an in-person class have submitted their proof and less than 2% have requested a medical or religious exception.
With a week to go before the start of classes, we will work to increase this number significantly. Students who have not uploaded their proof of vaccination or requested a medical or religious exemption by 5pm on Tuesday, 8/17, will be dropped from their in-person class(es) on Wednesday, 8/18. It is absolutely critical that these students comply by Tuesday. Those who do not submit proof or request an exemption will need to add online classes.
Our employees, as well, are demonstrating their commitment to a being a highly vaccinated campus. I am deeply grateful to Sandee Noda, CSUEU chapter president, and James Martel, CFA chapter president, for their efforts to encourage their members to upload their proof of vaccination or submit a medical or religious exemption. Last week, I was very touched by the efforts of staff and administrators to assist their colleagues who wanted assistance with uploading their proof of vaccination. To date, more than 2,000 employees have uploaded their proof with very, very few requests for a medical or religious exception. Again, I am deeply grateful for the collaborative work to meet our goal.
For the small percentage of people who have approved exemptions from vaccination, we will have weekly COVID-19 testing by a vendor that can test samples within a 6- to 8-hour period. Testing will also be available to those who come into close contact with someone on campus who tests positive. We have a team of contact tracers who will identify those who have been in close contact with someone infected by COVID-19 and contact them directly with information. We are following the guidelines of the SF Department of Health assiduously. Unvaccinated people who have been in close contact will be required to quarantine for ten days, and we will make accommodations to allow them to continue with their work or studies. Vaccinated people who have been in close contact are not required to quarantine but must wear face coverings indoors—a safety measure we have already have in place for all.
Employees should contact Human Resources if you have questions about what options may be available. Students should contact the Dean on Call.
Safety Measures
Vaccination remains our most powerful tool for managing the disease, but I also offer a quick reminder of the many safety measures we have in place:
• Required weekly on-campus testing of unvaccinated individuals
• On-campus testing available for students and employees who came into close contact on campus with someone who tests positive
• Reduced capacity across campus
• Required isolation for those who test positive (on campus for residential students)
• Mandatory face coverings
• Availability of personal protective equipment
City and County Update
Some have likely heard that Stanislaus State has decided to delay the start of in-person activities. It is important that – as we consider our plans or the plans of others – we consider the local context. How vaccinated is the county? How vaccinated is the campus? How assiduously does the community embrace measures like mandatory face coverings? SF City and County has one of the highest vaccination rates in the state; Stanislaus County one of the lowest. As of this weekend, SF Department of Health is reporting that 78% of San Franciscans 12 and over are fully vaccinated and 85% have at least one dose. This also helps explain that even as cases have increased in the city, hospitalizations have not. And the number of daily new cases has dropped significantly since SF implemented more stringent rules recently.
I do not want to minimize how anxious this moment is. We have stayed safe for the last 18 months by (most of us) staying at home. But with high rates of vaccination in the region and on campus, it is time to carefully return to campus. Science and local, esteemed colleagues at UCSF support this – high vaccination, face coverings and testing are the path to a safe return. We will continue to share data about vaccination rates and campus cases. I will continue to communicate with you. Please check our Campus Comeback website regularly for the latest updates.
I have said this before and I say it again: I cannot think of a better university to be at during this difficult transitionary moment. This past week I saw hundreds of colleagues move heaven and earth to provide vaccinations to students and employees, help them upload their proof, develop a testing protocol, and open a testing site. I have never been prouder to serve a university. And the joy with which our first returning students and families responded made every bit of that hard work worth it. On behalf of our students, thank you all.
Whether joining in person or via the web, I look forward to opening our academic year officially at Open Convocation on August 18 in-person at McKenna Theatre and livestreamed on the Academic Senate site.
Best,
Lynn Mahoney, Ph.D.
President
Wednesday, August 04, 2021
Dear campus community,
As I look forward to welcoming more people back on campus for the Fall semester, I want to reaffirm that the University, in consultation with the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH), is making every effort to ensure the health and well-being of the campus community.
I know, though, that questions remain about how we are keeping the campus community safe during this Delta-driven surge in COVID-19. Here is a recap of our actions and what’s to come.
COVID-19 vaccination interim policy
We have been assured that a campus can open safely with a high vaccination rate (along with COVID-19 testing and mandatory face coverings). Vaccinations remain our greatest weapon against COVID-19. No vaccine is 100% effective, but the COVID-19 vaccines continue to show great strength in reducing transmission and minimizing the severity of the disease.
That’s why last week, the University sent notices regarding the COVID-19 Vaccination Interim Policy. This policy went into effect immediately for all students and non-represented employees, including administrators, confidential employees, other non-represented employees and auxiliary employees, to provide proof of vaccination or participate in a campus testing program as a result of a religious or medical exemption.
SF State is requiring all students resuming in-person classes or campus activities upload proof of vaccination. Students who don’t upload proof and don’t have exemptions will not be allowed to move into residence halls or remain enrolled in an in-person class. They will be dropped from in-person classes the week of August 16 and redirected to online options. Requests for vaccine exemptions are less than 1%. We will easily exceed the 90% vaccination rate for students that health experts suggested.
Represented faculty and staff are encouraged to voluntarily upload their proof of COVID-19 vaccination; however, the California State University (CSU) is in the process of meet and confer with our unions before the interim policy can be implemented. For CSUEU, their employees have agreed to mandatory testing for staff who do not submit proof of vaccination.
Testing and contact tracing
For the small number of people who are unvaccinated and undergo regular testing, we have a third-party COVID-19 testing vendor that can test samples within 24 hours. SF State also has a team of contact tracers who will identify those who have been in close contact with someone infected by COVID-19 (defined by the CDC as someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes within a 24-hour period).
Accommodations will be made for those infected with COVID-19 as well as for anyone determined to be in close contact with someone infected with COVID-19 to ensure that they are not present on campus while they are or may be ill. Accommodations may include, but are not limited to, participating in classes remotely, working remotely or taking leave until it is deemed safe for the individual to return.
Employees should contact Human Resources if there are questions about what options may be available. Students should contact Dean on Call.
Reduced capacity and personal protective equipment
As we return to campus this Fall, we are doing so in a way that allows for reduced contact: only half of our students will be returning for in-person classes, many faculty members are teaching remotely and most staff are on campus 2-3 days per week.
The University is also providing personal protective equipment (PPE) items such as multi-layered face coverings, gloves, hand sanitizers, disinfecting wipes, plastic face shields and more.
Mask mandate
At SF State, we never lifted the indoor face covering mandate. Bay Area counties recently announced they will now also require face coverings indoors, which is reassuring.
We are an academic community driven by a passion for knowledge and confidence in science. We are not where we were in 2020. We have vaccines, we can test and contact trace and we know more about how face coverings reduce the transmission of the virus. Last week, I had an opportunity to thank all those who have been working on campus these last 17 months. It was wonderful to see so many people! I look forward to welcoming more staff and faculty back next week and welcoming our residential life students the following week.
I’m also excited to start our academic year officially at Opening Convocation on August 18 that we will livestream on the Academic Senate webpage. The event will be held in McKenna Theatre for those who want to attend in person.
Please check our Campus Comeback website regularly for the latest updates and other ways we are keeping our campus safe. As I look at our return, I can’t think of any other university I would rather be at than ours.
Best,
Lynn Mahoney, Ph.D.
President
Tuesday, July 27, 2021
Dear campus community,
The health and safety of our communities remain the CSU’s and SF State’s highest priorities. Given the significant increase in Delta variant COVID-19 cases across the state and recognizing how vulnerable the unvaccinated are, the CSU announced today that it is moving forward immediately with its requirement that all employees and students who will be returning to campuses for the fall semester be vaccinated (allowing for medical and religious exemptions). Given what I have heard over the last few weeks, I know that this will come as a relief to many.
SF State will start by implementing the requirement for all management personnel (MPP), confidential employees (C99), unrepresented employees, and students. These groups will be required to upload their proof of vaccination or request a medical or religious exemption by August 13. Those who qualify for exemptions will be required to undergo weekly COVID-19 testing on campus effective August 23. I am grateful to our residential students who have already complied with the vaccine requirement.
Our collective bargaining agreements require that the CSU meet and confer with our unions before implementing a mandatory vaccine requirement for represented staff and faculty. In the meantime, faculty and staff will be asked to voluntarily upload their proof of vaccination or request for an exemption. I am very grateful to the CSUEU and their members who have already agreed to mandatory COVID-19 testing for staff who do not submit proof of vaccination and for those approved for exemptions. Other represented staff and faculty who do not voluntarily submit proof of vaccination by August 13 may be required to undergo weekly COVID-19 testing on campus effective August 23.
Late last week all students were asked to voluntarily upload their proof of vaccination. Within the first few hours, over 1000 students submitted them voluntarily, and we now have received 2300 uploads. And, as I recently shared, the overwhelming majority of our residential students have submitted proof of vaccination with less than 1% requesting exemptions. Employees will receive emails later this week with instructions on uploading proof of vaccination.
If you have questions, please review the Prepare Together website, where you may find information on locating vaccine appointments. Students may submit questions by emailing myhealth@sfsu.edu. Employees with questions should email Human Resources hrwww@sfsu.edu.
Your privacy is important to us. The MyHealth vaccine verification system we are using follows HIPAA standards.
Remember – Immunity is Community…and we know that the vaccination is the best defense against serious COVID-19 illness. As a campus, let’s all continue to take good care of one another and “Prepare Together” by remembering to:
• Wear face coverings when indoors with others on campus,
• Wash our hands frequently,
• Stay home when not feeling well, and of course,
• Get vaccinated!
Thank you to all who have written me or contacted others to provide their support for a vaccinated campus. I have every confidence that SF State will quickly become a fully vaccinated campus.
Best,
Lynn Mahoney, Ph.D.
President
Monday, July 19, 2021
Dear campus community,
Summers always seem to move more quickly than other seasons, but this summer seems to be moving even faster than usual. I was struck last week by the uptick in activity on campus heralding our return in just a matter of weeks. Like many of you, I am incredibly excited about seeing students on campus. And I have enjoyed seeing colleagues in person since opening the Office of the President in early June. But, also like many of you, the news about stalling vaccination rates and the spread of the Delta variant worries me. I write today to provide an update on the work being done to ensure a safe return to campus.
The Bay Area continues to enjoy among the highest vaccination rates in the U.S. And, while the number of COVID cases has increased since the state reopened, our region remains safe…for those who are vaccinated! I cannot stress enough just how important vaccination is now—for personal and public health.
Students will receive emails this week, and employees the following week, asking them to voluntarily upload their proof of vaccinations. Our residential students have already been required to upload their documentation, and I am thrilled to report that of 3400 students requested 85% complied by the due date and only 28 have requested medical or religious exemptions as of late last week. I am very confident that we will have full compliance well before the residence halls open in mid-August. I am deeply proud of these students. Our residence halls will be very safe places thanks to them!
Last week Pfizer announced that it is unlikely that their vaccine will receive full authorization in time for the fall semester. The CSU will not be able to implement its vaccination policy before then as it requires that a vaccine receive full FDA authorization first. We are developing an interim plan for campus safety while we await the implementation of the CSU policy. These plans will likely include mandatory weekly testing and, given new county recommendations, continued use of face coverings indoors. Those who upload documentation of having been vaccinated would be exempt from weekly testing. Given the response we have seen from our residential students and the vaccination rate for those over 18 in the Bay Area, we should have few who need weekly testing. Our goal remains unchanged—a fully vaccinated campus.
We are taking many measures to ensure the health of the campus community. We have invested in thousands of face coverings, including N95s and KN95s. We are cleaning, testing and ensuring the efficacy of our HVAC system. We have reduced campus capacity for fall by offering many online courses and allowing continued work from home. And we have more hand sanitizer than I could ever have imagined. Sadly, COVID-19 is here to stay, but with vaccines, testing, face coverings and good hygiene, we will manage it.
Please keep an eye out for email instructions on how to upload your record of vaccination. The sooner we do this, the more securely we can return to campus. While we will be sure to send a campus email once the interim plan is confirmed, I urge all to regularly check the Prepare Together website for updates and information, including information about the availability of vaccines for you and your loved ones. There is nothing more important that we can do for one another than get vaccinated. I am grateful to live in a city and work at a University that values the collective over the individual, that understands that it is our responsibility to keep others, as well as ourselves, healthy.
I keep a basket of face coverings acquired over the last 16 months near my door. I long for the day that I can move that basket to the back of the closet. But for now, I am proudly vaccinated and remain masked in public indoor spaces.
Please enjoy the rest of your summer.
Best,
Lynn Mahoney, Ph.D.
President
Tuesday, May 25, 2021
Dear campus community,
I am delighted to announce the successful conclusion of two leadership searches. Jeff Wilson has been appointed as San Francisco State University’s vice president for Administration and Finance and Noriko Lim-Tepper as Chief of Staff to the president. I am extremely grateful to the search committees and all the members of the campus community who took time out of a busy and challenging semester to participate in the search processes and share their thoughts on all the talented candidates for these important roles.
Jeff has served at SF State since 2017 and has nearly 15 years of experience in the California State University system. He has been a steady hand as the interim vice president for Administration and Finance since March 2019 and previously served as the associate vice president for fiscal affairs.
One year into the pandemic, our University has the lowest infection rate of any CSU campus other than the much-smaller CSU Maritime Academy and the Office of the Chancellor. As a member of the Pandemic Planning Group and leader of the Budget & Logistics working group, Jeff has been crucial in the development and implementation of our successful response to this global health crisis.
Jeff also led the effort to find areas where it was feasible to reduce certain student fees during remote instruction and operations and co-chaired the University Budget Committee during its transition from an information-sharing organization to an inclusive committee working with students, faculty, and staff.
Noriko has served as the interim chief of staff since September of 2019. She previously served as director of Government and Community Relations at San Francisco State from 2016-2019. Noriko played a critical role in our negotiations with city leadership to allow academic courses which require irreplicable hands-on experiences to continue in person during the pandemic.
She has also built strong partnerships with Associated Students regarding fee transparency, campus climate, Black Lives Matter initiatives and coalition building to advocate for campus issues with local government officials. Noriko was instrumental in working with city leaders to prioritize the campus community during the city’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout. She has extensive experience in state government, including serving as senior field representative for California State Assemblyman Phil Ting.
I am confident that Jeff and Noriko will continue to demonstrate their leadership, creativity and initiative in service of our students and our University. Join me in welcoming them and previously-announced Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Jamillah Moore, who will be joining us on July 1.
Thank you again for all participated in these important searches.
Best,
Lynn Mahoney, Ph.D.
President
Monday, May 17, 2021
Dear campus community,
In just the few weeks since I last communicated with you, the health news in the Bay Area and across the state has much improved. I write today with the good news that, as a result, we can expect a more robust fall. The ready availability of vaccines for those 12 and older and the CSU commitment to requiring vaccination for Fall 2021 campus access means we will be able to offer more in-person courses and more campus activities, including access to the Mashouf Wellness Center, the Cesar Chavez Student Center and the J. Paul Leonard Library.
We will welcome back more than 3000 residential students, while continuing to serve those students who want to study remotely in fall. Where possible, we are developing hybrid approaches to campus staffing which will provide better services in the post-pandemic world. All students and employees who do not qualify for an exemption will be required to get vaccinated. Given our heightened commitment to health and safety, we are planning to require verification of vaccination.
I am deeply grateful to department chairs, deans’ offices and Academic Affairs for the work done to create a schedule of courses for the fall which will provide students with options to study remotely or enjoy a combination of in-person and remote courses. Our surveys of students, as well as a recent piece in the Golden Gate Xpress, demonstrate that many want a fall semester that includes a mix of in-person and remote classes. Our new schedule allows for that, particularly for our newest Gators who expressed the greatest interest in being on campus. Please remember that fall is a transitionary semester and our goal will be to offer an in-person spring semester more typical of pre-pandemic semesters.
Associated Students (AS) and Student Affairs and Enrollment Management (SAEM) teams are hard at work to ensure that those studying on campus or returning to live in San Francisco enjoy as rich a campus life as public health guidelines allow. Current plans include opening the Cesar Chavez Student Center and the Mashouf Wellness Center (MWC) on August 23. Use of MWC will be driven by San Francisco Department of Public Health requirements at that time. Associated Students also plan to host modified hours for their centers: Women’s Center, Legal Resource Center, Environmental Resource Center, Richard Oakes Multicultural Center, Project Connect, Project Rebound, Queer Trans Resource Center and EROS. Many of our eateries and other retail services around the campus, including the bookstore and snack shops, will open to serve the campus community.
We can also look forward to welcoming one another back in person! GatorFest! will kick off in August, and it will be bigger than ever with eight weeks of activities for new and returning students. There will be more events and programming this year – offered in person, virtually, and through hybrid modalities to support students regardless of where they will be studying this fall. GatorFest! will include opportunities for students to engage with the faculty, staff, each other and the AS family. We will also make use of our beautiful campus to allow students to gather outside safely for activities on the Quad, on West Campus Green, and on other large outdoor spaces.
Academic spaces such as the J. Paul Leonard Library, academic buildings and classroom spaces will all be open. We will continue to work hard to ensure that these spaces are healthy and safe. Hand sanitizing stations will be readily available, and hybrid work and continued remote instruction will ensure a less dense campus. We will continue to work with SFDPH on the most current safety requirements. We will update you via email and the website as the situation evolves and new guidelines are confirmed.
Just as our rapid turn to remote learning and working was challenging, so will be our gradual return to campus. All have suffered some form of trauma this year whether affected personally by COVID-19 or its economic consequences or by the effects of prolonged isolation. Many in our communities have also suffered from the pandemic of white supremacy that we continue to wrestle with as a country and a region. Coming back together will have its challenges but is also necessary—our students’ success requires it and our robustness as a university campus requires it. I ask that you be patient with me, with the University and with one another as we focus on rebuilding and coming back better.
I conclude by urging all who do not qualify for medical or religious exceptions to get vaccinated as quickly as possible. Across the state, supplies have opened up and in many places, appointments are no longer needed. Please review California’s COVID-19 site for information.
I look forward to seeing you all!
Best,
Lynn Mahoney, Ph.D.
President
Friday, April 23, 2021
Dear campus community,
We recently concluded a national search for a vice president for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management. I am very grateful to the search committee and the dozens of students, staff, faculty and administrators who participated in the search and shared their thoughts about the candidates. It is with great excitement that I announce that Dr. Jamillah Moore has agreed to serve SF State in this role, effective July 1.
Dr. Moore joins us from Cañada College in San Mateo County where she has served as president since 2016. Under her leadership, the College successfully completed a strategic plan and had its accreditation reaffirmed. Her many accomplishments in this role also include establishing the campus’ Anti-Racist framework, developing a program to support Latinx students with transfer pathways and co-chairing the San Mateo County Community College District’s Basic Needs Task Force.
Previously, Dr. Moore served as vice-chancellor of Educational Services and Planning at the San Mateo Community College District, chancellor of the Ventura Community College District, president of Los Angeles City College, interim superintendent president of Compton Community College and senior vice chancellor for Governmental and External Relations for the California Community College Chancellor’s Office. She spent a decade as a legislative staffer and policy analyst in the California State Senate and is a former director of Governmental Relations for the Los Angeles County Office of Education.
Dr. Moore’s background also includes teaching and research in issues related to educational access and equity with a focus on student success for BIPOC and low-income students. She has consulted with college systems and policymaking organizations in California and Washington D.C. on educational policy issues.
A native Californian, Dr. Moore holds two degrees from California State University, Sacramento, a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and a master’s in Intercultural Communication and Public Policy. It is a pleasure to welcome her back to the CSU! Dr. Moore earned a doctorate from the University of San Francisco in International and Multicultural Education.
We are extremely lucky to have found someone whose experience and values align so perfectly with the culture and needs of SF State. I look forward to working with Dr. Moore to expand opportunities for all current and future SF State students.
I want to thank Dr. Beth Hellwig for her incredible work as our interim vice president. Dr. Hellwig has served our students and the campus well during a challenging period. She has enriched the student experience at SF State. I am very grateful for her leadership.
I would also like to thank the search committee: co-chairs Sherria Taylor and Jennifer Summit, and committee members Yvonne Bui, Andrew Carillo, Anosha Chaudhuri, Susan Chen, Luis De Paz Fernandez, Meredith Eliassen, Erin Fischer, Cyrus Ginwala, Nia Hall, Reggie Parson, John-Carlos Perea, Tony Schifano, Tonee Sherrill, Fred Smith, Kimberly Tanner, and Jimmie Wilder. And a special thank you to Cristal Wallin for her support in coordinating a successful search process.
Again, I thank all who participated in this critically important search. Please join me in welcoming Dr. Moore to the Gator Family.
Best,
Lynn Mahoney, Ph.D.
President
Thursday, April 22, 2021
Dear campus community,
As you may have heard, the California State University, in tandem with the University of California, announced today that COVID-19 vaccines will be required for students and employees returning to CSU campuses. This requirement will be conditioned upon full approval of one or more vaccines by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as well as adequate availability of the fully approved vaccines. This requirement will become effective at the beginning of the fall 2021 term, or upon full FDA approval of the vaccine, whichever occurs later.
The CSU will be engaging in discussions with the California State Student Association, the CSU Academic Senate and labor unions before implementing changes to existing immunization requirements, and the requirement will allow students and employees to apply for exemptions for medical or religious reasons.
The CDC has determined that all approved U.S. vaccines are safe and effective at preventing the spread of COVID-19 and protecting from severe illness. Millions of people in the U.S. have received COVID-19 vaccines under the most intense safety monitoring in the history of the nation. A vaccinated population provides the surest route to vibrant campuses, thriving communities and a robust economy. Evidence continues to accumulate that this lengthy pandemic and resulting social isolation are taking a toll on many, especially our students. Across the country, higher ed has seen reductions in new student enrollment and in retention—and sadly, as with the pandemic itself, this decline is disproportionately impacting BIPOC students. It is imperative that we avail ourselves of every health measure we have at our disposal to bring students back to campus.
The decision by the CSU echoes much of what we are hearing at SF State. Over the past few weeks, we have surveyed our faculty, staff, students and administrators—the overwhelming majority expressed ongoing concerns for health and a commitment to get vaccinated. In the many conversations that we have had with students and colleagues, many expressed support for a mandatory vaccine requirement. In fact, our students and the California State Student Association have been very vocal in their support for this requirement.
For our students who are unable to or concerned about a return to campus in the fall, we continue to plan for flexibility in our schedule, offering in-person and virtual learning options where possible during this transitionary semester. We will also continue to allow flexibility for employees as University operations allow.
While we await details about implementation from the CSU, we will continue to provide information about access to vaccinations. We also hope to continue providing access to vaccinations on campus. I know that this new CSU policy will generate many questions. I ask for your patience. While this is complicated and implementation will require a good deal of work, I am deeply proud that the CSU continues to play a leadership role in making bold public health decisions in support of students.
I am hopeful that this news along with a continued commitment to health and safety protocols will increase comfort levels as we think about and continue planning for our return to campus. Our students need us, and we need one another.
Best,
Lynn Mahoney, Ph.D.
President
Tuesday, April 20, 2021
Dear campus community,
I cannot begin to imagine the range of emotions our University community is experiencing today as we process and react to the verdict in the Derek Chauvin murder trial. Our thoughts remain first and foremost with George Floyd’s family and friends. While the verdict is an important step in holding police accountable and for dismantling state-sanctioned violence, no verdict can bring his family true peace nor can it restore what they have lost nor restore the years that Mr. Floyd had stolen from him.
Our thoughts also remain with those who continue to experience harassment and violence at the hands of police. During the few weeks of the trial alone, Daunte Wright’s and Adam Toledo’s names were added to the list of people tragically killed by police officers, and Caron Nazario, a dedicated member of the armed services, was pepper sprayed during a minor and unnecessary traffic stop. We must continue to demand justice and accountability, but our real goal is to prevent the harm before it occurs. Mr. Floyd’s family issued a similar plea today. While grateful for the verdict, they reminded us that there is much work to be done to “prevent unjustified killings of marginalized” BIPOC. This country should be a place where all feel valued and secure in the knowledge that they are safe. No one should feel anxious that when their loved ones are out of sight they are in danger.
As I have said before, universities must be sites of hard conversations. As the U.S. wrestles with systemic state-sanctioned violence in our municipalities, universities must engage in rigorous conversations about the shape of campus safety. SF State is uniquely poised to make a real difference here. We must continue to fill our University’s mission as the premier institution focused on social justice by both having this challenging conversation and modeling a student-centered campus safety program. Key steps have already been undertaken. Following more than a year of conversations with students and others, SF State is uniquely positioned to create a 21st century, student-centered model for campus safety which includes an advisory committee with student, faculty and staff representation, a civilian campus escort service and a chief of police with a background as a student services professional who also serves as an assistant vice president in Student Affairs and Enrollment Management. Building on this and making lasting change remains one of our greatest priorities for the upcoming year.
On a day like today, we would typically gather to share, to listen and to support one another. While the ongoing pandemic precludes that, we will find ways to come together virtually. The Division of Equity and Community Inclusion and other Student Affairs and Enrollment Management areas will be hosting virtual spaces and events (please keep an eye on your email and social media for details as they become available). I also encourage faculty to provide some time and space in their classes to allow students to discuss this event and other issues related to anti-racism and white supremacy. Our Center for Equity and Excellence in Teaching and Learning offers anti-racist pedagogy resources. The National Education Association also offers a number of relevant tools. And, as always, mental health support is available for students and employees alike.
Yet again, I am sadly compelled to say how hard things are just now. Many of our students and colleagues are suffering. I urge us all to show compassion and open our hearts and minds to one another. We can come together virtually to stand in solidarity to nurture a climate of shared values, greater trust and understanding and a society that is more just for all its people.
Best,
Lynn Mahoney, Ph.D.
President
Monday, April 05, 2021
Dear colleagues,
Recent weeks have brought good news as the vaccine rollout continues to gain momentum and Bay Area counties have seen significant declines in new COVID-19 infections. Health officials urge continued caution and safety measures, though, as we navigate the last months of the pandemic.
We recently surveyed all staff to assess their satisfaction with and the effectiveness of remote work to guide our planning for fall when we expect an increased number of in-person courses and experiences. The results provide many insights, including that the majority of staff members want to return to campus at least some of the time in the fall with appropriate public health measures in place.
The fall will be a transitional semester with significantly more in-person classes in addition to many remote options for our students. Given the need to support a greater number of in-person classes and operations, we anticipate that most staff will return to work in a hybrid model, with a balance of in-person and remote work to be determined by supervisors. As always, the university remains committed to providing a safe work environment, following the highest levels of public health directives.
Discussions have already begun to identify which services and staff will be needed to support the increased number of students and employees who will be returning to campus. We expect that most staff will need to be on campus 2-3 days per week. To reduce the number of people on campus at any given time and allow for physical distancing, we are building flexibility into our planning while prioritizing safety and the need to serve our students at the level they need and deserve. Vice presidents will work with supervisors in the coming weeks and months to plan for in-person staffing levels and how to accomplish them safely in our various workspaces.
Throughout the pandemic, we have placed the safety of our campus community at the forefront of our decision making, and I am proud of our successes. San Francisco State University will continue to be a safe place as we transition to greater in-person learning, work and other experiences. We will continue to diligently follow San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) guidance, including observing the public health mitigations that have kept those working and living on campus this past year safe:
• Physical distancing
• Observing maximum occupancy guidelines
• Face coverings
• Enhanced cleaning
• Availability of personal protective equipment (PPE)
• Broad availability of hand sanitizer and other supplies
• Health screenings for individuals who are interacting with others
• Voluntary testing as necessary
Most importantly, we will encourage the entire SF State community to get vaccinated, and we will continue efforts to provide access to the vaccine. I am happy to report that effective April 15th, all of our students will be eligible for the vaccine. SFDPH has agreed to increase the number of SF State community members who get priority access at Mashouf Wellness Center. We will also provide students with information on how to access the vaccine in the California counties many live in.
I know that all are anxious to know what the fall will look like for them. Colleges and departments are working now to confirm plans for faculty, who also were surveyed recently as were students. For staff and administrators, our goal for fall is to confirm preliminary plans by June 1 and begin notifying employees of the framework for in-person staffing so they will have time to plan appropriately. Please note, though, that staffing needs will be reassessed on an ongoing basis as the health situation develops, increasing numbers of students arrive on campus and as SFDPH rules allow.
Many of our staff colleagues have continued to work on campus over the past several months. I remain grateful for their work—we will return to a healthy and beautiful campus thanks to their efforts. I remain inspired by the work of all staff, faculty and administrators this past year. As I reviewed the results of the staff survey, I was struck, yet again, by our staff’s commitment to the University and its students. Despite the uncertainties at the time the survey was distributed, more than half indicated their desire to return to campus--even before vaccinations were widely available.
I know how hard our transition to remote teaching and working was and how difficult even a gradual return to campus will be. I thanked you for your patience last spring. I thank you in advance for your patience again as we work through this transitionary period. With the growing availability of vaccines for all adults and our long-term commitment to educational equity and our students, I have every confidence that we will have as robust a campus experience as we safely can in the fall. And even better days await us.
Best,
Lynn Mahoney, Ph.D.
President
Thursday, March 25, 2021
Dear campus community,
I find myself yet again writing to you at a moment of great tragedy in the U.S. I am profoundly sad at how regularly I have had to do this in my twenty months as your president. Last week’s tragic shooting in Atlanta was followed by this week’s shooting in Colorado—leaving 18 dead. All 18 leave devastated families and communities. Six of the eight victims in Atlanta were women of Asian descent, exemplifying the critical need to support all efforts to Stop AAPI Hate. While the motive in Colorado remains unclear, we can add to the list of pandemics we are fighting the growing mental health crisis in the U.S., as well as the need for a nonpartisan, public health-driven conversation about gun control. It is really hard to be hopeful just now.
I have found glimmers of hope and progress, though. Rob Bonta was appointed this week to serve as California’s attorney general. The first Filipino-American to hold the position, Bonta’s parents were civil rights activists, working alongside Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and Philip Veracruz. And as always, I’ve also seen hope in meetings with students, staff and faculty. The SF State community has long known how to turn pain and rage into action. Last weekend’s protests across the nation, record-level donations to progressive organizations fighting hatred and intolerance and the individual and collective activism of the SF State community demonstrate paths forward. I am grateful, as always, to the many people who have taken time to speak with me over the last few weeks, particularly the Asian American Studies students and faculty who took time during their spring breaks to meet with me. We will move forward with plans to strengthen civilian campus safety programs, add more psychological counselors and implement more anti-hate educational initiatives, among other suggestions. In the coming weeks, I will share more with you about the concrete actions that the University will take to become an even stronger hate-free zone.
This week marks the 241st anniversary of the passing of the 1790 Naturalization Act limiting citizenship to “free white person(s)” – a sad milestone in the history of white supremacy in the U.S. While some of this history has been reshaped thanks to generations of civil rights activists, it is horribly clear that much remains to be done. As I see the dozens of events that students, staff and faculty are mounting, as I watch the solidarity that has marked SF State’s responses, and as I hear all ask to work with the University for change, I remain confident that “ordinary people” can change the path of history. We are far, though, from ordinary. I share your desires to see SF State become even more extraordinary and look forward to the work.
As always, I conclude with wishes for good health (and a vaccine appointment!).
Best,
Lynn Mahoney, Ph.D.
President
Monday, March 08, 2021
Dear campus community,
I write as we mark the one-year anniversary of teaching, learning and working mostly remotely. There is no way that I could have ever imagined this milestone when we announced on March 9th a suspension of in-person classes and – shortly after that – a call for shelter-in-place that would leave most of us working from home. In some ways, I still cannot believe what we have accomplished — and lost — over the last twelve months.
By any standard, the last year has been hard. I think particularly of those in the SF State family who have been sick or lost loved ones to COVID-19 and those for whom the economic toll of the pandemic has been painful. But I also think about all of us who have not been able to spend time with family and friends, who are living in isolation, who must balance work and caregiving roles, who have missed weddings and graduations and who miss the daily markers of a socially engaged life. But as I write this, I am optimistic. All SF State employees, including student assistants, are now eligible for the vaccine, and here in the Bay Area and across the state, the vaccine is increasingly available. President Biden has announced a goal of producing enough vaccines for all adults in the U.S. by the end of May. And, locally, experts from the University of California believe all University employees and students will have an opportunity to be vaccinated by June. This heralds well for the fall.
The growing availability of vaccines, the anticipated restoration of this year’s state budget cuts and the considerable investment of federal one-time funds for higher ed fills me with optimism. While much still remains unknown about fall 2021, I want to share our current planning assumptions. In the midst of a raging pandemic, our plans last spring and fall were driven solely by public health. As we pull ourselves out of this crisis and plan for the future, we need to balance multiple priorities:
- The continued health of our community
- Our educational mission—the impact of many months of remote learning on students
- Our role as an engine of educational equity as students decline to attend or stop out
- The mental health of our students
- Our institutional health as students decline to attend and enrollments decline
- And, the social fabric of our community as we continue to work in isolation
Just months ago, the state and CSU budget looked dire, and we were in the midst of what I described at a recent open forum as budget armageddon. Last month’s surprise news about restoring the 2020-21 state budget allows us now to entirely rethink our planning. We are joyful that there will be no furloughs, no layoffs, and no additional draconian budget cuts. But our enrollments remain volatile, and we may see smaller pandemic-driven enrollments in fall. The picture will be clearer by summer. But with the help of one-time federal funds, used in compliance with federal regulations, we can bridge a more modest University deficit and help Academic Affairs develop a multi-year strategy to bridge their budget gap. We are not talking about austerity but about making incremental changes in how we use our resources, how we schedule our classes and how we align our instructional budget with our enrollments.
We all share the same priority--supporting our students by providing them with the classes and services they need to succeed and graduate by rebuilding our staff and by hiring faculty that meet our institutional commitments to equity and inclusion. By working hard, together, to retain continuing students and implement a strategic enrollment management plan to attract new students, we can build to a stronger future. I promise.
Our immediate focus is on fall semester. We have surveyed faculty. We have surveyed students. We have held Listening Sessions primarily composed of staff. And we have surveyed staff about fall 2021 planning. Fall will certainly be a transitionary semester. Our goal remains unchanged—bring back as many students, and the faculty and staff needed to serve them, as we safely can. The data collected to date suggests that the majority of the University community, including continuing students, would prefer to remain remote or work partially on campus and partially remote. We will continue to listen to all of you and work with the San Francisco Department of Public Health to develop concrete plans for fall. Please bear with us—and continue to share your concerns and suggestions—as we work through the many complexities involved. We will soon update our Campus Plan information. A schedule of in-person classes for fall will be finalized in early May. Please keep an eye on the website for additional details as they become available.
On March 6, 2020, I attended our last large University event. Over 300 students, faculty, staff and administrators joined me in the Annex to have a conversation about our role as the City’s University and to chart a path toward strengthening that role. Yes, the pandemic threw us all an unexpected challenge. But our role and our future remain unchanged. We are The City’s University. We are key to the recovery of the city and the region. And we are well poised to meet that promise. So, as with the last year, buckle your belts. The path will be bumpy. But with our eyes on the horizon, we will get there.
Best,
Lynn Mahoney, Ph.D.
President
Thursday, February 18, 2021
Dear campus community,
Like many of you, I was delighted by yesterday’s announcement by Governor Gavin Newsom. He and leaders from the state legislature announced a package of budget actions that included – among many items – restoration of previously-enacted reductions to the California State University budget, effective July 1, 2021. This is excellent news for the CSU and good news for SF State, and we are hopeful this planned action will make it to the final budget. I want to publicly acknowledge our gratitude not only to the governor and the legislature, but also to the people who continue to advocate effectively for our CSU students, faculty and staff, particularly the Chancellor’s Office, the Academic Senate of the CSU, the California State Student Association, and our unions. As I said in an earlier message this week, the “dividends of solidarity” are great.
The pandemic-related budget cuts came at a particularly vulnerable time for SF State as we faced a pre-pandemic University budget deficit in the fall of 2019, a decline in enrollment, and a gap between funding and expenses in some of our Cabinet areas. The cuts were devastating for many members of our campus community — particularly the individuals and families impacted directly by the painful layoff and MPP non-renewal process as well as declining opportunities for lecturers as a result of lower enrollment. And while the expected budget relief is welcome news, it will not entirely repair our current shortfall—we still face an enrollment-related reduction in tuition revenue that will remain with us at least for the next six years.
There is much that we don’t know about how the next year will unfold. We still need to address our own historical budget deficit and contend with highly volatile and declining enrollments. The restoration of the 2020-21 reduction in our state allocation is good news in that it provides us with the time and room to focus on aligning our spending with our resources in a way that allows us to use our resources to support current priorities, including retention and graduation, anti-racism and faculty excellence. There is still work to be done. We will continue to work with leaders from across the University and in consultation with the University Budget Committee. The announcement by the governor and legislative leaders provides a welcome note of optimism and hope for better days ahead.
Best,
Lynn Mahoney, Ph.D.
President
Wednesday, February 17, 2021
Dear campus community,
In March 2020, within days of the region’s shelter-in-place orders and the move to a virtual University, our colleagues in Asian American Studies and our community partners Chinese for Affirmative Actiondeveloped a crucially needed initiative to track and respond to incidents of hate, violence, harassment, and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI). As national leaders and white supremacist groups demonized AAPI communities, attributing the pandemic wrongly to a single race or nation, SF State faculty and community leaders launched Stop AAPI Hate. They documented more than 2,800 incidents of hate, discrimination, and violence against AAPI communities between March and December 2020, including 708 incidents in the Bay Area alone—and 30 more in just the first few weeks of 2021.
San Francisco State joins our colleagues in Asian American Studies, our community partners across the region, the California API Legislative Caucus, and local elected officials in condemning anti-AAPI rhetoric and violence. We will continue to use our resources to support our AAPI communities. Students and employees are encouraged to report anti-AAPI incidents to the Bias Incident Education Team or, for complaints that may violate Title IX or Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation policies, to Equity Programs and Compliance. The Division of Equity & Community Inclusion and AAPI Student Services are also available to offer support, identify resources and sponsor educational programming. Community members and those off campus are encouraged to avail themselves of the many community organizations poised to help combat anti-AAPI hate, including the Chinese Progressive Association, the Community Youth Center of SF and Chinese for Affirmative Action.
Recently, I watched a webinar that included several of our faculty on “The Fight for Ethnic Studies in California.” Dr. Russell Jeung, professor of Asian American Studies and a co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, shared a story about his personal experience with pandemic-inspired demonization and harassment. But he, and others, also shared stories of historic and current solidarity among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities (BIPOC). It was a powerful display of solidarity and an important counter-narrative to recent images and stories that attempt to reify centuries-old white supremacist stereotypes and divide communities of color.
This is the moment to listen to our AAPI communities and to document and respond to anti-AAPI harassment, discrimination and violence. And it is yet another moment that calls for solidarity across all racial, ethnic and religious groups. In a recent New York Times podcast, Heather McGhee and Ezra Klein discuss how American public policies based on exclusion and segregation have diminished services and rights for all Americans and highlight the gains of working in solidarity. As Ezra Klein observed, “there are vast ‘solidarity dividends’ just waiting for us, if we are willing to stand with, rather than against, each other.”
The forces of division have been strong across the U.S. and sadly promise to remain that way. But, as I repeatedly note, universities are and must be the sites for more nuanced conversations about anti-racism, about solidarity and about the deterministic binaries that circumscribe too many national and local conversations. No university is better poised to have those conversations than SF State where the “dividends of solidarity” saw the birth of the first College of Ethnic Studies and where today we stand in solidarity with our AAPI colleagues to Stop AAPI Hate.
Best,
Lynn Mahoney, Ph.D.
President
Monday, February 15, 2021
Dear campus community,
While we continue to wrestle with the pandemic and its consequences, our eyes are also on next year. I know that many of you have questions about what fall 2021 will look like and what our budget will be. We are working now to identify questions and concerns about fall 2021. Faculty and students have been surveyed about fall instructional preferences, staff and faculty have been invited to Listening Sessions with members of the pandemic planning group, and we are working with Associated Students to identify additional means of hearing from students. Our goal remains to have as many students back on campus in the fall as health, safety, and the SF Department of Public Health allow. I promise to share more information as it becomes available.
This year’s budget was very hard for our campus. The combination of a reduction in the state allocation and enrollment revenue left us with a $37.9 million budget gap. As all know, despite a hiring chill, a variety of cost saving measures and the planned use of $7.7 million in campus reserves, we were unable to bridge that gap and were forced to reduce our workforce last fall. For a variety of reasons, including a desire to do everything we could to minimize the number of employees impacted, the savings from the workforce reductions fell short of our financial goal. We realized only $4.7 million in salary savings for this year and will have to increase the use of campus reserves to $12.1 million to balance our budget.
Statewide, the budget news for next year has improved. Governor Newsom released his January Budget Proposal which included an increase of $145 million in recurring funding for the CSU and $225 million in one-time funding for deferred maintenance, emergency student financial aid, and faculty professional development. This was welcome news as it didn’t include the additional reduction in state funding we had been warned was coming. But the additional recurring funding restores only a third of the budget reduction we took in 2020-21 and much of that is designated for mandatory costs such as increased benefits costs, implementation costs for AB 1460, the increase in the minimum wage and an additional $15 million for Basic Needs initiatives. While this is all good news, it does not provide the funding we need to address the ongoing structural deficit SF State has.
Many of the reductions we took for this year were one-time solutions, and almost every unit on campus has had to rely on carry forward funds to meet their budgets. The 2020-21 budget cuts laid bare our ongoing problematic use of one-time funds to fund core activities including the schedule of classes, student affairs programming and equipment and operational needs. We must continue the hard work of addressing our structural deficit and remain agile as the impacts of the pandemic and vaccines on the state’s economy and enrollments become clearer. This year’s ultimate need to use $12.1 million in reserves has nearly depleted the University’s reserve and leaves us vulnerable if we were to experience a campus emergency such as an earthquake or fire. In addition, our enrollment remains highly volatile due to lower enrollments this past fall and the ongoing pandemic. We must be prepared for further declines in enrollment and revenues. Based on the Governor’s January Budget Proposal and the revenue forecasts for tuition and fees, the campus’ recurring deficit for the general operating fund in 2021-22 is likely to be $12 million or higher--a sizable improvement over last year’s deficit but a figure that demonstrates that there is work to be done.
There is a lot of confusion about the different uses of one-time funds and recurring general fund. One-time funding is not a solution to our budget deficits but may provide a short-term reprieve from additional severe reductions and temporarily stabilize the campus’ reserve while we enact changes that will stabilize our budget for the longer term. We should soon receive over $46 million from the federal Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF). This will provide over $14 million in direct student aid and another $32 million in institutional support. The use of the funds for institutional support is heavily regulated. These one-time funds are intended to alleviate some of the financial pressure caused by the pandemic including additional costs for health and safety measures (e.g. personal protective equipment, cleaning supplies/equipment), remote instruction and operations costs (e.g. technology and faculty professional development), costs associated with student refunds for programs such as student housing, fixed costs such as debt service, and for targeted programming directly related to the pandemic. They must be expended by 2022.
We will use these funds, in compliance with the rules governing their use, to provide the campus with a temporary reprieve from another round of severe budget reductions during 2021-2022. But, again, they are not a permanent solution. We must engage, as a campus, in the hard work of making permanent cost-saving measures to close our currently projected $12 million structural deficit. Our divisions are already at work to do this. Academic Affairs began the hard work of addressing its unsustainable use of one-time funds this past summer. The work of the Academic Affairs Council and Academic Senate Executive Committee to jointly identify a “portfolio of imperfect options,” which underlies the Provost’s recent Directive Memo on Budget Realignment, demonstrates that we can work together to reduce our costs while remaining committed to student success. The Provost’s Directive empowers departments and colleges to make incremental changes that will not diminish our ability to serve our students and which add up to substantial savings. Its goals are to ensure a class schedule that allows students to make timely progress toward their degrees while preserving the campus’s normative 3-3 teaching load that fosters faculty excellence. Student Affairs and Enrollment Management and Administration & Finance are also looking at ways to reduce their costs while preserving services to students and the campus.
The CSU budget and SF State’s budget are complicated, and the pandemic has introduced a volatility that few have ever experienced. I urge all to attend the meetings of the University Budget Committee (UBC) or check their website for detailed presentations and information. The University will continue to refine its scenario planning for 2021-2022 and develop budget iterations over the next few months as more information becomes available, as the state legislature shares its budget plans, as enrollment trends become clearer and as the availability of one-time, federal funds is clarified.
I have been invited to attend the Academic Senate sponsored open forum with Provost Jennifer Summit on February 19 from 10:30-11:30 a.m. to answer questions about this and other pressing issues. To receive a password-protected Zoom link, please register via Qualtrics by 4 p.m. on Thursday, February 18. Additional campus forums with the president will be scheduled in the coming weeks.
I end on a positive note. Every day thousands more get access to one of the available vaccines. Educators will be eligible for the vaccine later this month or in early March paving the way for our return to campus in 2021-22. The CSU is working hard to advocate for more recurring funding to allow us to restore what we lost and hire more faculty and staff and for more one-time dollars for deferred maintenance to improve our infrastructure. In many ways, we survived the worst in 2020. We will work together again to address our remaining budget issues in 2021-22. And, while it may seem unimaginable today, we will once again be together on a thriving campus.
With continued wishes for good health.
Best,
Lynn Mahoney, Ph.D.
President
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Dear fellow Gators,
While most of us remain away from campus – learning and working remotely – I still want to welcome you personally to our spring semester, so video will have to do. I recognize the difficulty of our current reality, and I want to congratulate and thank you for your perseverance.
Last semester, the California State University stated its goal of returning to primarily in-person instruction this summer. We don’t know exactly what that will look like – how many of us may return to campus or when or if things like vaccinations and physical distancing will be required. Our goal for fall is to offer as many in-person experiences as we can, but in a safe and responsible manner. As always, we will be guided by the advice of state and local health professionals. As such, it is still too early to make broad pronouncements about summer or even fall. But there are many encouraging signs of progress, including signals of financial assistance and support from the federal government and the development and distribution of vaccines. As I write this message, plans are being developed to offer vaccinations to our community – including SF State students and employees – on our campus. More details to come after the plan is finalized.
As I said, there are many positive signs, including – as I mention in this short video – a small symbol of persistence that I came across in my own office during a recent visit to campus.
As difficult and unusual as these circumstances are, I hope you will find joy this spring semester as we progress slowly but consistently towards the brighter days that I know are ahead.
As always, I wish you good health.
Best,
Lynn Mahoney, Ph.D.
President
Wednesday, January 06, 2021
Dear campus community,
As many of you likely did, I found today’s events in our nation’s capital shocking, disturbing and, sadly, not unexpected. For more than 200 years, the U.S. has distinguished itself from almost every other nation on earth with the peaceful transfer of political power. Today, a group of Americans, encouraged by the president of the United States, attempted to undo that and rock the very foundations of a democratic society. This was not a political protest but a violent assault and an act of domestic terrorism. As I have said previously, our democratic traditions are both imperfect and fragile. Our goal as a society and as a University should be to ensure that we more equitably meet democracy’s promise for all people.
I remember being struck in 2000, when, as vice president, Al Gore certified George Bush’s election and congratulated him. I marveled in January 2017, when Hillary Clinton attended Donald Trump’s inauguration and shared her congratulations despite the vicious personal attacks she experienced during the campaign. The peaceful transfer of power demanded their attendance and affirmations. Democracy requires it.
I have no confidence that we will see the same graciousness later this month when Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are sworn in. I also fear that we will see more violence between now and then. As we wrestle yet again with another national tragedy, I urge you to look for signs of change. President-elect Biden’s cabinet and senior positions reflect the diversity of our country in unprecedented ways. Citizens in Georgia proved yet again that ordinary people can change the course of history. And COVID-19 vaccines will ultimately allow us to return to work and campus.
Some may see Inauguration Day as a day to celebrate that your candidate won. And it surely is, but it is much more than that. It is the ritual expression of the peaceful transfer of power that serves as the foundation of a democratic society. We should take great pride in this. I encourage you all, as work allows, to take time away from your desks on Wednesday, January 20, 2021 to watch Joseph Biden sworn in as the 46th president of the United States and to witness Kamala Harris, the first Black and South Asian woman, sworn in as vice president. I urge my colleagues to schedule only those meetings absolutely critical that morning and reschedule all others. Instead, I urge us all to participate together, albeit remotely, in celebrating yet another successful democratically determined transfer of power.
Best,
Lynn Mahoney, Ph.D.
President