Sustaining Teaching and Research Task Force

Launched in June 2023, the Sustaining Teaching and Research Task Force, or START, will assess challenges, prioritize strategies and recommend specific actions to bring about substantive improvements to our education, research and service models, thereby enhancing our ability to fulfill our mission at the highest levels of achievement.

Professor Emeritus Michael T. Brown, immediate past provost and executive vice president for academic affairs for the University of California, serves as convener for the the task force. Members of the task force include academic, administrative and staff members from across campus. They will spend the next 18 to 24 months developing initiatives and action plans to transform how the campus fulfills its education, research and service missions. Recommendations also will include new operating models that are financially sustainable and maintain or increase the campus’s commitment to excellence while attaining our goals.

START Members

Convener
Michael T. Brown, Professor Emeritus and Immediate Past Systemwide Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs of the University of California
Members
Estella Atekwana, Dean, College of Letters and Science
Simon Atkinson, Vice Chancellor for Research
Michael Bradford, Vice Provost and Dean, Undergraduate Education
Jean-Pierre Delplanque, Vice Provost and Dean, Graduate Studies
Jeff Gibeling, Faculty Advisor to the Vice Chancellor for Research
Rick Grosberg, Distinguished Professor, Evolution and Ecology
Ari Kelman, Faculty Advisor to the Chancellor and Provost
Malisa Lee, Vice Provost, Enrollment Management
Sarah Mangum, Associate Vice Chancellor, Budget and Institutional Analysis
Lauren McDiarmid, Chair, UC Davis Staff Assembly
Ahmet Palazoglu, Chair, Davis Division of the Academic Senate
Ted Powers, Executive Associate Dean, College of Biological Sciences
Pablo Reguerín, Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs
Katheryn Russ, Vice Chair, Davis Division of the Academic Senate
Jared Shaw, Professor, Chemistry
Clare Shinnerl, Vice Chancellor, Finance, Operations and Administration
Martin H. Smith, Chair, Academic Federation
Jason Stewart, Assistant Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief of Staff, Office of the Provost
Kim Turner, Executive Director, Integrated Planning and Design
Claire Waters, Professor and Chair, English

START Committees

The Future of Graduate Education
This committee will assess current and future challenges in providing excellent graduate education; develop new education and enrollment models; and improve the structure and funding models for graduate students, department-based graduate programs, and graduate groups. View the committee co-chairs and member webpage.
The Future of Undergraduate Education
This committee will assess current and future challenges in providing excellent undergraduate education; develop new teaching and staffing models; examine the structure of the academic year, summer sessions, and online education; and help to develop sustainable enrollment models. View the committee co-chairs and member webpage.
Increasing Our Research Excellence
This committee will assess current and future challenges in advancing the campus’s research excellence and develop recommendations on staffing models and infrastructure to enhance research quality and productivity; develop enhancements at the intersections of faculty, graduate student, and undergraduate research experiences; and develop recommendations to improve funding models, shared resources, access to services, as well as administration of our Centers, Institutes, and Core Facilities. View the committee co-chairs and member webpage.
Assuring Faculty Equity and a Sustainable Workload
This committee will develop recommendations to address teaching, research, and service responsibilities for all faculty, while also developing mechanisms for addressing the increased burden of administrative and compliance requirements placed on faculty over the past decade or more. View the committee co-chairs and member webpage.
Optimizing Our Facilities
This committee will look at options for improving our use of space— including analyzing the actual use of our classrooms, laboratories, and offices—and make recommendations to optimize usage patterns given increased use of remote and hybrid work. View the committee co-chairs and member webpage.
Improving Campus Support Services
This committee will consider opportunities that exist to better leverage existing technology, such as Artificial Intelligence, to identify efficiencies and streamline processes, especially related to administrative and shared support services. They will review research, teaching, and administrative staff support, and examine whether previous consolidations of services have advanced the university’s mission; identify additional opportunities for consolidation; and make recommendations where consolidation has been less effective and should be rolled back.

Stay Engaged

Updates on START’s progress will be shared monthly with the campus and quarterly town halls will be held for further input and insights. The first town hall is scheduled for February 15, 2024, and will be held via Zoom. Faculty and staff can register for the event via the email invitation from Provost Croughan.

Recommendations from the task force will be reviewed on a rolling basis, with the first round provided in December 2023 for changes that will be implemented in the 2024-25 academic year or earlier. The task force's work is expected to conclude by June 30, 2025.

Read the Sustaining Teaching and Research Task Force Charge Letter.