[Ucrfacultyandstaff] Chancellor’s Update—May 2026

[UCR Chancellor]

Dear Colleagues,

Over the last 10 months, I have often shared my priorities for UC
Riverside: deepening student success and social mobility; accelerating
research, innovation, and economic development; expanding UCR Health; and
strengthening partnerships.

These priorities are not new. They were underway before I arrived at UCR.
However, as the university evolves, these priorities have risen to the top
as the ones we must keep to propel the university into its next phase of
greatness.

As we near the end of the academic year, I want to highlight a sampling of
achievements that align with these commitments and show the collective
efforts of faculty, staff, students, alumni, supporters, and community
partners to expand opportunity and impact across our region and beyond.


*Deepen our strength in student success and social mobility*

This year, UCR was *once again ranked No. 1 in the nation for social
mobility*
<https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2025/09/23/ucr-again-no-1-social-mobility-us-news-rankings>
in the U.S. News & World Report rankings, reaffirming our longstanding
leadership in helping students achieve economic advancement through higher
education.

One hurdle to student success and social mobility can be the total cost of
attendance. But UCR strives to provide significant financial aid to
students. The *Princeton Review named UCR a top value college for the sixth
time*
<https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2025/06/25/ucr-named-top-value-college-ranking>
and ranked UCR No. 11 in Top 20 Best Schools for Financial Aid.

Demand for a UCR education continues to grow. In the fall, we *welcomed
UCR’s largest entering class*
<https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2026/01/08/ucr-breaks-record-size-entering-class>
in campus history. For Fall 2026 admissions, we received more than 87,000
applications, a record high. More students also meant more demand for
housing. With *the opening of North District Phase 2*
<https://insideucr.ucr.edu/stories/2025/10/01/north-district-2-opening-celebrated-ribbon-cutting-ceremony>
, we increased affordable housing capacity for both UCR and Riverside
Community College District students, helping reduce barriers to enrollment,
persistence, and degree completion.

Our students continued to earn prestigious national recognition. This
year, *five
Highlanders received NSF Graduate Research Fellowships*
<https://insideucr.ucr.edu/awards/2026/05/19/5-highlanders-receive-2026-nsf-graduate-research-fellowships>.
*One student became UCR’s first Marshall Scholar*
<https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2025/12/16/sreenidhi-surineni-named-uc-riversides-first-marshall-scholar>
while *another was chosen for the Goldwater Scholarship program*
<https://insideucr.ucr.edu/awards/2026/04/03/sophomore-inchara-jagadeesh-awarded-prestigious-goldwater-scholarship>.
And recently, MFA in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts
student Sara Hovda won the TRIO award for her poetry manuscript.

On campus, the first cohort of graduate students participated in the
Randall Lewis Policy Fellowship Program. And in another first, UCR *launched
the Bridge to PhD program*
<https://insideucr.ucr.edu/awards/2026/05/15/ucr-launches-bridge2phd-program>
to
support postgraduate success and expand pathways to advanced research and
graduate education*.*


*Accelerate mission-driven research and innovation*

Across disciplines, UCR faculty continued to demonstrate how discovery,
creativity, and innovation can improve lives, strengthen communities, and
help address some of society’s most complex challenges. They also received
national and international recognition.

*Four professors earned prestigious NSF CAREER awards*
<https://insideucr.ucr.edu/awards/2026/02/04/four-professors-win-nsf-career-awards>.
Distinguished Professor and Vice Chancellor for Research, Innovation, and
Economic Development Rodolfo H. Torres and Professor Yadong Yin were *named
fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science*
<https://insideucr.ucr.edu/awards/2026/04/09/ucr-scholars-named-aaas-fellows>.
Other faculty honors include a *Guggenheim Fellowship for historian Georg
Michels*
<https://insideucr.ucr.edu/awards/2026/04/22/historian-georg-michels-awarded-guggenheim-fellowship>
and the *Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Allison Benis-White*
<https://insideucr.ucr.edu/awards/2026/04/21/ucr-poet-allison-white-awarded-la-times-book-prize>
.

*Professor John Jennings received the NAACP Image Award,*
<https://insideucr.ucr.edu/awards/2026/02/27/graphic-novelist-wins-naacp-image-award>
while four UCR researchers were *selected to attend the Lindau Nobel
Laureate Meetings*
<https://insideucr.ucr.edu/awards/2026/04/08/four-researchers-selected-prestigious-lindau-nobel-laureate-meeting>
.

The university continued to bring nationally and internationally recognized
thinkers and artists to campus to engage with our broader community.
We *launched
the Provost’s lecture series*
<https://insideucr.ucr.edu/stories/2026/01/28/ucr-launches-provosts-lecture-series-renowned-engineer>
with National Academy of Engineering President Tsu-Jae King Liu. *Writers
Week returned for its 49th year*
<https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2026/04/08/big-names-rising-stars-writers-week-may-5-8>
and featured authors such as Viet Thanh Nguyen and Ilya Kaminsky.

In April, I welcomed Esri founder Jack Dangermond as a Chancellor’s
Distinguished Lecture speaker as *the university celebrated nearly 50 years
of collaboration*
<https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2026/03/26/esri-ucr-mapping-half-century-collaboration>
in geospatial science, technology, and education.


*Expand UCR Health*

As one of the fastest-growing regions in California, the Inland Empire
continues to face significant shortages of physicians, healthcare
facilities, and specialty care. UCR is answering the call for more support.

Just before the academic year began, *UCR Health announced major expansion*
<https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2025/06/03/ucr-health-announces-major-expansion>
plans
that will increase access to healthcare services across the Inland Empire.
Our plans include the addition of several health clinics in the region and
the development of a Specialty Ambulatory Clinic in Canyon Spring. More
developments will be announced soon.

Meanwhile, *UCR Health expanded support for employees*
<https://insideucr.ucr.edu/stories/2025/10/30/ucr-health-launching-employee-health-care-program>
with a healthcare program designed to improve access and coordination of
care for faculty and staff.

The School of Medicine continued to earn recognition for its leadership and
impact. *Dean Deborah Deas was named among the Inland Empire’s most
influential leaders*
<https://insideucr.ucr.edu/awards/2026/04/23/school-medicine-dean-named-among-inland-empires-most-influential-leaders>*.
*And last November, *UCR hosted a California gubernatorial candidate forum*
<https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2025/11/07/candidates-governor-face-healthcare-and-economic-issues>
to discuss the future of healthcare access and regional growth.

Together, these efforts reflect UCR’s continued commitment to expanding
healthcare access in our region.


*Power the economic and cultural future of Inland Southern California
through partnerships*

Partnerships continued to play an essential role in advancing UCR’s mission
and regional impact.

This year, *UCR began construction on SoCal OASIS® Park*
<https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2025/06/17/ucr-start-construction-research-and-economic-development-park>,
a development park designed for collaboration between the campus community
and industry leaders.

The university announced *a new collaboration with the California State
University system*
<https://insideucr.ucr.edu/stories/2025/11/06/ucr-and-cal-state-collaborate-ai-education>
focused on expanding artificial intelligence education and workforce
preparation.

A joint leadership meeting between UCR and Riverside Community College
District was held to discuss enrollment trends in our two institutions and
to explore ways to expand student transfer pathways.


*And so much more…*

The accomplishments highlighted above represent only a portion of the
important work taking place across UC Riverside each day. Behind each
example are countless additional contributions.

Thank you for everything you have done this year to support our students,
advance discovery, serve our region, and move UC Riverside forward. I am
proud of what we have accomplished together and optimistic about all we
will continue to build together in the years ahead.


Sincerely,

S. Jack Hu, Ph.D.

Chancellor
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://scotmail.ucr.edu/pipermail/ucrfacultyandstaff/attachments/20260529/16e4264f/attachment-0001.htm>