I want to begin my first column in UCLA Magazine by acknowledging the immense loss and grief we are all living through as a community. The L.A. fires brought so much destruction, and the pain and suffering across our region are still difficult to process. It will take a long time to recover, and an even longer time for the pain to recede, but we will get through this together. As chancellor, I want to offer my sympathies to everyone who has been touched by this disaster. Please know that your Bruin family is here for you.
This wasn’t the start to my tenure as chancellor that I expected, but leading during a disaster is not new to me. Having led institutions during earthquakes, hurricanes and pandemics, I can prepare as a leader. Still, as a human, I have found it heartbreaking to take up this position at a moment when so many Bruins are living with anxiety and hurt.
What I have quickly learned, though, is that the UCLA community stands together. Seeing how we all truly support one another has brought me gratitude and hope. When the crisis was at its worst, I updated the Bruin community every day through social media videos and campus messages. I thanked first responders who risked their lives, and I thanked Bruins everywhere for staying connected, and for somehow finding the energy to tap into their reservoirs of kindness.
The outpouring of care and support for one another has been truly remarkable. When the first fires broke out on January 7, Bruins opened their homes, made meals and checked in on one another. With tremendous empathy, UCLA emergency personnel and health care professionals worked around the clock, and staff answered calls late into the night and stepped in for colleagues who were being evacuated. Faculty quickly pivoted to online instruction — a very complex process — and brought even more compassion to their teaching, while students and parents opened their hearts to one another and met the moment with courage and understanding.
Throughout the crisis, my administration made sure that our students, staff and faculty who lost homes — or who were otherwise affected — were aware of the university’s resources. The UCLA Volunteer Center distributed 500 emergency packages for Bruins in need, and we launched the Bruin Wildfire Relief Fund for students and employees whose homes were destroyed or who faced other serious hardships. We are continuing to care for one another and looking for new ways to stay connected.
At the height of the crisis, we held four UCLA Connects Town Halls, and nearly 16,000 Bruins came with questions and heard from senior leaders, including me. These town halls connected leadership with our Bruin community, including faculty, staff, students, parents and alumni. They came for information, but they also came because they care for one another.
In this spirit of connection, I am now planning a comprehensive active listening exercise — a series of 30-plus conversations to be held throughout the next several months. Through this exercise, I will meet with every school and unit at UCLA, as well as every constituency in the extended Bruin family — students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, donors, elected officials, business leaders, neighbors and many others.
I will be at every one of these conversations with open ears and an open heart. I want to hear directly from Bruins and better understand how members of our community have been affected by the fires. I also want to learn more about Bruins’ shared aspirations for our university’s future, and how they can be involved in shaping it.
While our top priority is our Bruin community — and rebuilding what we ourselves have lost — we are also looking out at our wider Los Angeles community. We donated space at the UCLA Research Park for a disaster recovery center, which was set up by FEMA and the City of Los Angeles. I toured the space on opening day, and it’s a one-stop shop for people who need help on the Westside of the city. UCLA experts and alumni are there to help, and this is another terrific example of how our university partners with our local community.
Partnerships like these remind us: Our path forward is through connection. Thank you again for your support and kindness throughout this crisis, and for teaching me about the Bruin spirit firsthand. Having seen the breadth of your compassion and care, I know we will get through this together.
Remember: We are One UCLA.
Read more from UCLA Magazine’s Winter 2025 issue.