In 2022 UCSF Sociology Doctoral student Jhia Jackson began dancing for Flyaway Productions, a site-specific aerial dance company, joining the company in time for the third part in The Decarceration Trilogy: Dismantling the Prison Industrial Complex one Dance at a Time. Jo Kreiter, artistic director of Flyaway Productions, details the creative process that goes into this exemplar of community partnerships, advocacy, collaborative creation, and innovative artistry in the following article. You can spot Jhia wearing all pink in the accompanying photos/videos. 

On Monday, May 20, the Graduate Division returned to San Francisco’s historic Herbst Theatre for our 2024 Commencement Ceremony, in which we celebrated 155 of this year's master’s and PhD degree candidates. Dozens of faculty members, university leaders, and staff volunteers, plus hundreds of family and friends were present to salute the achievements of the Class of 2024, which comprises graduates from 23 degree programs, including the first graduating cohort from the Health Data Science master's program.

Brandee Woleslagle Blank, MA, Academic Programs Manager in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, is the recipient of the 2024 Chancellor Award for Exceptional University Service.

In the award nomination, supervisor Rachel De Los Reyes and faculty members Stella Bialous and Kristen Harknett lauded Woleslagle Blank's consistent practice of going above and beyond in her role. “Her work focuses on people, how to make them happier, and how to make their life or work go more smoothly. This is a rare and treasured quality that should be rewarded,” the nomination stated.

The Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost (EVCP) and the Graduate Division Dean’s Office designated fellowship awards to seed new graduate student research for social and population science (SocPop) PhD students. The award is designed to harness the expertise and skills of UCSF’s SocPop PhD students. The goal of this award is to promote collaborations that lead to tangible deliverables in the short-term and have potential to catalyze longer-term collaborations beyond the award cycle .