Advocacy and Wellness

If there are additional resources you find useful, please feel free to send them to physics-inclusion@uci.edu so that we can include them on the list.

Resources for Graduate and Undergraduate Student Advocacy and Wellness

The UCI physics department, and the university as a whole have several bodies whose responsibilities are to advocate for students and promote student health and wellness. The purpose of this page is to provide information about some of these bodies who you may want to contact if you have an issue that needs to be addressed, or if you want to participate in their various programs.

Campus Student Health, Wellness, and Advocacy Resources:

Student Health Center (https://shc.uci.edu/)

For student health there are a couple of important resources including the student health center which is a primary care facility. And provides health care for both graduate and undergraduate students.

UCI Basic Needs/Food Pantry (http://basicneeds.uci.edu/get-resources/food-pantry.php)

The FRESH pantry provides emergency food and toiletries to all UCI students! You can access the pantry using your UCI Student ID or ID number and all information is kept confidential. 

Counseling Centers (https://counseling.uci.edu/)

Also, the counseling center, which provides counseling and mental health care for both graduate and undergraduate students. Including individual, couples, group, and family counseling.

Student Wellness Center (https://studentwellness.uci.edu/)

UCI has a student wellness and health promotion center, who have numerous resources including workshops to promote wellness and healthy living among the students at UCI

UCI First Generation (http://firstgen.due.uci.edu/)

UCI is proud to have more than 40% first generation college students!

UCI Disability Services Center (https://www.dsc.uci.edu/)

At the University of California, Irvine, providing equal opportunities for students with disabilities is a campus-wide responsibility and commitment. Disabilities include, but are not limited to, orthopedic, visual, hearing, learning, chronic health and psychological disabilities. UCI demonstrates its core values of individual growth and development and civility and diversity by recognizing students with disabilities as an important part of its student body. The Center's mission is to empower students to reach their potential in every aspect of their lives by moving beyond success to significance through education, service, and support.

Graduate division wellness (https://grad.uci.edu/graduate-division-wellness-and-inclusion-services/)

The Grad division has its own wellness site. There is some overlap with the above resources, but Grad division has some unique services.

UCI Dreamers (http://dreamers.uci.edu/)

The Dreamers’ Resource Office is dedicated to serving the AB540 and undocumented student population through advocacy, guidance, and support. The programs and services are designed for students to achieve academic, personal, and professional excellence.

UCI Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Rource Center (https://lgbtrc.uci.edu/)

The LGBTRC provides support, education, and advocacy from an intersectional perspective regarding sexual orientation/attraction and gender identity for the UC Irvine Campus Community. It provides a wide range of education and advocacy services supporting intersectional identity development in order to foster community, wellness, an open and inclusive environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, intersex, transgender, queer, asexual, ally.

UCI Veteran Services Center (https://veteran.uci.edu)

UCI Veteran Services is dedicated to providing a welcoming environment for veterans, reservists, and their dependents. The Center provides resources and programs to assist veterans in navigating their transition to civilian and student life.

UCI Women's Hub (https://womenshub.uci.edu/)

The Mission of the Womxn's Hub at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) aims to advance equality and access to resources for all women, across lines of ethnicity, gender identity, religion, orientation and social class, by promoting community consciousness, social justice initiatives and individual growth for all women at UCI.

Further questions?

Many other questions about student health and wellness may be covered by the FAQ on the Associate Graduate Students (AGS) website (https://www.ags.uci.edu/advocacy/health_faqs/). While AGS is a graduate student organization, many of the questions and answers are relevant for undergraduates as well.

Departmental Student Advocacy Resources:

Women in Physics (https://clubs.uci.edu/womeninphysics/)

The Women in Physics and Astronomy Club arranges multiple social events each quarter in order to create a supportive environment for females within the department. They also assist in outreach activities for younger (K-12) students to educate and encourage the next generation of women scientists. The UCI Women in Physics also organize and run a mentoring program pairing up undergraduate student mentees with grad student/postdoc mentors. They aim to decrease the attrition rate of female physics majors while providing a supportive community.

Diverse Educational Community and Doctoral Experience (DECADE) (http://inclusion.uci.edu/decade/)

DECADE is a program with the aim of improving the overall climate for graduate education at UCI. DECADE provides several resources for graduate students including mentoring programs, and various clubs and speaker series.

Department DECADE Student Representative: Francisco Mercado (mercadf1@uci.edu)

Department DECADE Faculty Mentor: David Kirkby (dkirkby@uci.edu)

 

Physics Grad Caucus (PGC)  (http://sites.uci.edu/physicsgradcaucus/)

The Physics Graduate Caucus (PGC) is an organization lead by graduate students from the Univeristy of California- Irvine Department of Physics & Astronomy. PGC is a community that seeks to support and improve academic and career success, foster individual and community well-being, and be a voice for graduate students in grad life within our department. 
 

Associated Graduate Students (AGS) (https://www.ags.uci.edu/)

AGS represents the interests of the entire graduate student body at UCI, they have an elected council composed of graduate students, and bring issues with the graduate program to the administration of UCI. We are fortunate enough to have two physics graduate students who are currently on the AGS council. Interested students are encouraged to contact them:

Brian Casas (bcasas1@uci.edu)

Sahel Hakimi (sahelh@uci.edu)

Jacob Hollingsworth (jhollin1@uci.edu)

Laura Yu (agnesy@uci.edu)

TA Student Union; UAW Local 2865 (http://www.uaw2865.org/)

The Teaching Assistants throughout the UC system are unionized. The UAW Local 2865 is the major advocacy group for graduate students with the main UC administration. Most importantly, they are responsible for bargaining with the university for a contract including the salary and benefits for TAs. Students interested in learning more are encouraged to visit the union’s website:

The UAW also has its own separate grievance procedure, for the purposes of enforcing the TA contract. This procedure can be initiated by contacting the local Union Office. Which can be done via email (irvine@uaw2865.org)

Undergraduate resources

Associated Students - University of California, Irvine, (ASUCI) (https://www.asuci.uci.edu/)

ASUCI is the student government for undergraduates , and provides many services for undergraduates as well as putting on events.

Society of Physics Students (SPS) (http://sites.uci.edu/spsuci/about/)

At UCI, the Society of Physics Students, or SPS, is a primarily undergraduate student organization set up for the purpose of promoting the study of physics, assisting students studying physics, providing career guidance to physics students, and presenting research opportunities in the physics department.

To achieve these goals, SPS conducts demonstrations and organizes events to help students to develop interest in studying physics, provides a place of study to members (Frederick Reines Hall, Room 2107), and offers access to instructors and researchers in the physics department, in addition to providing a group of fellow physics students to discuss and assist in the study of physics.