A key campus committee has posted online details about what is currently planned for the early years at the UCSF Mission Bay campus and made recommendations on how to address potential growing pains.

Co-chaired by Stella Hsu of Campus Auxiliary Services, and Bonnie Maler of the School of Medicine Dean's office, the Mission Bay Operations & Services Committee posted its report on its website.

The report includes the layout of the first phase of development at Mission Bay showing where the child care center, housing complex and temporary surface parking lots will be located. The report also spells out hours of operation and staffing plans for 21 services that run the gamut from accounting to student academic affairs.

The child care center, for example, will serve 75 children and be operated by Marin Day Schools, the nonprofit organization that also operates University Child Care Center at Laurel Heights. Operating hours will be from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. when the center opens in 2005.

It is important to note, however, that the proposed plans for service and staffing levels for the first phase of the Mission Bay campus are based on proposed budgets. Pending additional review and input from the campus community as well as final budget approval, the plans will be finalized with the service providers who will work to implement them.

Based on ongoing feedback from future Mission Bay occupants through dozens of meetings, focus groups and email correspondence, the committee and campus officials have revised service proposals to address specific concerns. The goal throughout the exhaustive planning process is to optimize the quality of work and campus life at Mission Bay beginning on day one of its opening.

Responding to concerns
"We've received lots of good feedback and comments during the planning process and we took them to heart and to the campus leadership who responded to several key issues," says Stella Hsu, assistant vice chancellor of campus auxiliary services.

The three major areas of concern and steps taken to address them are the following:

Security — Mission Bay is viewed as a more isolated and unpredictable location than Parnasuss Heights, where most of the laboratories to be moved are now located. Under the revised proposal, the campus plans to provide two shifts of UCSF police protection each weekday and one shift on Saturdays and Sundays. Specific hours of the shifts have yet been determined.

In addition, private security guards will be on site 24-hours a day. Two security guards will be assigned to Genentech Hall ( one to remain at a guard station and one to escort employees to their cars or for other personal concerns.

"Instead of ramping up security as the number of occupants grows, we're doing the opposite by starting with a higher level of security when a smaller group of occupants feels most vulnerable," said Reg Kelly, executive vice chancellor.

The campus also will have surveillance cameras, a high-level of lighting, unobstructed views and controlled access to research buildings.

Transportation — Since Mission Bay offers limited public transportation options, particularly until the Municipal Railway's Third Street Light Rail Project reaches the campus, campus officials are planning regular campus shuttle service to Parnassus Heights and other campus locations and BART stations. After 7 p.m., campus shuttles will offer rides to a downtown BART/MUNI station.

Food service — Campus officials are reconsidering food service options in response to the desire for a diverse menu of food and longer operating hours at Genentech Hall's second-floor cafŽ. The cafŽ will open in March 2003 and the Campus Community Center, with eateries and kitchen, has been postponed to open in September 2004.

A key committee
One of several key campus committees that is working to make the campus a reality, the Mission Bay Operations & Services Committee was appointed by Chancellor Mike Bishop to advise, coordinate and assist in the development and delivery of all administrative and research support services to the occupants. The committee is part of an organizational structure that incorporates faculty, staff, community members and campus leaders.

The report on Mission Bay operations and services for the first few years represents the efforts of about 40 committee members drawn from the faculty, staff, postdoctoral scholars and students who represent both users and service providers.

"It's been an incredibly collaborative project between the service providers and future occupants to Mission Bay," says Maler. "They both have contributed a lot to the process and that will meet the unique needs of the campus community."

In its interim report, the committee offers a preliminary list of recommendations to address the short-term and long-term issues that have been repeatedly identified as important to future occupants.

Identifying critical issues
The committee also recommends that the campus address critical issues that have "lacked the benefit of overall coordinated planning." The committee recommends that another group be formed to address these issues, which were not within the scope of the Mission Bay Operations & Services Committee. Among the critical issues that must be resolved are loading dock delivery, traffic and circulation, space for future growth of the cell culture facility and the library.

Since the issuance of its interim report, the committee has received a lot of feedback and comments, mostly on the transportation and security plans, and is working with service providers to consider options. As services are revised and updated, as in the case of the transportation plan, the information will be posted on the committee's website. The committee is also assisting in the development of a web-based survey to get additional user input on fitness services, food and child care during the first year at Mission Bay. This survey along with additional surveys and discussion groups for other services, including police, retail and Student Academic Affairs, will be posted on the committee's website. Future occupants are encouraged to participate to assure that their interests are heard as services are refined.

Source: Lisa Cisneros

Last updated January 28, 2005

UCSF campus shuttle

Campus shuttle servie to the new Mission Bay campus is scheduled to begin in January.