Abstract
The University of California (UC) Healthy Campus Network (HCN) is a robust network of diverse coalitions across 10 UC campuses, 5 UC teaching hospitals, and UC Agriculture & Natural Resources working to promote individual campus and systemwide changes toward a culture of health and equity. The success of this work has been evident in the HCN’s ability to quickly pivot to meet emergent needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, including social support through the UC Diabetes Prevention Program, tap water access for essential workers through the UC Healthy Beverage Initiative, and food security efforts through the UC Global Food Initiative. Building a culture of health and equity across a large public university system generated valuable lessons learned which enhanced the UC’s preparedness and resilience in the face of the pandemic, and other institutions may benefit from these best practices to respond effectively to emergencies and thrive in states of relative normalcy.
Acknowledgements
Key contributors to this work include:
HCN Committee, University of California, Berkeley
HCN Committee, University of California, Davis
HCN Committee, University of California, Irvine
HCN Committee, University of California, Los Angeles
HCN Committee, University of California, Merced
HCN Committee, University of California, Riverside
HCN Committee, University of California, San Diego
HCN Committee, University of California, San Francisco
HCN Committee, University of California, Santa Barbara
HCN Committee, University of California, Santa Cruz
HCN Committee, University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources
HCN Advisory Team
UC Diabetes Prevention Program Operating Center Leadership & Campus Leads
UC Research Consortium on Beverages and Health Leadership & Healthy Beverage Initiative Campus Leads
UC-Wide Basic Needs Leadership & Campus Leads
Meagan Wang, the former Research and Communications Coordinator for the Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center at UCLA
Ethical approval
Ethics approval was not required as this is a paper reporting on process to build a culture of health in a large university system, not a report on human subjects research.
Conflict of interest disclosure
The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the USA and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of the University of California Los Angeles.