Professional Development Scholarships for UCLA Staff

Welcome back, Bruins! As a volunteer Board, we are so thrilled to share our passion for professional development with you and even more grateful for your support of all 43,000+ staff at UCLA. We are proud to share that, in partnership with University Credit Union, UCLA Semel HCI Center, the UCLA Retirees Association, along with your generous contributions, UCLA Staff Assembly was able to award $25,000 of personal and professional development scholarships to staff in 2019!  

At its core, UCLA Staff Assembly is an organization "for staff, by staff." We stand by our statement and do not take it lightly! Through our many educational, social, and community programs, our aim is to foster staff engagement in the furtherance of UCLA's overall mission. Apart from being a part of the larger Bruin community, participants benefit through leadership and networking opportunities, recognition and campus involvement, and above all, personal and processional development. By being a UCLA staff employee, you are already part of the Staff Assembly and can readily participate in our programs, which are led by our wonderful colleagues! 

The objectives of the Staff Assembly are to support the mission of the University of California, to maintain and enhance the communication within the University community, to accept, promote and respect the diversity of backgrounds and beliefs which characterize UCLA's multicultural community, to liaise between Staff and Administration, to review new and existing policies and procedures affecting Staff and to provide the Chancellor and Administration feedback. Our volunteer Board works tirelessly to organize programming and events that encompass the interest of as many staff as possible. From our Small Business Resource Fair to our Virtual 5K, from our newly established "Invest in U" Summit to our prestigious Emerging Research Speaker Series, from our frequent Learn-at-Lunches to Town Halls in partnership with other campus units, we do our very best to offer it all. However, staff scholarships allow individual staff to pursue professional development on a more personal level. 

Personal and professional development of UCLA Staff is a top priority for the UCLA Staff Assembly. How do we make sure this happens? Through our annual scholarship awards, of course! We award scholarships each year to staff across campus and the Health system who are looking for career enhancement and professional growth opportunities. The number of scholarships awarded depend heavily on fundraising and stewardship pursued by the Staff Assembly. Awards are made through an application process, through which a prospective recipient may apply for individual scholarships up to $500. For some added perspective, our Scholarships Committee reviews hundreds of applications each year, and many of those applications are scholarship-eligible. Much as we would love to give everyone a scholarship, our largest challenge to date is that we simply do not raise sufficient funds to provide that service to everyone who applies. 

How can you contribute? We're glad you asked!

This campaign is so important because all money raised goes directly towards staff scholarships. Just as the campus invests in the faculty and its students, we need to invest in our staff as well! As a critical component of institutional operations, staff like you keep the campus running! UCLA is the FOURTH LARGEST EMPLOYER in the Los Angeles County, with well over 43,000 staff members. 

During the 2016/2017 fiscal year, UCLA had a total impact of $11.06B in the California economy, and nearly $4B in our County alone. 

Given these facts, it is our duty to help promote our staff by giving staff the opportunity for career advancement with the help of scholarship support. Staff Assembly launched its first Spark Campaign in 2018 and raised over $2,000, which allowed an additional four scholarships!

In celebration of our Centennial, we hope to inspire at least 100 employees to show your support for UCLA Staff. Every dollar counts!