With high marks for employee pay and tenure, UCSF came in 12th in a new national ranking of “Best Places to Work in Academia” by The Scientist magazine.
In its November issue, the magazine ranked 54 academic institutions around the United States, using thousands of responses to a web-based survey in which employees were asked to assess various aspects of their working environment, including research resources, management and policy, and pay.
The UCSF-affiliated J. David Gladstone Institutes, which is located next to the UCSF Mission Bay campus, was ranked No. 1. The institutes went from seventh place in 2007 to first place in the rankings this year. Gladstone investigators hold University appointments and participate in many University activities, including the teaching and training of graduate students.
Sister university UCLA helped round out this year’s Top 40, coming in 32nd.
UCSF performed well in the pay and tenure categories, while receiving lower scores for its research resources and peer relationships.
As a whole, survey respondents ranked relationships with co-workers and mentors as the second-most important component of a strong work environment, following overall job satisfaction. Employee pay came in fifth on their list of priorities.
Among the top 15 US academic institutions, UCSF was the clear leader when it came to federal funding for life sciences research, receiving $573 million in the last fiscal year, according to The Scientist.
In addition, UCSF employees published 30,882 papers in the life sciences over the past decade — more than double the number published by Vanderbilt University employees, the second-most published group on the list.
“The positive recognition by The Scientist of UCSF’s work environment is a wonderful acknowledgment of the many extraordinary efforts of our campus community,” said Joseph Castro, PhD, UCSF vice chancellor of student academic affairs.
“Promoting a supportive work environment — one of the priorities of the strategic plan — is critical to our continued success in recruiting and retaining the most talented and diverse people,” he said.
The UCSF Strategic Plan, unveiled in 2007, stresses the importance of a strong work environment to attract and keep top-notch employees and “position UCSF for the future.”
