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Lived Name

On October 15, 2017, the state of California passed the Gender Recognition Act (SB179). The bill contributed to university discussions already taking place about revising procedures and practices to be more gender inclusive, including the 2014 recommendations from the UC Task Force & Implementation Team on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Climate & Inclusion (the LGBT Task Force).

Gender identity is fundamentally personal, and the University of California should ensure that all individuals have university-issued identification documents and displays of personal identification information that recognize their accurate gender identity and lived name (first name, middle name and/or last name or surname).

The newly deployed use of Lived Name in UCPath will:

  • Enhance user experience in UCPath by providing employees the option to select a personal/preferred name, known as their lived name
  • Enable lived name to display on all UCPath pages where legal name is not required
  • Compliance with Gender Recognition and Lived Name Policy
  • Meet legal obligations: UCPath is a human capital application structured around legal name to meet legal obligations and maintain transaction accuracy

The University must provide the minimum three equally recognized gender options on university-issued documents and IT Resource systems — woman, man and nonbinary — and an efficient process for current students and employees and UC alumni and affiliates to retroactively amend their gender designations and lived names on university-issued documents, including eligible academic documents, and in IT Resource systems.

  • Why is it important to obtain and use a person's lived name?

Names hold meaning and value and are an essential part of our identity.

  • Names are a core part of how we are introduced and how others understand us.

For transgender people, choosing a lived name is a critical part of asserting their humanity and existence.

  • Respecting and using a person's lived name fosters an inclusive community.

 

Below is a brief video about Lived Name in UCPath.  Please note the changes shown in this video were implemented in June 2023.  Additional downstream system changes will be updated no later than the date stated within the policy. 

To guide our campus through this transition, VC and COI, Nick Dugan is the Executive Sponsor of a task force to examine the current use of gender and lived name in various systems across the campus, and to advise senior leadership on steps to protect legal name and instead use lived first and last names in these systems. This process includes:

  • Reviewing campus data systems, report templates, surveys/assessments, physical spaces, and policy language

  • Implementing inclusive changes to systems, policies and customer service practices

  • Recommending training and resources to ensure appropriate implementation.

The GRLN Committee will post updates to their website as needed to keep the campus community abreast of actions and upcoming changes.  

Students: See the Registrar's website for more information.  Cat Card information here.

Report issues here via an online webform