Steven Cheung
2024-25 Academic Senate Chair
Steven W. Cheung, M.D., is a professor and ear specialist in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at UC San Francisco. He graduated from Dartmouth College and earned his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania, where he focused on auditory neuroscience and Ear, Nose, and Throat (Otolaryngology). He joined the UCSF faculty in 1994 following a residency in Otolaryngology there, which also included clinical and research fellowships in ear and related disorders.
Professor Cheung has research interests in how the brain learns and reorganizes in response to conditions such as hearing loss and tinnitus, and mechanisms by which the adult brain can change with learning and experience, with the goal of developing innovative therapies for auditory rehabilitation.
Professor Cheung has an extensive record of Senate service at both UCSF and systemwide. This includes chairing the UCSF Division of the Academic Senate, UCSF’s Committee on Academic Planning and Budget, Committee on Faculty Welfare, and Committee on Committees, and on the systemwide level serving as a member of the Academic Council, the University Committee on Planning and Budget, and the Assembly of the Academic Senate. In addition, he served on the UCSD Chancellor Stewardship Review Committee in 2016 and the UC Presidential Search Academic Advisory Committee in 2019-20. He is currently a member of the Academic Planning Council and the Academic Senate’s Health Sciences Workgroup.
In recognition of his outstanding service, Professor Cheung was awarded the 2021 Academic Council Chairs Award for Mid-Career Leadership. He is also a six-time winner of the UCSF Otolaryngology Teaching Award and three-time winner of the UCSF Neurosurgery Teaching Award.
Professor Cheung is a beneficiary of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. The Cheung family emigrated to New York City from Hong Kong after his grandfather became a naturalized US citizen through military service.
Professor Cheung is known for his efforts to revitalize Senate committees within the San Francisco Division, using his leadership and mentorship skills to strengthen shared governance. He is an accomplished teacher and federally funded researcher, and has demonstrated a strong commitment to diversity and gender equity throughout his career.
Professor Cheung is the first systemwide Senate chair from UCSF since 2008-09, when Mary Croughan held the position. In the past, three other UCSF professors have served as chairs: Lawrence Pitts (2003-04), Sandra Weiss (1997-98), and Francis Sooy (1969-70).
