This is a Notice of Meeting of the University of California Board of Regents on Wednesday, March 16, and Thursday, March 17, 2005. This regular business meeting of the board will be held at Covel Commons on the UCLA campus, in Los Angeles.

Wednesday's meeting is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. with public comment, followed by a discussion of partnerships under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, including a presentation on student financial aid and campus-based student fees, a needs study of health sciences education in California, and a report on the status of contract competition and other matters at the UC-managed Department of Energy laboratories. In concurrent afternoon sessions, the regents will discuss quarterly internal audit activities and consider action on the FY 2004 external audit plan and on guidelines regarding the independence of regents for service on the audit committee. At the health services committee, the regents will discuss updates on the San Diego and San Francisco medical centers and the impact of the Medi-Cal mix on the financial status of UC hospitals at the Davis, Irvine and San Diego campuses.

Thursday’s meeting is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. in closed session to address personnel, financial and legal matters. The regents will then convene in open session, with public comment tentatively scheduled for 9:55 a.m. Thursday’s open-session items include a discussion of next year’s federal and state budgets, proposed legislation and ballot measures on public pension plans, and UC’s “strategic sourcing” initiative to achieve systemwide business efficiencies. The regents will also consider action on an amendment for oversight review, investment options and administrative services for the UC defined contribution retirement plans.

NEW MEETING FORMAT:

As with the last meeting, the regents will use a new committee format in which certain committees may meet concurrently. For instance, at this meeting, the Committee on Audit and the Special Committee on Regents Procedures are scheduled to meet concurrently on Wednesday afternoon. Audio Webcasts of both committee meetings will continue to be available on the regents’ Web site when the concurrent format is used. Major issues, such as discussions of the state budget and the national laboratories, will continue to be heard in committee meetings where the full board is able to attend. This format is being tested to make the best use of the meeting time and allowing individual committees to focus more deeply on subject areas in their purview, while still allowing the full board to focus on the issues of broadest interest. Committee chairs will report on their deliberations, including recommended actions, when the full board reconvenes, and board-approved actions also will continue to be available following each meeting on the regents’ Web site at:
www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/welcome.html

ACCOMMODATIONS:

A press room will be open across from the meeting room. Please register for a credential. Parking is available in the garage at Covel Commons. The press room telephone number is (310) 206-0409 and the fax number is (310) 206-4661.

NOTES:

-- The full agenda for the meeting can be viewed at :

www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/mar05.html

You may need the latest version of the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, available at:

www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html , to view the agenda.

-- Live audio broadcasts of each of the open-session meetings will be available via the Internet. Please click on the above agenda link for more information.

-- University officials will be available during the meeting to speak with reporters.

This notice is issued to comply with the state's pertinent open-meeting laws.

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