December 2004

Dear Friends:

This is the time of year to celebrate our accomplishments, refresh ourselves with time away from the office or the classroom, be with our families and friends, and look forward to the excitement that the new year will surely bring.

I am so proud of what this University has accomplished this year — from the daily work of teaching and learning, conducting research, operating safe facilities, running good business operations, serving our communities — to honoring three new Nobel Laureates and receiving another round of top international rankings. From classrooms to staff offices to the national laboratories, all of you contribute to our success.

The University of California has so much to contribute to California, the nation, and the world. I’ve seen it again and again this year on my tour around the state. And I’ve seen more and more people — in Sacramento, Washington, the business community and general public — come to appreciate our impact on the state, national, and global economies.

Thank you for all you’ve done. My best wishes are with you for a wonderful holiday season. We’ll be in touch next year.

 Sincerely,

 Robert C. Dynes
 President

UW engineering dean appointed UCSC chancellor

Denice Dee Denton, dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Washington, has been appointed chancellor of the University of California’s Santa Cruz campus. Acting on the recommendation of President Dynes, the Board of Regents appointed Denton the ninth chancellor of UC Santa Cruz during a special meeting Dec. 14.

Denton replaces M.R.C. Greenwood, who was appointed UC provost and senior vice president for academic affairs last February. Martin M. Chemers, provost and executive vice chancellor of the Santa Cruz campus, has been serving as acting UCSC chancellor and will continue in that capacity until Denton takes office.

“UC Santa Cruz is a campus on the move, and Denice Denton brings the perfect skills and credentials to build on the momentum that has been created by Provost Greenwood and Acting Chancellor Chemers,” President Dynes said. “She is an accomplished scholar, an energetic and articulate advocate about the role and importance of education in our society, and a skillful and innovative administrator who understands the increasingly important role UC Santa Cruz plays in the Silicon Valley economy and beyond.”

For more on Denton’s appointment, see www.ucop.edu/news/archives/2004/dec14.htm.

UC representatives to serve on stem cell oversight panel

A number of UC representatives have been appointed to the 29-member Independent Citizens Oversight Commission (ICOC) that will govern the stem cell research institute approved by California voters in the Nov. 2 election. Under Proposition 71, the chancellors of the five UC campuses with a medical center were to appoint an executive officer of his or her campus to the oversight commission, and leaders in state government were able to make a number of additional appointments.

The UC-affiliated appointees to the ICOC include Chancellor Robert Birgeneau of UC Berkeley, Regent Sherry Lansing, Dean Claire Pomeroy of UC Davis, Dean Susan Bryant of UC Irvine, Dean Gerald Levey of UCLA, Dean Edward Holmes of UC San Diego, Dean David Kessler of UCSF, Professor Oswald Steward of the Reeve-Irvine Research Center at UC Irvine, Professor Leon Thal of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at UC San Diego, Jeff Sheehy of the UCSF AIDS Research Institute, and Dr. Phyllis Preciado of the UCSF-Fresno Medical Education Program. In addition, UC Berkeley Professor Edward Penhoet is one of the nominees to be vice chair of the commission, a position elected by the other members.

For more information on the UC-nominated representatives to the ICOC, see http://www.ucop.edu/news/archives/2004/nov17.htm.

New ground, new buildings for California Institutes

Dedications in October and November for three new research buildings that are part of the four California Institutes for Science and Innovation marked the next stage in the development of a bold, statewide initiative to produce leading-edge research discoveries that will fuel economic growth and create new jobs for California. 

While faculty and industry researchers associated with the institutes are already working on a range of projects, the permanent facilities for the institutes are still being developed:

• At UC Berkeley, a groundbreaking event marked the beginning of construction for the CITRIS (Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society) headquarters and research building.
• At UC Santa Cruz, a dedication and ribbon-cutting event opened an engineering building that will house facilities for both QB3 (California Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Research) and CITRIS.
• At UC Irvine, a ribbon-cutting event marked the opening of a Cal-(IT)² (California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology) research center on the campus.

For details, visit http://www.ucop.edu/news/archives/2004/oct29a.htm.

National labs competition update

UC Laboratory Management staff, working with the Los Alamos National Laboratory Acquisition Team, are reviewing a draft request for proposals (RFP) for the LANL management contract, and UC will submit comments to the U.S. Department of Energy after a thorough review is completed. (http://www.ucop.edu/news/archives/2004/dec01.htm)

UC is awaiting the final RFP for the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory management contract.  Once the final RFP is released, and should the UC Board of Regents decide to compete, the University will have 45 days to submit a proposal.

The University is awaiting a proposal from DOE on a contract extension for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Its management contract expires on September 30, 2005.  While the Department of Energy has not released details about the competition for LLNL, it is expected to possibly begin in 2006-2007.

Spotlight on illegal file-sharing

UC’s impact through the eyes of California business leaders

UC’s 2003-04 Annual Financial Report, “Keeping California Competitive: It Starts Here,” is now available online at http://universityofcalifornia.edu/annualreport/2004/. The narrative section of this year’s report profiles a number of California business leaders who describe how the University of California has impacted their industries and helped contribute to the economic development of the state.

Admissions information for Spanish-speaking families

To better serve Spanish-speaking families throughout the state, the UC Office of the President has published “Great futures start here” or “Un futuro brillante comienza aquí,” a bilingual guide that outlines UC's admission requirements, financial aid, and student housing options.

Recent studies have shown many Latino parents lack essential information about what their children need to gain admission to college. And the knowledge deficit is even greater among lower-income and first-generation immigrants who also face language barriers. The University hopes the bilingual format of this publication will allow Spanish-speaking parents and their English-speaking children to share information and better understand what it takes to get into a UC campus.

This publication is one of a number of UC initiatives aimed at informing and strengthening relationships with California's Spanish-speaking and other ethnic communities. An online version as a pdf file is available at http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/collegeprep/greatfutures.pdf (English) or http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/collegeprep/futuro.pdf (Spanish).

In November, the UC Board of Regents adopted a state budget proposal for 2005-06 that would halt the cuts of the last several years and provide modest new funding for enrollment growth, student instructional programs, and faculty and staff compensation. The board also set student fee levels for 2005-06, recognizing the need for additional funding to help rebuild the University's programs and acting to give maximum notice to students and their families.

The budget proposal and student fee levels reflect the “compact” reached by UC and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger earlier this year. This agreement sets expectations for minimum state funding levels and for student fees over a multi-year period, along with accountability measures demonstrating UC's performance to the state. The compact is a planning framework; the Legislature and governor negotiate a final spending plan through the state budget process. Background on the compact is at http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/compact/.

“This is not a budget that accomplishes everything we would like to, all at once,” President Dynes said. “In this first year of the compact, we will largely be regaining our footing from the cuts of the last several years, not taking huge steps forward. But it is a budget that does take small steps in key areas, with greater investment in future years to enhance UC's contributions to the life of California."

The governor will issue his state budget proposal for 2005-06 in January, and the Legislature will hold hearings and make alternate budget proposals throughout the spring. By summer, the governor and Legislature will take action on a final budget, at which time the Board of Regents will amend November’s budget proposal to reflect the final agreement.

Here are a few highlights of the UC budget proposal:

• Faculty and staff compensation: The 2005-06 budget proposes funding for a 3 percent pool for salary increases, including a 1.5 percent general salary increase for all eligible employees, funding for faculty and other academic merit programs, and 1.5 percent for merit-based increases for eligible staff employees. Additional funding is proposed to help cover the cost of increasing employee health benefits and to address market-based and equity issues where newly hired faculty and staff are paid significantly more than current employees with similar experience and skills. These funding increases will not reverse UC's market lags and may not cover all increases in health care costs in 2005-06, but the funding will help prevent UC's competitive position from further worsening and will lay the groundwork for future improvement. (Specific compensation levels are subject to collective bargaining where applicable.)
• Student fees for California residents: Consistent with the compact, and to help UC recover from the budget cuts of the last several years, the Regents approved mandatory systemwide fee increases in the amount of 8 percent ($457) for resident undergraduates and 10 percent ($628) for resident graduate academic students, beginning in the summer 2005 academic term. With these increases, mandatory systemwide fees will be $6,141 per year for resident undergraduates and $6,897 for resident graduate academic students. With the inclusion of campus-based miscellaneous fees, the average totals will be $6,769 for undergraduates and $8,556 for graduate students. These levels are about $1,000 (for undergraduates) and $2,300 (for graduates) below the estimated average of UC's four public comparison institutions.
• Academic preparation: UC's academic preparation programs in the public schools, previously referred to as "outreach" programs, sustained a $4 million reduction in the 2004-05 budget after being threatened with a complete elimination of state funding. Because academic preparation is crucial for preparing students to enter the workforce and, therefore, for keeping California competitive in the long term, UC is requesting that the current level of funding for these programs be sustained.

For more details on the 2005-06 budget proposal, visit http://www.ucop.edu/news/archives/2004/nov18.htm.

Dynes’ Desk is a way for anyone to email a comment, idea, or suggestion to President Dynes. While he is not able to respond personally in most instances, President Dynes does read each email submitted. In each edition of “Our University,” he will respond to Dynes’ Desk emails addressing issues of broad interest to the UC community.

To submit an email to Dynes’ Desk, visit www.universityofcalifornia.edu/president/desk.html.

Email: Why isn’t the Bonus Leave Program being offered to represented employees? It seems unfair that only non-represented employees are being given two extra days of vacation.

Bob Dynes: Thank you for your email.  I know there continues to be some confusion and frustration among some employees about this program, and it’s important that everyone understand exactly what’s going on.  The Bonus Leave Program was created as one of several ways to help recognize all employees who did not receive a general salary increase in 2004-05, and we hope that all employees in this category will be able to enjoy the two extra paid days off over the holidays. However, because paid time off is a condition of employment, under the law it must be negotiated with unions for all of our represented employees. We have agreements with some of our unions regarding the program, and we are working hard to come to a resolution with our remaining unions – CUE and UPTE – before the holiday begins.  Details about this are available at the UC Labor Relations web site (http://atyourservice.ucop.edu/employees/policies/labor_relations/index.html) Please know that we continue to work hard to see to it that all eligible employees will get the additional bonus days.

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