Focus
John Griffing of UC’s State Governmental Relations office, Vince Stewart of UC Davis governmental relations, and Assembly Higher Education Committee Chair Anthony Portantino at UC Day in Sacramento
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Making the case for UC
Making the case for the priorities and challenges facing the University of California is not just a job for governmental relations professionals.
These efforts are the result of an enhanced statewide advocacy program intended to build on and expand collaborative efforts involving all of our 10 campuses. The systemwide advocacy program identifies, cultivates, educates, and activates advocates; organizes events; and produces a variety of materials on current issues facing UC and California. The program is growing rapidly, reaching new audiences, and generating new sources of UC support up and down the state.
The need has never been greater: Over the past three decades, the proportion of the state General Fund going to UC has fallen from 7 percent to approximately 3.5 percent. Today the University faces a major gap between its current funding levels and what is necessary to truly sustain a world-class public university. Faculty salaries are now 10 percent behind those at comparable universities, and a similar market challenge affects staff salaries. The University’s deferred maintenance backlog is several hundred million dollars. UC’s student-faculty ratio trails that of many top American universities. And many programs cut in previous budget downturns, from research to student services, have never fully recovered.
Read more about the University’s advocacy efforts…
Systemwide News
May Revision supports key UC budget priorities; academic preparation funds sought
The May Revision issued by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger continues to support the governor’s January state budget proposals for the University of California and contains no changes in proposed general fund spending for the UC system.
The governor’s budget for UC includes funding for student enrollment growth, faculty and staff compensation increases, and an inflationary increase for the basic budget. It also includes a major research and innovation initiative aimed at supporting the state’s economic and environmental objectives.
“We are very pleased that, with the state’s resources still highly constrained, the governor has reaffirmed his support for the work the University of California is doing for California,” said UC President Robert C. Dynes. “We will continue working with the Legislature and governor to advance our budget priorities, which include those identified in the governor’s plan and also the continuation of state support for our student academic preparation and labor research programs.”
As the state budget process moves toward conclusion, UC advocates are focused on several priorities:
- Ensuring support for the governor’s budget for UC, including funding for faculty and staff compensation increases and the governor’s research and innovation initiative.
- Ensuring the continuation of $19.3 million in state support for UC student academic preparation programs, which work to build the academic achievement and college readiness of educationally disadvantaged youth in California schools. These programs are a high priority for the university but have been subject to unpredictable state funding in recent years.
- Continuing $6 million in state support for UC labor research programs.
UC’s impact on California and the world – see it for yourself
UC touches the life of the average Californian every day – from the health care you receive and the food you eat, to the roads you travel and the buildings you live and work in, to the cell phones and computers that make communication easier, to the classrooms and theaters that enrich your experiences.
A new multimedia web site called “UC every day, everywhere” places the spotlight on the multitude of contributions the University of California makes to the lives of people in California and around the world. The site makes use of videos, photos, personal stories, and resource links to tell the story of UC’s contributions in eight general subject areas.
Visit “UC every day, everywhere” here…
UC-led team wins Livermore Lab contract
On May 8, the U.S. Department of Energy announced that Lawrence Livermore National Security LLC (LLNS), made up of the University of California, Bechtel National, BWX Technologies, Washington Group International, and Battelle, was selected as the future manager of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The new contract takes effect October 1, 2007.
George Miller, the current lab director, has been designated director of the laboratory under the new LLNS leadership. Dr. Miller is a national security and nuclear weapons expert and a leader in large-scale facilities management.
“For more than 50 years, the University of California has managed Livermore Laboratory, and we are delighted at the opportunity to continue playing a role in supporting the laboratory’s mission of scientific achievement in the interests of national security and global cooperation,” said UC President Robert C. Dynes. “The laboratory today is a premier research facility addressing challenges in areas ranging from homeland security to biotechnology to energy and the environment.”
The University will now begin working closely with the new management team to effectively transition the laboratory to the new contractor. UC is involved in the management of three national laboratories on behalf of the Department of Energy – Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
UCR Chancellor Córdova accepts presidency of Purdue University
UC Riverside Chancellor France Córdova has accepted the presidency of Purdue University and will leave UCR this summer.
“In her five years at UC Riverside, Chancellor Córdova has worked with great energy and passion to develop a long-term strategy for the campus, continue building strength in the academic enterprise and the quality of the student experience, and further expand UCR’s contributions to the Inland Empire community,” said UC President Robert C. Dynes. “She has spearheaded a health sciences initiative that aims ultimately to establish a medical school, an effort that will continue moving ahead despite her departure. UCR is a proud institution with a very clear sense of forward motion, and France deserves a great deal of the credit for that.”
Córdova said: “This was an extremely difficult decision for me. UC Riverside is, in my opinion, the most special of all the campuses of the great UC system. It is growing; it is diverse; it is welcoming; it is entrepreneurial. UCR’s time to leap forward is now.” Details on Córdova’s appointment can be found here.
Update for UC employees regarding UCRP contributions and 2008 medical benefits
UC employees have been very fortunate in not having to pay toward the cost of their excellent pension benefits for over 15 years. However, because UCRP is expected to become underfunded in the next several years, contributions – from both UC and employees — will again be needed to help keep UCRP strong. As previously announced, contributions from both UC and employees were scheduled to start July 1, 2007, subject to several factors including State funding. Because UC will not receive State support for this purpose in its 2007-08 budget, the restart of UCRP contributions will need to be rescheduled. University leaders will continue to discuss this issue with State officials over the coming months, and employees can expect more information about this soon. More at http://atyourservice.ucop.edu/news/retirement/0705-ucrp_update.html
UC is also exploring some possible new strategies for 2008 to help preserve good medical benefits for employees. While healthcare costs nationwide continue to rise, forcing many employers to cut benefits and dramatically raise premiums, through careful management, UC has been able to avoid cuts in employee benefits and continue its salary-based approach to premium costs which, among other things, means lower-paid workers pay lower monthly premiums and continue to have access to quality health insurance. Throughout 2007, UC will be exploring a variety of options for 2008 aimed at helping the university preserve quality health benefits for employees while managing rising costs. These possible options include: streamlining the number of general medical plan providers while still maintaining the benefits options available to employees, using specialty providers for specific benefits, and a continued focus on employee well-being. More at http://atyourservice.ucop.edu/news/health/2007_medical_bid.html
From Preuss School to UCSD student president
Marco Murillo grew up in San Ysidro, the youngest son of a single mother who didn’t finish elementary school. Fast forward two decades, and Murillo is now UCSD’s Associated Students president and a political science/history major who plans to go to law school.
Much has happened during the past 20 years in Murillo’s life, but he credits The Preuss School and UCSD for nudging him in a new direction. “It opened up perspectives I didn’t see,” he said.
Growing up, many of the people around Murillo weren’t planning to go to a four-year college. He said he didn’t think about leaving home. All that started to change when Murillo was an eighth grader at San Ysidro Middle School.
There, he was enrolled in the school’s program for advanced students. And one of his teachers handed him an application to The Preuss School – a middle and high school jointly chartered by the San Diego Unified School District and UCSD that provides an intensive college prep education for motivated low-income students who will become the first in their families to graduate from college. The school is one of the programs that currently receives state funding for UC academic preparation efforts.
Read more about Murillo’s experience…
Around UC: Progress on sustainability; review of campus security; leadership in stem cell research
In the wake of the recent tragic shootings at Virginia Tech, President Dynes has created a 14-member security task force to evaluate how UC campuses can enhance their security, notification processes, mental health services, and general emergency preparedness…. UC continues to expand its sustainability policy and programs while receiving accolades from outside organizations on its cutting-edge environmental initiatives…. Continuing to lead the way in developing key advances in the area of stem cell research, UC researchers were awarded $42 million through 17 comprehensive four-year research grants from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
Dynes' Desk
Dynes’ Desk is a way for anyone to email a comment, idea, or suggestion to President Dynes.
Submit an email to Dynes' Desk
Comment:
I have worked for UC for 23 years, and am very disappointed with the way UC has changed since I started, when UC was a very good employer and set the tone for the rest of CA. Now it seems that UC is more and more “corporate” and less and less a good employer…
Read the president’s response…
Comment:
My years at UC Santa Cruz really were the most formative of my life, although it sometimes feels very distant from here in time and space…
Read the president’s response…
Profile
"What I enjoy the most is my contact with the students…. They reinvigorate me to do what matters."
Joe Goode
Professor
UC Berkeley Department of Theater, Dance and Performing Studies
Acclaimed choreographer, writer and director Joe Goode has taught master classes and workshops at top universities across the country, including almost every one of the UC schools (Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, UCLA, Riverside, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz and San Diego). Goode joined the faculty of UC Berkeley in 2002 and was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for 2007-08 in April. His most recent work with the Joe Goode Performance Group, Humansville, premieres May 31 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.
Q
What drew you to teaching?
A
As a performing artist in America, one does a lot of teaching, master classes and residencies, and community workshops. It is part of the profile. Luckily, it is something I have always enjoyed. Learning how to articulate what I do, not just the "how" but the "why" of it, has been very important in my own development as an artist.
Q
What do you enjoy most about your work as a professor?
A
I enjoy mentoring students who have a real appetite for making something. I feel so lucky in the department of Theater, Dance and Performance Studies to have encountered so many gifted and motivated students. These are people who will contribute more to the field than mere professionalism. They will be the leaders, the ones who will make work that will make us think and offer us new perspectives on our world.
Q
What are your plans for your Guggenheim grant?
A
I will be traveling to destinations in Europe and Scandinavia and South America, initiating conversations with other artists who work on the cusp of dance and theater. It is my hope that by starting a dialogue about how we utilize elements of language and movement and gesture in our work, we can begin to cross pollinate or, at the least, inspire each other in some new direction.
Q
What is the most challenging aspect of your work?
A
I maintain a pretty hectic schedule. Aside from my duties as a professor, I direct and write and tour and perform. Still, it is a privilege to be so ensconced in the world of art making. Every day there is some interesting new thing to learn. I can't complain.
Q
What do you enjoy most about working for the University of California?
A
I am constantly amazed at the sheer abundance of brilliant people here at UC, not only distinguished scholars but passionate activists, writers, artists. But really what I enjoy the most is my contact with the students. I get a perspective from them that is fearless and fresh, at times disarmingly optimistic. They reinvigorate me to do what matters.
Did You Know...
University of California faculty continue to rake in the honors:
- The National Academy of Sciences recently elected 72 new members. Of those, six were from UC campuses.
- The American Academy of Arts and Sciences recently elected 203 new members. Of those, 23 were from UC campuses.
- The Guggenheim Foundation recently announced 189 new fellows for 2007. Of those, 13 were from UC campuses.
Resources
What would you like to read about the UC system in future editions of "Our University"? Send your feedback and story suggestions to communications@ucop.edu. Produced by Strategic Communications, University Affairs, UC Office of the President.
