Regental Lament (and maybe action)
Scroll down on today’s blog posts and you will find an odd item slated for the Regents Committee on Finance scheduled for March 28. On March 29, in contrast, there will be a discussion at that Committee on the budget and on tax initiatives on the November ballot. The background report laments the current situation and notes:
For UC to remain true to President Daniel Coit Gilman’s promise in the 1800s to be the “University of this State” – to help fuel its economy and provide opportunities for its continually changing population and its needs – the University must strengthen its pillars of support.
First, the University needs a consistent and reliable funding agreement with the State. The Governor’s proposal for a multi-year funding plan offers real promise, both in providing the University a predictable source of funding for its pension costs and also in giving it flexibility in restructuring its debt and, thus, in meeting its other obligations.
Second, it needs a student tuition plan that provides the campuses with money they need both to begin the rebuilding process so necessary to prevent a deterioration in quality, as well as to begin planning for the future. As crucially, the plan must provide predictability for families who suffer more from the volatility in fees than they do from modest and predictable increases for which they can plan.
The full item is at http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/mar12/f9.pdf
Presumably, beyond general lamenting over UC’s current distance from the two needs listed above, there will be some discussion at the meeting of whether officially to support the governor’s (now-revised) tax initiative. UCLA ladder faculty will be aware that there is a “memorial” to the Regents pending a vote by eligible faculty which would request the Regents to support initiatives that might increase UC revenue. (It does not explicitly reference the governor’s proposed initiative, currently in circulation for the necessary signatures.):
INCREASED STATE SUPPORT FOR THE UNIVERSITY
Senate Bylaw 90.B. authorizes the Assembly to initiate “Memorials to the Regents on matters of Universitywide concern to be submitted to The Regents through the President…” The Memorial would request the Regents to endorse specific ballot measures or legislation that would increase revenue to the state and/or prioritize state allocation of funds to the University. A vote in favor is a vote to send the “Memorial to the Regents” to the President and ask him to transmit the Memorial to the Regents. A vote against is a vote to not send the “Memorial to the Regents” to the President.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
At a meeting on February 1, 2012, the Academic Council approved (14 in favor, 1 against) a motion to ask the Assembly to initiate a Memorial to the Regents that would request the Regents to endorse ballot measures or legislation that would increase revenue to the state and/or prioritize state investment in the University. The proposal was placed on the agenda for the Assembly’s February 15 meeting as Item VII.B.2 and included in the Call to Meeting, together with the proposed text and arguments for and against, as required by Bylaw 90.B. Substitute language, which was circulated to the members of the Assembly prior to the meeting and posted on the Senate website as an accompaniment to the Call to Meeting, was proposed and adopted as an amendment. After debate and further amendments, the Assembly voted (47 in favor, 12 against) to distribute a ballot to all Senate faculty members in accordance with the procedures stipulated in Senate Bylaws 90 and 95.
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Somewhat related to the issue of official endorsement of an initiative is a Regents item before the Committee on Educational Policy that entitled a “Report on Advocacy” which generally reviews efforts at University PR:
http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/mar12/e2.pdf