Executive Vice Chancellor Daniel Neuman predicts that budget
cuts combined simultaneously with enrollment growth will continue
to be the greatest challenge for the university in the short
term.
In an interview conducted Wednesday, Neuman addressed the issue
of keeping the university competitive in light of this
challenge.
Neuman has been working most recently as the chairman of the
Competitiveness Task Force, a group charged with determining how to
maintain and improve UCLA’s status.
He said it is difficult to judge how budget cuts will affect the
campus because the scale of the cuts is not yet known, though he
said they look to be particularly severe.
“I’ve been thinking through with the leadership how
we can adapt to a budgetary environment that is difficult without
in the same sense knowing how difficult it’s going to
be,” he said.
But Neuman is optimistic about the outlook.
“I think like any smart institution, UCLA will adapt to
the moment of adversity, and will actually come out at the other
end stronger than we went into it,” he said.
Neuman said he does not want to exaggerate budgetary issues but
instead looks forward three to five years in the future.
Neuman said the presence of simultaneous budget cuts and
enrollment growth is extremely rare, but the school is receiving
resources to compensate for the increase in enrollment.
In order to preserve and enhance the quality of UCLA, Neuman
said the most important aspect was to retain the quality of faculty
and students.
“The highest priority for me is to do everything we can to
both recruit and retain the best faculty,” he said.
Among the issues in attracting the best faculty are salaries and
housing, as well as quality schools and childcare.
As the chief operating officer of the campus, Neuman is
responsible for everyday operation of the campus and deciding the
immediate future of the university.
He said he has to contend with making judgments about how the
school’s limited resources are allocated.
Other than thinking about budget and general operations,
Neuman’s work also centers around building leadership by
hiring new deans.
When asked how Neuman intends to make his mark on the
university, he answered that he does not think about legacy.
“When I do work, I do it because I’m interested in
it and I love to do it,” he said. “I don’t frame
work that I do in terms of legacies.”
Since taking the position in July, Neuman has primarily focused
on learning the landscape of the institution.
“So far I’ve enjoyed myself more than I
deserve,” he said.
While Neuman’s predecessor Rory Hume developed several
projects including modernizing the library, Neuman said he does not
yet have any projects and has been busy familiarizing himself with
his position.
“As I get a sense of that complex hole which is this great
university, I will develop a theory of how to proceed,” he
said.