Members of the UCLA chancellor advisory committee will meet for
the first time today on campus to begin the process of looking for
the university’s ninth chief executive.
After Chancellor Albert Carnesale announced plans to step down
at the end of the school year, University of California President
Robert Dynes initiated the search for the next chancellor by
composing a 17-member committee to advise him in the selection
process over the next few months.
While the UCLA faculty and staff members on the committee have
had varied experiences serving on search committees, many express
similar expectations of the next chancellor, which they plan to
discuss at today’s meeting. The committee will meet in Covel
Commons in a closed session.
For Doug Padley, president of the UCLA Staff Assembly and a
member of the committee, this will be his first time on a search
committee.
Padley said he is not sure what to anticipate of the process
because he has had no experience.
But like the other members, Padley has hopes that the next
chancellor will be able to focus on all aspects of the university,
from teaching to staff and students.
Other faculty members on the committee have had experience
serving on similar task forces before.
Kathleen Komar, a comparative literature professor and faculty
representative on the committee, has served on a number of faculty
search committees that she said were similar to this committee but
on a smaller scale.
From her experience, Komar said she feels she has a better idea
of what to expect as far as workload. She plans to share with the
committee what she values in the prospective chancellor.
“On the one hand, (the next chancellor) will have to
understand financial issues because UCLA is a $3.7 billion
operation, but on the other hand he has to act kind of a like a
mayor to keep the diverse UCLA community intact,” Komar
said.
Like Komar, Alfonso Cardenas, a computer science professor
serving on the committee, has also had experience on other search
committees. He has served on a chancellor advisory committee for UC
Riverside and a search committee for the dean of engineering at
UCLA.
Cardenas said that though the committee only meets several
times, there is a lot more work done within the faculty
subcommittee outside the meetings, such as reviewing
applicants.
The faculty subcommittee is the group of faculty members serving
on the committee.
“(The new chancellor) must have a vision for the future of
the university,” said Cardenas.
Possessing a vision for the future of UCLA and the direction of
higher education, as Cardenas cited, was a sentiment shared by
Alumni Association President Eleanor Brewer, as well as Adam
Rosenthal, the student regent serving on the committee.
Today’s meeting will also have a 45-minute time period
allotted to provide different campus constituencies the opportunity
to share their different ideas and comments regarding the new
chancellor.
The UCLA Student Fee Advisory Committee ““ which is
composed of students appointed by the chancellor, some staff
members, and one faculty representative ““ will be among those
groups present to express their opinions regarding what they expect
of the committee.
Roy Samaan, an undergraduate representative on the committee,
hopes to stress that the chancellor needs to be an advocate for
more student funding and should be proactive in working with
students.
“The ideal (chancellor) needs to have a strong background
in working in student affairs and be informed of the pressing
issues of funding and its effects,” Samaan said.
There is still one more faculty representative yet to be
named.