Chancellor Gene Block met with this editorial board on Friday, in the first of hopefully many productive quarterly meetings. Block outlined his plans to foster civic engagement at UCLA, and among other things, took a positive stance on affirmative action.
This board commends the chancellor for meeting with us and other students, not only during his scheduled office hours, but also in the dining halls. Block has already proven himself more willing to meet with, and accept input from, a wider variety of students than former Chancellor Albert Carnesale and former acting Chancellor Norman Abrams.
But there are caveats. The office hours are a chance to meet with a wide variety of students, but not everyone is selected, and the time slots are only 10 minutes. And when Block ate with students in the dining halls, he said he only had the opportunity to meet with resident assistants and honors students, who he said gave him overwhelmingly positive feedback about UCLA.
Block was interested in meeting students in a less “scripted” setting, and we encourage him to do so. We also encourage students who have the opportunity to have a candid discussion with the chancellor to express any problems they have with the university, as well as provide positive feedback.
We find it strange that when asked, the chancellor did not remember hearing the concerns many students share about priority enrollment and the inequitable way students with more AP credits can jump ahead of students graduating sooner, though he seemed willing to look into the matter.
In other news, Block is moving ahead rather quickly in his plans to foster interdisciplinary research and civic engagement at UCLA. He said he wants to create a type of “think tank” that would utilize multiple departments and students to come together and work toward solving a social issue impacting Los Angeles.
The details are still being worked out and the chancellor didn’t have a final name for the project, but what he has so far sounds exciting ““ exactly the type of program UCLA needs to invigorate its spirit and become more involved in the community outside of the wealthy area surrounding our campus. The chancellor talked enthusiastically of forming such programs into a working team with other universities in the region, showing evidence of a strong grasp of the larger picture of improving the Los Angeles region as a whole, and hopefully with UCLA leading at the forefront.
Block discussed redefining the role of a public university, and it’s refreshing to see him actively taking action to see his plans come to fruition (although he said this idea had been “gurgling” at UCLA for some time already).
The chancellor also emphasized that he is looking into diversity training for faculty search committees while increasing the diversity of the applicants for faculty positions.
He added that the holistic admissions process is not going to change any time soon because UCLA needs a few years of data before the process can be reevaluated. But he also said that if Proposition 209 ““ the infamous law in California that banned affirmative action in admissions and hiring in public institutions ““ were to vanish tomorrow, UCLA would have a lot more flexibility in its admissions.
“I don’t view it as good social policy, Proposition 209,” the chancellor said, referring to UCLA’s long history of “African American scholars” that were admitted before the law.