The UC Board of Regents approved revised building plans and the budget for Pauley Pavilion’s renovation Tuesday during the first day of this week’s meetings at UC San Francisco.
It is critical to note that none of the funds proposed for Pauley can be used to mitigate the effects of state budget cuts, Chancellor Gene Block said in response to concerns that it is inappropriate to renovate the facility in light of the budget cuts.
Steve Olsen, vice chancellor for finance, budget and capital programs, said that the money used for the $185 million project will come from the $100 million expected from the Campaign of Champions, as well as campus funds that have already been approved and earmarked specifically for this facility.
“We have $54 million that has been committed to date toward that goal of $100 million,” Olsen said.
None of the money being raised for Pauley could be used for academic programs or professor salaries, Olsen said.
To clarify this statement, Olsen added: “There will be no campus operative revenues that will be going into paying the debts for this facility.”
Construction on the project is scheduled to begin in February of 2010 and end in 2012. However, the facility will only close from April of 2011 until October of 2012, Olsen said.
Block said that UCLA is first and foremost a research university, but he also said that it is important to go ahead with the renovation now. He said that with the current economy, UCLA will likely receive below-estimate bids for the project, and the renovation will only cost more in the future.
The renovation will also bring Pauley Pavilion from fair to good in its seismic safety rating, Olsen said.
The regents present all voted in favor of both the budget and design plans, passing both proposals.
Furthermore, UC Irvine Vice Chancellor Wendell Brase, chair of the Climate Solutions Steering Group, spoke on climate solutions for the University of California. He went over a theoretical plan for renewable solutions that would markedly reduce the UC’s carbon footprint.
Brase said that while at one point the university considered buying renewable energy credits as part of its effort to become more energy efficient, that kind of thinking is no longer enough.
“In principle, that probably makes more sense for a progressive institution to solve the problem rather than buy the solution,” Brase said.
One suggestion he had was transporting wind energy to UCs from remote areas as part of an off-site program.
The Climate Solutions Steering Group will hopefully be back in about six months to turn current ideas into real proposals for the regents, he said.
Unconventional ideas are part of the solution, along with university-wide solutions that will require a long-term financial commitment, he added.
“Don’t expect business as usual,” Brase said.