The new school year is a time of transition for UCLA. The signs are all around us: The construction that defines our university’s face, the formation of a council charged with improving a deteriorating Westwood, the fee increases from last fall, and the resulting shift in academic priorities.
After a tumultuous year, we are now attending a decidedly different UCLA from that of a few years ago.
This board understands the enormous complexity of the administration’s charge to steer the ever-changing university.
But even after a jarring year for our institution and our community, we believe the cracks in the foundation can be sealed with a refocused, re-prioritized UCLA.
This board remains adamant that to achieve a smooth and progressive transition, all levels of the university must make the education of its students the No. 1 priority.
There are multiple factors, stemming largely from reduced funding, that contribute to a decline in the quality of a postsecondary education at any institution.
We know the university has to make cuts, and we refuse to use this space to clamor over longer lines and less free printing.
What really worries this board is the way our institution and the University of California system was manhandled in the face of a $200 million budget shortfall.
The recent budget slashes have forced departments to trim their major requirements, pink-slip their non-tenured faculty and lecturers while reducing class offerings, leading to a logjam in enrollment.
When we see such scenarios play out in front of us and simultaneously read that UCLA has fallen in one of the most popular national university rankings, we believe we have legitimate reason to fear for the future of the UCLA.
Fall 2010 presents the first opportunity since the dust has settled to take inventory of the damages caused by a horribly underfunded budget.
As we approach discussions about what to do now, this board is not interested in hearing about how quickly academic departments and educational programs can be slashed off the budget like any other line item.
We have sustained all the cuts we can handle.
This board is hopeful that we have suffered the worst to our state’s precious public-university system.
Now is the time to start to rebuild the UCLA.