I want to emphasize a few points regarding the story “Proposed hotel project scaled back following Academic Senate advice” (April 5) about the status of the Residential Conference Center and Faculty Club project.
ÂReferring to the project simply as a hotel misrepresents its purpose in support of UCLA’s core mission to facilitate scholarly exchanges and civic dialogue by providing contemporary conference facilities.
While we are aware of concerns expressed by some faculty and our neighbors, calling the project unpopular fails to take into account the many members of the campus community who support the project as critical to our academic mission.
The generous gift from Meyer and Renee Luskin includes a $10 million endowment to support academic departments that may lack the resources to academic conferences.
We understand our obligation to address concerns thoroughly and ensure that the project proceed based on a sound business plan.
Steve Olsen,
vice chancellor of
finance, budget and
capital programs