UC Regents recap – Sept. 15

The University of California Regents, the governing body of the UC, met for the second day of its board meeting at the UCLA Luskin Conference Center. The entire board heard from UCLA officials about the campus’s finances and approved items discussed yesterday in individual committees.

Board of Regents

• Individual committee chairs updated the regents about items discussed in the various committees. The board also approved action items voted on in committee, including endorsement of UC Riverside’s $300 million fundraising campaign, $2 million funding for the renovation of UCLA’s graduate art studio and compensation for Ralph Hexter, interim UC Davis chancellor.
• UCLA Chancellor Gene Block, Executive Vice Chancellor Scott Waugh and Vice Chancellor Steven Olsen gave the regents an update on UCLA’s financial position. Olsen said 33 percent of UCLA’s revenue comes from its medical center, 20 percent from sales and services, and 11 percent from student tuition and fees.
• Waugh cited increasing salary and benefits, a more costly regulatory environment and academic investment in ladder-rank faculty as future challenges for UCLA.
• Officials from UC Riverside and UC Irvine gave updates on their respective finances, opportunities and challenges. UC Riverside Chancellor Kim Wilcox highlighted the campus’s high percentage of underrepresented minorities and Pell Grant recipients and said he expects undergraduate enrollment to grow to 40,000-50,000. UC Irvine Chancellor Howard Gillman said 57 percent of campus revenue comes from its medical center, student tuition and fees. The campus is currently building new classrooms and student housing to accommodate increased enrollment.
• Executive Vice President Aimée Dorr and Vice President Pamela Brown presented projections for shifts in California’s demographics and their impact on the UC. Dorr said by 2040, California’s population will grow by about 11 million people, and about half of all college-age people will be Latino. Dorr also reported that the proportion of graduate students in the UC is predicted to drop from about 30 percent to 20 percent because undergraduate enrollment is projected to grow at a faster rate.
• Regent Bonnie Reiss expressed concern over low completion of UC admission requirements. About 33 percent of high school graduates completed the “a-g” requirements. Dorr said campuses have various outreach programs in place to improve completion rates.