The University of California Board of Regents discussed various construction projects, the UC’s legislative lobbying and efforts to support undocumented students on the first day of its January board meeting at UC San Francisco Wednesday.
Board of Regents
- Teamsters Local 2010, which represents UC clerical workers, led a protest during the public comment section. Protesters chanted slogans calling on the UC to raise wages for workers, arguing that salaries have decreased over the past few years. Regents briefly left the room during the protest and university police officers entered the room to escort the protesters out.
- During the public comment session, Mike Webb, the assistant city manager for the city of Davis, asked the regents to direct UC Davis to construct more on-campus student housing. Webb said the city cannot continue to provide housing for students because of increased enrollment.
- Jim Chalfant, a faculty representative and UC Academic Senate chair, urged the regents to not limit nonresident student enrollment. Chalfant argued nonresident students bring in revenue that improves the quality of education for all students by funding additional sections and course offerings.
Finance and Capital Strategies Committee
- The committee approved the preliminary plans for funding the Nuevo East Student Housing project at UC San Diego. The project will involve building 1,100 new beds and 550 parking spaces. UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep Khosla said the project was part of the campus’s goal to guarantee on-campus housing for four years by 2020.
- The committee approved preliminary budgets for a multidisciplinary research building at UC Riverside. The building would support faculty research and include lab spaces and office rooms. However, several regents, including Hadi Makarechian, said they think the costs for the building are too high and asked the campus to look into reducing expenses.
- The committee approved the budget to expand the Middle Earth housing complex at UC Irvine. The expansion, which Vice Chancellor Thomas Parham said is necessary to accommodate increases in enrollment, would provide an additional 494 beds for future first-year students.
- The committee approved the budget for the construction of an additional building at UC San Francisco’s Mission Bay east campus. The building will house academic and administrative offices, teaching labs and research areas.
- UC Executive Vice President Nathan Brostrom presented the UC’s 2016-2026 Capital Financial Plan, which includes proposed capital projects for the next few years. Brostrom said the University expects $14.6 billion in capital improvements, with $7.65 billion for research and academic programs. He added the UC also expects $4.13 billion in capital improvements for self-supported programs like housing and dining, and $2.78 billion for UC medical centers.
Academic and Student Affairs Committee
- Robin Holmes-Sullivan, UC vice president for student affairs, discussed the various ways the UC is reaching out to students from disadvantaged backgrounds. She said various campuses are partnering with local high schools to provide peer mentorship, writing and math labs and summer bridge programs. She added the UC has asked individual campuses to provide reports on their outreach next month.
- The committee approved the establishment of the Sue and Bill Gross School of Nursing at UC Irvine. The school will be funded in part by a $40 million donation from the Gross Family Foundation.
- UC Deputy General Counsel Julia Friedlander said the UC will continue to admit students without regard to undocumented status and UCPD will not question or detain individuals based on their immigration status. Friedlander added the legal staff is working on determining what steps the UC will take if University officials are questioned about undocumented students.
Public Engagement and Development Committee
- Senior Vice President for Government Relations Nelson Peacock gave a presentation on various state and federal bills the UC will lobby for. He said the UC will encourage the state legislature to expand Assembly Bill 540, which allows undocumented students to pay in-state tuition. He added the UC will also lobby for giving domestic counseling privileges to UC counselors and continuing the breast cancer research tax checkoff.
- Peacock said the UC will meet with lawmakers to express its concern over the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and will encourage Congress to reauthorize the Higher Education Act, which governs federal student aid programs.
Compliance and Audit Committee
- Systemwide Deputy Audit Officer Matthew Hicks said the cybersecurity audit team is performing vulnerability and penetration tests at all campus locations. He added his office completed its initial assessment of the UCPath program, a new payroll benefits system.
Contributing reports by Janae Yip and Dina Stumpf, Daily Bruin staff.