It’s week seven of spring quarter and UCLA’s most famous freshman is barely going to Bruin Bash.
Chancellor Gene Block will be officially inaugurated today, almost 10 months after taking over for acting Chancellor Norman Abrams. But while the welcoming ceremonies continue, Block’s record so far shows very little other than photo ops and speeches.
Now, for what it’s worth, Chancellor Block has been saying the right things. He has repeatedly affirmed that his three priorities for his tenure will be academic excellence, diversity and community engagement. But it has been a quiet year in regard to policy and direction, and Block must shift gears before the “newcomer” label no longer applies to him.
“It’s hard to change a whole bunch of stuff your first year, especially since he has so much to learn about UCLA and the UC system as a whole,” said Gabe Rose, outgoing president of the Undergraduate Students Association Council. While he adapts to his new home, Block is well-prepared on all the talking points.
“I am deeply committed to diversity,” said the Chancellor on his Web site. “We depend upon all of the Bruin family to ensure that UCLA continues to provide access to opportunity and possibility.”
By channeling the responsibility to “the Bruin family,” our chancellor is trying to play it safe with the ongoing debate regarding the legacy of Proposition 209, which ended the use of race as a basis for admissions in 1996. Diversity has become an issue in the larger UC campuses.
It’s impossible to implement a system similar to the policies of affirmative action still in use at Block’s previous institution, the University of Virginia. But a stronger policy toward minority recruitment might be a worthy goal if we want local talent to choose UCLA over Berkeley and the Ivies.
Historically, chancellors at UCLA are a type of monarchic figure, with slightly less religious fanfare. Renowned scholars and administrators from all over the country have held the reins at UCLA at the pinnacle of their careers. Block is no different, having several patented devices to his name, as well as an entire career built on public university systems.
Our school does have a lot to offer a chancellor. The salary is good, the weather nice, the chancellor residence spiffy ““ and chances are you will get a building named after you, just like past chancellors and provosts Franklin Murphy, Vern Knudsen, Clarence Dykstra, Earle Hedrick and Earnest Moore have.
But aside from being automatic public figures, chancellors can also be public advocates in the political realm. UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau set an example when he authored an opinion piece in support of the California DREAM Act last year.
The fact that he was willing to defy the opinion of Gov. Schwarzenegger meant that the welfare of the students was his priority, beyond any type of political commitments. With ongoing concerns about the enrollment of historically underrepresented students, fee hikes and campus safety, Block will have plenty of opportunities to make a student issue his own.
“I’ve had a good impression of him from previous interactions, and he seems willing to engage and listen to students,” said Homaira Hosseini, president-elect of USAC and a third-year political science student. Hosseini, who was chair of the Student Fee Advisory Committee this year, has some ideas of where the chancellor can take the lead.
“I hope to prioritize issues of sustainability with him, which I know he already supports, but I hope to take it a step further by heightening UCLA’s responsible investment profile,” she said.
Her push for responsibility in investment might eventually target big-money university commitments and create Block’s first conflict of interest. As chancellor, he not only needs to connect with student leaders and university staff, but also to stay close to powerful alumni and donors, as with his recent trip to visit a group of alumni in Tokyo.
Meanwhile, the issues are waiting to be tackled. One is investment, another one is the infamous bar.
The prolonged idea of a pub serving beer and wine in Ackerman Union is on its way to the chancellor’s desk, according to Rose. Budgeted in the Student Union Strategic Initiative for the Associated Students UCLA every year, the bar has long awaited the necessary approval of the chancellor. Carnesale would not touch it late in his tenure, Abrams would not see it during his one year in office, and Block has not gotten a chance to see a proposal yet.
“It’s something he is open to, depending on what the exact proposal looks like,” said Rose.
It’s going to be a tough call where Block will have to pick a side, the alcohol enthusiasts or the UCLA temperance movement. Tough call? It just means freshman year is over.
Ramos is not part of the temperance movement. Offer him a drink at mramos@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.