Among a room full of corporate executives at the Sept. 24
Anderson Forecast Conference, Chancellor Albert Carnesale may have
stood out slightly as he gave a speech discussing the importance of
private funding to UCLA.
But in reality, most of the event’s attendees viewed
Carnesale as one of their own ““ a “CEO” in charge
of a “huge business,” as master of ceremonies and Dean
of the Anderson School Bruce Willison said.
Carnesale himself seemed eager to present the figures. “An
enterprise with a $3 billion budget,” he said, describing
UCLA; a new hospital costing $1.3 billion to build; health care
operations worth more than $300 million; a community of 37,000
students and 27,000 faculty and staff members.
The chancellor’s speech provided a reminder, however, of
how important private donors are to UCLA status as a nationally
recognized, top-of-the-line institution.
It is during times of economic trouble that the university
relies on such funds the most, Carnesale said.
“There is a growing gap in resources between private and
public universities,” he continued. “There is pressure
on the ability to retain the best people.”
In the past two years, critical cuts in public funding have
significantly hurt the university. Government-issued funds can be
used for the university’s day-to-day operations.
Private funds, on the other hand, have restricted uses
““Â most donors earmark their contributions for specific
areas, said Max Benavidez, spokesman for UCLA.
“We cannot redirect most funds we receive from private
sources,” he said.
Donations received from private sources, including corporations,
allow UCLA to remain competitive in areas ““ such as research
““ that determine the university’s prestige.
This past fiscal year, UCLA attracted $785 million in contracts
and grants for federal research ““ the second-most among
universities nationwide.
UCLA also received approximately $38 million in corporate gifts,
accounting for about 12 percent of total private support.
“The money we receive from corporate sources does make a
positive difference,” Benavidez said. “But it does not
make up for the losses in state funding.”
Heading the list of corporate donors was Mattel Children’s
Foundation, which donated about $4 million dollars in the 2002-2003
fiscal year, as part of a $25 million gift to the Mattel
Children’s Hospital pledged in November 1998.
Other major corporate donors include computing giant
Hewlett-Packard and Johnson & Johnson, one of the leading world
suppliers of hygiene and health-related products.
But the major concerns for Chancellor Carnesale now have less to
do with research grants and more to do with student fees.
Former Gov. Davis warned of more potential cuts under the
2003-2004 budget, which has yet to be approved.
UCLA libraries and academic support, in particular, have been
marked to take some of this cut, Carnesale said, but any damage may
be somewhat offset by the increase in student fees.
Nevertheless, cuts will hurt the university.
“We will receive no funding for increases in enrollment,
and there will be no pay increases for faculty,” he said.
Under such circumstances, corporate donations stand to help
sustain other parts of UCLA.
“UCLA is grateful for the help it receives from private
corporations,” Benavidez concluded.