SAN FRANCISCO “”mdash; At today’s UC Board of Regents
meeting, the regents discussed various topics, including a student
mental health report and tobacco-industry funding of university
research.
The meeting opened with an approval for the University of
California to bid for management of the Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory, which contributes to the development of nuclear
weapons.
The lab’s Web site states that Livermore is
“responsible for ensuring that the nation’s nuclear
weapons remain safe, secure and reliable. (Livermore) also applies
its expertise to prevent the spread and use of weapons of mass
destruction and strengthen homeland security.”
Several students spoke during the public-comments session of the
meeting, expressing condemnation for the university’s
involvement in research that could be used for warfare.
The regents decided to move ahead with the bid to run the
lab.
“I believe competing for the Livermore management contract
is appropriate for the university,” said Robert Foley, UC
vice president of laboratory administration.
“(The bid process) is not funded from state funds or
student fees,” Foley added.
Foley also said as a research university, it is appropriate for
the UC to conduct research at Livermore.
Recently, the UC and three corporate partners gained control of
the Los Alamos National Laboratory, which was put up for bid after
mismanagement led to several accidents.
Later in the meeting, the regents were given a presentation on
the results of a study on the availability of mental-health
services throughout the UC.
Joel Dimsdale, co-chair of the University Student Mental Health
Committee, said there has been a rise in student need for
psychological services, but often those services are not made
available in a timely manner.
“Suicide attempts have increased at UC Santa Barbara, and
system wide there have been increased visits to school
counselors,” Dimsdale said. “Funding has not increased
with demand for counseling services. There have been severe cuts to
student services, and they have not been restored.”
Faculty representative John Oakley said this issue will be
examined by the Academic Senate as well.
“Developing a healthier learning environment will not be
an easy task, but the Academic Senate will not be dragging its feet
in that effort,” Oakley said.
Dimsdale said the average student-to-psychologist ratio is
2,300-to-1, and the average system-wide wait time for a student to
get an appointment is three to six weeks.
The regents also discussed tobacco industry funding of
university research, citing ““ as an example of what can go
wrong ““ a 2003 UCLA study funded by the tobacco industry that
found that second-hand smoke does not cause lung cancer.
“Research should not be funded directly by
tobacco-industry dollars,” said Lieutenant Governor and
Ex-Officio Regent Cruz Bustamante. “We should join the 18
universities across the nation that do not accept tobacco industry
finding.”
Regent Sherry Lansing said a close look should be taken at the
issue, but she wanted more information before the regents rushed to
a decision about accepting future funding.
“The university should not interfere with funding,”
Lansing said. “I would urge us not to interfere with (the)
Academic Senate or with the freedom of a researcher to come to
conclusions they think are correct. This is a slippery slope and
opens the door to question funding in many different
ways.”
Other regents agreed that the UC needs to be wary of accepting
research dollars and there needs to be some kind of check that
makes sure researchers are doing honest work.
“Here we have to be mindful of the influence that money
can have,” Parsky said. “At the very least,
transparency and disclosure need to be assured, and we have to be
assured that we have appropriate safeguards to make sure faculty
are conducting honest research.”