Friday, January 1, 1904
CHANCELLOR:
Councils seek inclusion in search for Young’s successorBy Ryan
Ozimek
Daily Bruin Contributor
Concerned about being sidelined by the UC Regents in the search
for a new chancellor, the undergraduate and graduate student
councils are joining forces to increase student input in the
selection process.
In the months ahead, the undergraduate government, with help
from the Graduate Students Association (GSA), will join together to
find a chancellor who will fit the needs of the students.
"I think it’s very important to have student input on major
decisions at this university," said undergraduate council President
John Du.
"(The student body) is the largest constituent on this campus,
and without it, there wouldn’t be a university in the first
place."
The Chancellor’s Selection Advisory Committee is made up of
student leaders (USAC and GSA presidents), faculty, staff, alumni
and UC Regents. The committee’s main objective is to collect the
various ideas and concerns from different university communities
regarding the new chancellor and then narrow down the selection to
a list of five candidates.
After the committee narrows down its decisions, it will send its
results to UC President Richard Atkinson.
Although students do have a voice on the committee, Du noted
that the selection process truly rests in the hands of the UC
Regents.
"It’s important to realize and understand that the UC Regents
have the final say, which in itself is important because for a long
time, the (Board of Regents) has been politicized," Du said.
"In many ways, the regents have soiled the name of the
university and as a result you have three (chancellors) resigning
across the UC system."
Graduate student council President Chris Tymchuck stressed that
the role of the students on the committee is merely to advise, and
not decide, the fate of the chancellorship at UCLA.
"We’re clearly upset," Tymchuck said. "We’re only an advisory
group, and President Atkinson is only an advisor to the Regents.
This definitely concerns me, but we need to work with it and do the
best with what we have."
So far, both the undergraduate and graduate student governments
have begun creating "wish lists" of what they want to see in the
new chancellor.
USAC Internal Vice President Glenn Inanaga said a
straightforward letter should be sent in order to let committee
members know exactly what the UCLA student body wants.
"The Academic Senate already made their own letter to the
committee, but their wants don’t always parallel to the wishes of
the students," Inanaga said.
The letter will include the major needs in a chancellor voiced
by the undergraduate council, including the candidate’s position on
affirmative action and a focus on university academics.
Undergraduate council members also considered shared governance
between the chancellor and the students and keeping the UC system
away from privatization important to students’ interests.
The list will be forwarded to the selection committee after it
is approved by USAC Tuesday.
Du emphasized that a main concern of the students is that the
new chancellor focus on maintaining a diverse student body.
"Chancellor Young’s commitment to diversity is something we
definitely need to have, and everyone at the meeting agreed," Du
said.
"I think it’s vital for the new chancellor to also be
pro-affirmative action."
Du also added that there are some major characteristics that he
didn’t want to see in a new chancellor, such as inaccessibility and
complacency toward students.
"What we don’t want to see in a new chancellor is the inability
to cooperate and work with students in a way that students feel
they have easy access to the chancellor," Du said. "It’s really
hard to get a meeting with Young these days."
But while maintaining diversity is a given at UCLA due to
Young’s efforts, USAC Facilities Commissioner Eric D. Shaw believes
that Young’s 27 years as chancellor are a tough act to follow.
"The legacy of Young will stand firm on this campus, and the
next chancellor will have big shoes to fill," Shaw said. "He made
the commitment to growth, diversity and research and he put them in
the process and tradition in UCLA."
Working side by side with USAC, the graduate government has also
taken steps to directly involve students in the search.
On Oct. 29, the day before the first meeting of the search
committee, GSA sponsored a town hall meeting where students,
faculty, and staff were invited to speak about their concerns
regarding a new chancellor.
In addition to the town hall meeting, GSA is in the process of
creating its own letter to the search committee to allow the
student government to voice its own opinions on what graduate
students want.
"Writing a letter to the search committee is very effective
because if it’s in writing, (the student government’s voice)
becomes stronger," Tymchuck said.
So far, Tymchuck believes that the process of finding the new
chancellor has moved smoothly.
"It was good to see that the members of the search committee
have a sincere interest in the next chancellor and the future of
UCLA," Tymchuck said.