Chancellor Gene Block held a town hall meeting with UCLA faculty and staff on Wednesday to discuss key topics and answer questions from an audience of approximately 200.
The economic situation dominated the meeting’s discussion.
Due to a constrained California budget, the university is slowing down the recruitment of faculty and staff, Block said.
He added that he asked all deans to prepare for a 5 percent cut for next year.
Block said that while there would be some flexibility, departments very dependent on state funding might suffer more than others.
Block said that under the current situation, it is inevitable that student fees are going to rise.
With about 67 percent of students on financial aid, UCLA has “the most needy students of all major research institutions,” Block said.
The Bruin Scholars Initiative, which aims to generate $500 million by June 2013, will go toward undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships.
Block said that this would double the university’s endowed funds dedicated to student support. In just two months, the initiative has already raised $21.6 million.
Possibly hundreds of millions of dollars from the national stimulus package will benefit research at UCLA and generate new jobs in the community, Block said.
“I’d say there’s been a frantic effort of grant writing,” Block said.
Some of the other issues discussed in the meeting included campus sustainability, layoffs, effects of the stimulus package and campus diversity.
Block said he was optimistic about the university’s future throughout the meeting.
“UCLA is going to survive those challenges,” Block said. “We’re going to remain strong.”
Compiled by Juliana Gabrovsky, Bruin contributor.