As of Thursday, Mark Yudof, current chancellor of the University of Texas, was hired to serve as the University of California’s president. While his experience is extensive, Yudof’s focus must remain sensitive and true to the largest constituency of the UC system: the students.
According to Daily Bruin archives, the current UC President Robert Dynes began his post five years ago, in a time when the UC system was facing threatening budget cuts from the state.
On his second day at the job, Dynes said he was simply “not willing to accept (the cuts)” at that point.
Five years later, the state budget is in crisis and the UC is again being pressured to accept cuts.
Now, with a new UC president in charge, we urge Yudof to take a similar stance.
During a time of major budget cuts made at both the federal and state levels, it is imperative that our new leader is an advocate of innovative avenues for securing funds for education at the UC.
The UC has undeniably followed a slow path of decreased dependence on state funding and should not venture too far into the depths of privatization.
We urge the new UC president to convince our legislators that funding the UC is an investment that returns profit in the form of social, scientific and economic growth for the state.
After all, if the UC is going to invest heavily in him, the least he can do is bring some investment back into the UC.
Yudof will be given nearly double the compensation package given to current President Dynes.
This has spurred protest from students who, reasonably so, are concerned that in a time of financial crisis, the payout for an expected leader of the UC should not be doubled.
The increase isn’t exactly the difference of a few dollars either, as Yudof is said to be paid an $828,084 annual compensation package, as compared to Dynes’ $421,000.
While this sizable difference may have triggered the nerves of those feeling overwhelmed by the fee increases meant to compensate for a decrease in government funding, it was an unavoidable measure that had to be taken.
For the UC to maintain a competitive edge it must be willing to offer attractive monetary offers to grab the attention of candidates from a more qualified pool.
And those selected, like Yudof, must be expected to recognize that such compensation packages offered by a public school system is a rarity given funding deficits.
This generous offer will serve as a paradoxical but sharp reminder that the state of higher public education in California is in financial trouble ““ we see it in our student fees as they continue to hike every year.
Yudof is also known for spearheading standards and policies at Texas that held students and faculty accountable.
Given the debacle surrounding the lack of transparency in compensation and bonuses given to top leaders that caused much embarrassment to the UC in recent years, Yudof must tap into his previous experience to increase transparency and accountability in order to help maintain the trust of taxpayers and the state.
While the UC president will have a long to-do list, at the very top of that list must be to freeze the rise of student fees and to secure more stable funding for the UC system.